Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "Angels" presents a meditation on the weariness and ambivalence that can accompany traditional images of angels, which are often depicted as celestial beings of purity and grace. Through vivid and evocative imagery, Pastan explores the speaker's fatigue with these idealized figures and the emotional complexities that their presence invokes, ultimately questioning the conventional representations of angels and the expectations they carry.

The poem begins with a direct question borrowed from Myra Sklarew: "Are you tired of angels?" The speaker's response is immediate and unequivocal: "I am tired of angels." This declaration sets the tone for the rest of the poem, which elaborates on the speaker's discontent with the angelic imagery that has perhaps become overused, sentimental, or disconnected from reality.

Pastan describes the angels' wings as "rustling open the way a curtain opens on a play / I have no wish to see." This simile introduces a sense of reluctance, as if the speaker is being forced to confront something they would rather avoid. The comparison to a play suggests that the angels' appearance feels staged or artificial, something that the speaker finds unappealing or even irrelevant. This reaction could be interpreted as a rejection of the idealized, almost cliché representations of angels that pervade culture and religion.

The speaker continues to express their fatigue with the angels' "milky robes," "star-infested sashes," and "perfect fingernails translucent as shells." These descriptions emphasize the otherworldly and delicate nature of the angels, but in the context of the poem, they seem to lack substance or authenticity. The phrase "from which the souls / of tiny creatures have already fled" suggests a hollowness, as if the angels, for all their beauty, are ultimately empty or devoid of real life. The speaker's disillusionment with these figures is palpable, as if the superficial perfection of the angels fails to resonate with the more complex and imperfect reality the speaker inhabits.

The poem takes a darker turn as the speaker invokes the image of Lucifer, the fallen angel: "Remember Lucifer, I want to tell them, / his crumpled bat wings nose-diving from grace." This reference to Lucifer challenges the idealized notion of angels by reminding the reader of the potential for angels to fall, to become corrupted or to embody something far less divine. The image of "crumpled bat wings" contrasts sharply with the earlier descriptions of the angels' pristine appearance, introducing a sense of decay and fallibility. Lucifer's fall from grace serves as a powerful counterpoint to the ethereal, flawless beings that populate the traditional vision of angels.

Yet, the speaker recognizes that the angels would dismiss their concerns: "But they would simply laugh / with the watery sound a harp makes / cascading through bars of music." The angels' laughter, likened to the gentle, insubstantial sound of a harp, suggests that they are either indifferent to or incapable of understanding the speaker's discontent. Their response is depicted as detached, almost condescending, as if the speaker's concerns are insignificant in the grand, celestial scheme of things.

The poem concludes with a poignant and deeply personal reflection: "Or they would sing to me in my mother's lost voice, / extracting all the promises I made to her but couldn't keep." Here, the angels take on a more intimate and haunting role, evoking the memory of the speaker's mother. The idea that the angels would use the mother's voice to "extract" broken promises adds a layer of guilt and unresolved grief to the poem. The angels, once figures of comfort and divine intervention, now become reminders of the speaker's failures and the burdens of unmet expectations. The use of the word "extracting" suggests a painful process, as if the angels are drawing out these unfulfilled promises, forcing the speaker to confront them.

In "Angels," Linda Pastan challenges the traditional, often sentimentalized depiction of angels, instead presenting them as figures that evoke ambivalence, discomfort, and even guilt. The poem explores the complexities of the speaker's relationship with these celestial beings, revealing a deep-seated weariness with the idealized images that fail to address the realities of human experience. Through its rich imagery and introspective tone, the poem invites readers to reconsider their own perceptions of angels and the roles they play in our emotional and spiritual lives. Rather than offering comfort or solace, the angels in this poem become symbols of the unspoken burdens and unresolved tensions that linger in the speaker's mind.

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