Agnes appears in poetry as a liminal figure—sometimes a saint, sometimes a witch—reflecting societal anxieties about female spiritual authority. Her name evokes ambiguity: purity versus heresy, obedience versus rebellion, making her a potent symbol in works exploring gender, faith, and forbidden knowledge.

Agnes is a name steeped in European folk duality, embodying the tension between sanctity and sorcery—often used in ballads and witch trials to personify the feared "good woman gone bad." In poetry, Agnes evokes moral ambiguity, serving as a symbol for the silenced female voice reclaimed through magic; her name appears in medieval hagiographies and early modern demonologies alike, making her a potent figure for exploring gendered persecution in folk narratives. Poets may use Agnes to contrast pious imagery with occult undertones, especially in Gothic or Romantic verse, where her duality mirrors the liminal space between divine grace and diabolical pact.