If you’ve ever looked back into history, it’s quite easy to see how the perspective a story is told in can completely change its meaning. We see this concept repeat time and time again as more stories from different viewpoints emerge. I mean let’s be honest, the difference in a story told by a white man in the 1800s is really gonna differ from the one told by a black woman. 

There’s a quote that I feel resonates well with the topic of my passion blog. It says: 

“Until the lion learns to write, every story will always glorify the hunter”. 

My goal with these passion posts is to explore a specific time period and the different stories that emerged from different voices through forms of poetry, art, music, stories, etc. I am hoping to focus specifically on the 1960s and analyze voices from people of different races, gender, sexuality, class, and more. 

To dive right in, the first perspective I will be focusing on is a white man and a very well-known poet: James Merrill. Now of course it is important to keep in mind this is just one perspective and does not speak for everyone else who identifies as a white man during that time period. It is also important to note that there are many different perspectives from one human being, but I am just choosing a poem I enjoy and analyzing the story it tells. 

The poem I have chosen is called Angel and it can be read below. 

Before I speak on the analysis of the poem, I think noting a few things about Merrill’s background is important. He was wealthy all his life and resembled a pretty traditional American man of his time. He did, however, understand the plight of lower-income individuals and set up a permanent fund to help other writers affected by such things. 

I believe in this poem Merrill is really trying to express the conflict with religion that occurred in the 1960s. There was a lot of backlash aimed towards the Church’s outdated views by feminist and racial equality movements, as well as the AIDS epidemic that targeted homosexuals.

Throughout the poem, Merrill works in subtle ways to undermine the angel and his “self-important” view. By doing this, he is also undermining the importance of the Church and religion as well as challenging their ideologies. He makes note of the holes in the angel’s argument of perfection within the world while also defending the importance of poetry and self-expression. 

Overall I believe the main concepts within Merrill’s poem are to question the power the Church has on society and advocate for other ways to indulge in self-knowledge through arts like writing, music, and more. This view on society is similar to many others that emerged during the 1960s era when humans really started to question equality, equity, and voice in all aspects of their life. 

I hope that within these passion posts I can clearly convey the importance of multiple perspectives when sharing the same story so that more than one voice can be heard.