The subject matter of Angelou's "Caged Bird" is

Answer Details

Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird" uses the extended metaphor of two birds - one free and one caged - to explore the experience of African Americans under racial oppression. The free bird soars, dips, and claims the sky, representing those with liberty and opportunity. The caged bird, with clipped wings and tied feet, can only open its throat to sing of freedom it has never known.

The subject matter centres on the limitation of racially discriminated African Americans. The caged bird symbolises African Americans whose lives are constrained by racial prejudice. The poem focuses specifically on the experience of being limited - the inability to move freely, the restricted horizon, the longing for what cannot be reached - rather than on the political system of discrimination itself.

The other options are less precise:

• "The abolition of slavery and the freedom of caged people" misrepresents the poem, which does not depict liberation or abolition. The caged bird remains caged throughout.
• "Segregation and racial discrimination" names the system but not the personal, felt experience the poem conveys.
• "The colonial invasion and slave trade" refers to historical events not directly addressed in the poem.

The correct answer is the limitation of racially discriminated African Americans.