By definition, a poet laureate is “a person who has been honored for achieving distinction in poetry.” To deserve this award, one must put unimaginable effort into the work they do and how they do it. Maya Angelou, an African-American woman with lasting perseverance, has successfully crossed the line between an excellent poet and a true poet laureate. Defeating the hardships of her childhood, she wrote a poem titled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” describing her unjust, personal adversaries she experienced from being an African American.

Seeing Maya Angelou’s abused childhood life, the poem takes into consideration the fact that she survived through mistreatment from her father. Her childhood was marked with her being an insignificant part of the family. However, while growing up, she defeated her failures in life and left them aside. She did not think highly of the things she could not accomplish, and looked forward to a bright future. She was sent around from family to family with nowhere to stay; however, she maintained a steady pace to her expectations for herself.

Even when she grew older, things did not go well family wise. She was raped by her stepfather when she was only seven years old, and lost trust in all human beings except her brother. At age sixteen, she became pregnant and soon became a single mother. Her true test of determination was shown here when she had her own child’s life to take care of and she did so successfully. With this in mind, she experienced the true power a woman like herself could hold. With motivation, she went on to conquer the rights and freedom she deserved.

The selected poem, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” is a prime example of Maya Angelou’s American views of life. The context of the poem uses two different birds as two different examples to represent two different types of people in her life: the free white men and the enslaved black men. Although the races of the described are never mentioned, the ideas presented have clear metaphorical connections with each respective race. With these characters, Maya Angelou was able to give the reader a better understanding of what it was like during her lifetime.

In the first stanza of the poem, the freedom and unconfined nature of the white man is depicted by the bird roaming aimlessly and boundlessly across the breadth of nature, enjoying the natural phenomenon of Earth itself.

However, the poem takes a sharp turn in tone when the introduction of the restrained bird begins. With the limited rights the African Americans have, they cannot take drastic actions to fight back. The verse continues by describing the dreams of African Americans. They are restricted, but they will continue to voice their opinions repetitively and protest for freedom and justice. Although they have never felt the thrill of freedom, they will continue to fight for what is right.

Once again, the poem returns to the peaceful, positive life of the white man who once again returns to the joy and tranquility of nature. The worms, representing food, are plentiful for the white men. They have enough power to claim the entire sky as their own. This is the prime representation of America; hoarding wealth, food, and belongings is a key characteristic of a majority of the American population.

Finally, the poem closes with another view on minority life. Beyond the pains and suffering, African Americans continue to fight for their rights and liberties. At last, the poem closes by repeating the third stanza. This creates a lasting effect about the persistence and determination of the struggle for independence and sovereignty. This repetition states, almost as a warning, that the African Americans will never give up.

Maya Angelou’s poems as a whole represent the American way of life well. Even now, long after she wrote her poems, the American people can relate to the types of poems she wrote and what she wrote about. The context of the poems are still relevant to the American ways of life, may it be good memories or bad things that could happen.

In looking at her poems’ topics as a whole, she has written about very American-related topics, including innovation of the American ways; ideas of freedom and liberty to the citizens; the rights of women, and minorities as well; what abuse is and how to deal with it; and feeling pride and honor in being an American.

Finally, Maya Angelou’s poems show a form of confidence that displays her true American nature when writing her poems. Thus, I believe that Maya Angelou best reflects the true American vision of a poet laureate, through her writing and thoughts put into writing.