Point of View

"To Penshurst" is told from the first person point of view, though the speaker rarely uses first person pronouns and instead maintains focus on the subject of the poem, Penshurst house. The poem is written as a direct address to the house, suggesting that the house is a living and breathing "character" with which the speaker can commune. He writes about the house as if it is a person itself, saying, "Thou are not, Penshurst, built to envious show" (1). This perspective fosters intimacy and reverence between the speaker and his subject while simultaneously contributing to the idyllic portrait of Penshurst as superior to all other structures. In portraying Penshurst as a character in its own right, Jonson encourages readers to see the house as more than a structure and to recognize it as a symbol for the legacy of the Sidney family in English culture...