AIR AND ANGELS (STRUCTURE/FORM/CONTEXT)

Question 1

Summarise the poem Air and Angels?

Answer 1

• The poet compares love to angels, arguing that just as angels require air to materialise; love needs a form to become fully realised.

Question 2

What is the form of Air and Angels?

Answer 2

• Lyric poem (expresses personal feelings/love)

Question 3

What meter is it written in?

Answer 3

• Mostly iambic pentameter (rhythmic and formal quality-suitable for philosophical contemplation)

Question 4

Describe the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Answer 4

• Stanza 1: ABBA ABBA (petrachan sonnet rhyme scheme)
• Stanza 2: Irregular deviation

Question 5

Describe the structure of the poem? How much stanza’s are there?

Answer 5

• 1 stanza= 11 lines
• 2 stanza= 13 lines
• Irregular line length=tension between the idea and real.

Question 6

Religious context?

Answer 6

• Christian theology- Angels are spirtual beings that can take on a physical form to interact with humans.

Question 7

Neoplatonic philosphy?

Answer 7

• Suggests that love could exists on different levels (spirtual and physical)