In Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird," she employs many literary devices to
convey the meaning of the text. In the fifth stanza, there is an example of
alliteration in the second line within the phrase "shadow shouts":
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.
In repeating the sh sound here, Angelou achieves several effects.
Firstly, sh is a sound often associated with stillness and silence. We
"shush" people to make them be quiet. The usage of this specific sound in the
alliteration of the line emphasizes the restrictions placed on the caged bird
and the limitations of their captivity.
However, Angelou deliberately introduces this sound alongside the words
"shouts" and "scream." While the phrase "his shadow shouts" literally sounds
like a shushing, it is describing something loud and raucous: a shout, a
scream. Angelou contrasts the silence and stillness that is imposed on a caged
bird with the ferocity of the desire and pent-up energy within the bird. Even
the phrase later in the line, "nightmare scream," sounds like something hellish
and shrieking, but when paired with the "shushing" sound, it shows the
repression of that scream. The shrieking scream now is more like the moment in
a nightmare when you try to scream and can't, the terror of being unable to
express yourself.
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