Dunbar employs a metaphor to compare his own battle against tyranny to a trapped bird pounding its wings against its cage till they bleed. The bird's physical scars are a metaphor for the emotional scars of persecution. When Dunbar says that his heart has been "tied to the winged creature's side," he is comparing his love for freedom to his love for a pet dog. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone or something without wanting them to do anything about it. In this case, the imprisoned bird is asking people to feel sorry for it, but not do anything to help it escape. This is what makes the bird's plight a metaphor for those suffering under tyrannical regimes - they need our sympathy, but we should not get involved if we don't want to. In conclusion, sympathy is using your feelings to tell someone they're being too sad or afraid. The metaphor uses a dead animal to show that cruelty causes pain, just like in real life. Finally, the term pity is used to describe feeling sorry for someone or something while not wanting them to do anything about it.