molly13+It+is+not+a+carol+of+joy+or+glee

When Dunbar says, "It is not a carol of joy or glee" he is referring to the birds song. Even though it sounds beautiful and sweet in reality it is a cry for help. The bird is asking to not have to be in it's cage anymore, to be free to fly and go where it wants to be. On another level, when Paul Laurence is talking about the bird he really means himself. He talking about his struggle with not being able to be what he wants to be he is saying that he puts on a fake face of happiness. Even though in he is not alright and he just needs someone to notice that what appears on the surface is not real and help him achieve what he really wants and needs to be. Even though typically you would expect a cry for help to be phrased as a scream or a yelp, but he says that it is a "carol" showing that no one can hear what he is really saying, that he needs help. It is also shown in this poem that he is asking for help when he says, "a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings" He is pleading to the heavens or some would say to God, to help him and save him from what has become of him. Being trapped and never being strong enough to be freed from his physical and metaphorical prison.