Analyzing the poem “Touched by An Angel” by Maya Angelou
“Touched by An Angel” by Maya Angelou
1) We, unaccustomed to courage
2) exiles from delight
3) live coiled in shells of loneliness
4) until love leaves its high holy temple- Imagery
5) and comes into our sight
6) to liberate us into life.
1) Love arrives
2) and in its train come ecstasies
3) old memories of pleasure
4) ancient histories of pain.
5) Yet if we are bold,
6) love strikes away the chains of fear
7) from our souls.
1) We are weaned from our timidity
2) In the flush of love’s light
3) we dare be brave
4) And suddenly we see-rhymes with be
5) that love costs all we are
6) and will ever be.-rhymes with see and free
7) Yet it is only love
8) which sets us free.-rhymes with be
Analyze:
~The poem’s first group has 6 lines, the next group is 7 then 8
~The mood of the poem is lonely and sad at first but then brightens up when love comes. When Love brings us out of our shells of loneliness then the mood of the poem seems hopeful and the future looks promising. And then at the end the mood is happy and bright!
The first paragraph: Maya Angelou is talking about how we are not used to courage and we hide from delight/love. Love is delight and is courageous, We live in loneliness without love. Maya’s saying that love is so important that it lives in a temple, she’s trying to say that love is so precious and sacred that it lives in such a high valued place. So then love comes into our life and hearts and lets us free from our lonely lives into a better life.
Second Paragraph: This paragraph says love arrives in such a massive amount of delight, pleasure, and pain. That is because love can be a delight when it’s going well but you’re going to have some pain. Of course you’re not going to be dating the same person forever and of course someone in your family will die. Love has pain involved because that’s how life is and of course there will be times in your life that are very painful and sad; but that’s life. The last part is saying how if we struggle with all that pain and never give up then love will make us not scared of loving anymore.
Third Paragraph: If we become more self-assured of ourselves and more brave about loving. We see that and realize love is everything we are and ever will be, that means love is the most important thing in this world. Without love you’ll be no one and you’ll have no emotions and feelings. The last part talks about how love was the thing that set us free from our loneliness and then becomes part of us… It BECOMES us!
