How is the theme of religion used in the poem?
The theme of religion appears partly as a component of the exaggerated bit about the appearance of the angel. But I use it, too, because there are strong links between learning and religion. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, religious leaders had to be educated to read holy books, conduct religious rituals properly, etc. The first universities were religious institutions to train clergy and religious scholars–an offshoot of the kinds of activities that went on at medieval monasteries: collecting, copying and studying ancient and holy texts, learning and teaching languages needed to study these texts (Latin, Hebrew, Greek, etc.), memorizing and carrying out religious rituals, and so on. A lot of the silly clothes that university faculty wear on formal occasions–the gown and goofy hat–are descendents of clerical garb. Also, in one sense, any divine revelation–such as the angel appearing in my poem–is a sort of high-speed education. Supposedly all at once some truth or truths are rev
