Why does the poet compare a solider to a caged bird.
Answers
Metaphor and symbolism are related, but in symbolism, the thing another object stands for is generally more complex and abstract than in metaphor. Therefore, in this case, the bird itself represents oppressed black people, so metaphor is used for the specific case you ask about. Here is some information that supports this contention:
The simile “caged bird” reoccurs throughout the verse “Caged Bird” composed by N Maya Angelou. It signifies the description of the poem about the African American population who were troubled by the Whites in their native land. The cage signifies the land which pertains to the native Americans but due to the Whites’ dominance over it, the residents had lost command over it. Though in bondage, the caged bird sounds the songs of freedom assuming that some of the other day it will also fly liberally in the air which is compared to the feeling of the soldier to travel on their own land without any dominance of whites.