Point Of View
Point of view is the perspective from which a poem is spoken or presented. It shapes what the reader knows, how closely the poem follows a speaker or character, and whether the voice is personal, limited, or all-knowing. In poetry, point of view often depends on pronouns and the speaker's relationship to the events being described.
Example
I carry the rain home in my sleeves,
and I can feel my own footsteps slow.
She watches from the window as I pass,
but she cannot know the road I know.
Related Definitions
[n] the spatial property of the position from which something is observed
[n] a mental position from which things are viewed; "we should consider this problem from the viewpoint of the Russians"; "teaching history gave him a special point of view toward current events"
Related Terms
angle, angle of vision, Anschauung, approach, assumption, attitude, basis, belief, climate of opinion, coign of vantage, common belief, community sentiment, conceit, concept, conception, conclusion, consensus gentium, consideration, doctrine, estimate, es