Point of View

About one-third of the poems in The Wild Iris are narrated from the first-person perspective of the poet, Louise Glück, as she grapples with her faith in God by addressing him directly. Many of these poems are titled “Matins” or “Vespers,” signifying that they are meant to be read as prayers. In the earliest poems, she wonders how she is meant to believe in God when she has no proof of his existence. She then blames God for her suffering, asking in “Matins (#6),” What is my heart to you / that you must break it over and over” (26). Occasionally, Glück takes a vaguely humorous approach in her conversations with God, as in “Vespers (#2)” when she presents a dry report on the tomatoes growing in her garden as though God is her boss and she his subordinate: “I must report / failure in my assignment, principally...