Poem 9 - Touched By an Angel by Maya Angelou

Touched By An Angel

By Maya Angelou

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Analysis

            In the poem, Touched By An Angel, Angelou talks about the theme of love, loneliness and evolution. For example, Angelou says," Love arrives and in its train come ecstasies ", which suggests that as love comes in our lives, it brings happiness. The above quote introduces the theme of love in the poem. In addition, Angelou brings up the theme of loneliness - " live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. " - suggesting that once love comes in our life, it takes away our loneliness and makes us free, which arises the theme of loneliness. Moreover, the theme of evolution amongst humans is evident in the poem - " that love costs all we are and will ever be " - which shows that love changes humans tremendously that they could not have imagined and proves the presence of theme of evolution. In terms of the literary devices, Angelou uses personification in her poem. Angelou says, " until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. ", which suggests that love is given human - qualities of movement and freedom. The personification just means that when love comes into our lives, it gives us freedom from our loneliness. There is more mention of personification by the author  - " Love arrives and in its train come ecstasies " - which means that as love comes into our lives, it brings happiness and with itself taking away the suffering experienced from loneliness. The use of personification really enhances our understanding of what the author is trying to explain about love by making it look like a person who comes into our lives and changes us completely and turns sadness into happiness.

            I can connect myself on this topic, my parents' love towards me has made me much more of a happy person by supporting me and never leaving me alone to face my problems when I needed help. This has made a person who thinks positive and never gives up when something doesn't work the way I think. Through the experience of love and care from my parents, I can understand what the author means that love changes your lives - it just makes you a better person that you ever yesterday. Moreover, love can be used to change the hearts of terrorists all around the world. For example, people like Junior Johnson, who was a NASCAR driver, actually smuggled alcohol and got arrested. However, with the help of some love, he turned around his life and made a big career out of driving cars in 1950s and 1960s. Learning from him, I can understand as to what the author is trying to achieve in the poem as Johnson was bad and probably isolated but love changed his life into a very successful person and that love could of anyone.

            The meaning of this poem is that love plays a great role in changing our identity and impact as a person in the society. Love is the only treatment to turn someone into a better person than they were in the past. Someone would write this poem to aware readers of the nature's gift - love - that is a boon to humans and also the treatment to all wounds. This poem is an inspiration for anyone who has given up in life and has no hope of anything good in the future. In addition, some people see love as a sin and to change their ideas about love, the poem is a good source. The purpose of this poem is to encourage readers who are suffering from sadness and isolation to take the shelter of love and just love to improve their lives and be happy.

            I agree to the ideology of Angelou that love is spectacular. Not only that but love is the source of happiness. Love is not only between lovers but each relation has feelings of love. Love is caring and supporting a person at times to help them guide their problems, share their grief and happiness. I also agree to Angelou's ideas of love evolving us into a whole different personality. For example, terrorists are people who suffer from a certain pain in their heart. If we use love instead of guns, they will change and the world will be peaceful and a much more happy place to live in. Therefore, Love is a great feeling that connects us humans and lets us back each other improving the society. The poem, Touched by an Angel, is sure to inspire with its lesson of loving each other - possibly the angel in the title is love as it acts as an angel in our lives that changes us into a better person.