Home Learning - Poetry

1I323 – Tay Wee Shing Kervin

Title: Touched by An Angel
Author: 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.

Q1.) How are the figurative language used in this poem?

The phrase “Love arrives and in its train comes ecstasies” is a type of symbolism. The author pictures it in a way that love symoblises happiness in a train.

The phrase “until love leaves its high holy temple” is also another type of symbolism. In my point of view, the “high holy temple” is someone that loves you a lot. Thus, in this, the author symbolises the “high holy temple” as someone that loves you.

Next, the two phrases “old memories of pleasure” and “ancient histories of pain” is a type of simile. The author is referring love to as these two phrases as the poem goes “Love arrives and…”.

The phrase “Yet it is only our love which sets us free” is something that is like a type of metaphor. The author uses love as someone that will be able to set us free.

Q2.) Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

The poem does not drag long and is able to express a greater definition and meaning of the word love that we now know today. In my mind, love is basically something that we ought to treasure. However, in this poem, it has shown us the different meanings of love and also the path of love, in which I refer to how love travels to us and how we should accept it. Besides, it has diverted love to many other meanings, symbolizing many other things.

Q3.) What are the teacher’s impressions of the students in the poem?

The teacher sees the students as bad, ruthless and annoying. The teacher also dislikes the students and thinks they deserved to be taught a lesson.

The teacher’s way of teaching them a lesson is actually effective and bad. Firstly, violence is definitely effective as a way as the students would see it as a punishment in the future and being hit at is a child’s worst dream. However, it is bad as violence is not a great way to start disciplining the students. As many have said even if the teacher shouts, it is considered as unprofessional. Violence is therefore even worse.