Point of View

This poem has an unusual point of view, with multiple layered perspectives introduced throughout the poem. At the very beginning, the poet introduces a first-person past perspective through the use of pronouns like “I” and “me,” writing “my spirits t’attend this double voice” (3). This narrative voice serves an introductory role, bringing the reader through a physical journey to the natural world where the poem takes place. After this first stanza, the narrator disappears entirely from the poem.

Then the poem shifts to a distant third-person, which describes the physical events that are being observed: the young woman standing in the vale, tearing apart the favors she was given from her lover. She is depicted from an outside perspective. Afterwards, the poem shifts to a closer third-person perspective on the older man, still speaking from an external perspective but now revealing his thoughts and feelings...