Point of View

This poem has a somewhat curious use of perspective. Technically, it is in the first person, which is one of the most familiar perspectives in the English language, and very popular for poetry. However, the first person singular is what readers are likely used to seeing in poetry. This poem makes use of the first person plural, with words like “we” and “our” to identify that the perspective spoken from is part of a broader collective.

This collective self is likely identifiable with the broader group of Christians. The speaker refers, for instance, to “our deadly forfeit,” as the fate of all humanity to be doomed to Hell had they not been redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice (6). The speaker’s relationship with Christ is thus identified as not an individual one, but part of a broader community of worshippers with whom the speaker is identified...