~ William Blake

~ Voltaire

The idea of angels has been a compelling one since biblical times. Where, or who, are angels? Where are they? What are they doing?

Poets have offered their opinions on angels in a variety of angel poems, describing encounters with angels and their ideas about the role of angels in our lives.

Poet William Blake, who devoted much of his work to verses about religious subjects, turned his pen on occasion to angels, such as in his poem “The Angel:”

Like Blake, author John Donne also found inspiration in angels, which he beautifully expresses in “Air and Angels:”

What was Stephen Crane’s opinion about angels? Read his “‘It was wrong to do this,’ said the angel,” and let us know:

So what’s your opinion? Do angels bring death, as Blake seems to suggest, or order our lives in wonderful and mystical ways, like Donne believed, or are they more oblique, as in Crane’s poem?