The Secret of the Seventh Angel

Abstract

In the text Panas suggest another reading of Zbigniew Herbert’s poem „The Seventh Angel” that has been already interpreted in many ways. As the author shows, none of the existing interpretations has given answers to the most important questions about the true nature of the angel mentioned in the title of the poem. Panas makes detailed analyses, both cultural and purely philological ones, which allows him to grasp the most important characteristics of Herbert’s angelology. The exceptional character of the seventh angel is shown by the poet as soon as on the level of his name (Szem-k-el, Shem-k-el, i.e. ‘the Name of God’), which directs the researcher to particularly interesting endeavors in the euphonic layer of the work. The figures of sound discovered by Panas, in his opinion clearly have anagrammatist features, and the sound material of the poem revolves round and is united by the Hebrew names of God (El, Elohim, Shem El).