POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Maragondon Annex – Alfonso Campus

Mangas II, Alfonso, Cavite

POEM
ANALYSIS
(Touched By An Angel by Maya Angelou)

PREPARED BY:
Ma. Charlota C. Pel
BSE II- ENGLISH
 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.
 The poem “Touched by An Angel” by Maya Angelou is divided into three stanzas. First
stanza contains six lines (sestet), the second stanza has seven lines (septet) and the third and last
stanza comes with eight lines (octave). The poem follows no rhyming pattern and the lengths and
numbers of syllables in each line vary. This literary piece is in free verse where the poet can
clearly communicate to the points she wants to emphasize and explain. This poem is classified as
a lyrical poetry because this poem shows too much emotion. The poem has a single speaker that
gives a calm vibe but very certain about what she is saying. The main technique exercised is
imagery. For example, when the author used the phrase “love strikes away the chains of fear” to
express and explain the domination of love and how strong and powerful it is to turn a person
into a fearless human that will conquer everything for love. Other technique used is metaphor, in
the first stanza, when Angelou used “shell” as a metaphor to show without love, people isolate
themselves to what could love give and bring to people. She also used personification by saying
“love arrives”, “love leaves”, and “love strikes”. Through the use of hyperbole, readers would
realize the importance of the main message. The exaggeration used would suggest the strong
impact that love can do to our life.
The theme of this poem is about the power of love. Different kinds of love are described;
however, each stanza talks about the different aspect when it comes to love. First stanza explains
how fearful and lonely it is to live before love come into our lives, how hard it is to accept and
realize that we found love, second stanza mirrors the trials and up moments in the process of
being in love, those chaos and ecstasies felt once you enter into a commitment or relationship,
and the last stanza explains how love creates a big impact through changes and freedom within
our lives. I chose this poem because I can relate to what this poem is all about. It’s a fact that I
experience being in a relationship or commitment where love is strong and evident. I became
brave when dealing with love but I am also scared of this feeling. The truth is, love is powerful.
It can defy all odds especially when both have mutual feelings for each other. At first, I am afraid
to fall in love. There are thoughts coming into my mind like, “What if I get hurt?” “What if
we’re not really meant for each other?”, too many what ifs that isn’t healthy anymore. After
dealing with series of heartaches, I’ve come to a realization where it should BE IN LOVE, not
FALL IN LOVE because for me, everything that fall gets broken and I don’t want that kind of
love. In my opinion, everyone who is in a commitment should be brave and mature. Of course,
there are many trials and obstacles that a couple faces in the duration of their relationship. In my
past experiences, being childish and not hearing each other’s side can lead for a couple to break
apart. I can say that love created a big impact in my existence. It changed the way I think, the
way I deal with it and the way I handle love itself through experiences and challenges I
overcame.
Maya Angelou did a successful job in achieving her goal in conveying the message of the
poem because at first read, it can be easily understood with the chosen words used. It can be
interpreted, explained and analyzed in many ways but it all falls back to what the essence of love
in our life is. Her purpose for writing this beautiful piece was to show that we cannot tell that we
are truly living until we accept love in our hearts. To the audience, this poem uplifts and liberates
the mood because of the way she simply but extravagantly used words that creates a symbolism
and the way she describes how amazing love can be.
 This poem reiterates the importance of love in our life. Love would be able to pull us
through our shell of loneliness and would bring us happiness. This poems suggests that no matter
the pain one goes through in the past, love would bring confidence in us to face the world once
again. Furthermore, despite the pains one goes through because of love, love is the only reason
for our sense of 'freedom'. The poet seeks what makes us tick and sets us free from ourselves
alone. The feeling of being lonely to being in love is justified. Love really sets us free.
In my own perspective, this poem gives a big contribution to the World Literature
because this gives delight and soothing feeling, can encourage readers to seek their interests and
read more about literary piece.

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/poems/496

https://literature4e9-3035.weebly.com/poem-1/touched-by-an-angel