# A Song in the Night: I Would I Were an Angel Strong explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

The speaker expresses a longing to be transformed into a powerful angel, a child, a lark, a cock, or even a glowworm, all of which have a direct connection to light and the divine. The poem contrasts these vibrant, upward-reaching beings with the speaker's own sense of being a 'dead seed, dark and slow,' and concludes with a plea to the Father to make him grow.

## Themes in this chapter

### Longing for Immortality

The speaker yearns to be an angel, a child, or a creature of light, reflecting a desire for a transcendent, eternal state.

### Divine Fatherhood

God is invoked as 'Father of larks and children,' the source of life and growth for all creation.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who longs for transformation and prays to the Father.

### God

Addressed as 'Father of larks and children,' the one from whom growth is sought.

## Key lines

> I would I were an angel strong, An angel of the sun, hasting along!

I wish I were a powerful angel, a sun-angel, hurrying forward.

_The speaker's first wish is to be a radiant, swift angel._

> I am a dead seed, dark and slow: Father of larks and children, make me grow.

I am like a lifeless seed, dark and sluggish; Father of larks and children, cause me to grow.

_The speaker confesses his own spiritual deadness and begs the Father for renewal._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-song-in-the-night-i-would-i-were-an-angel-strong
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters