Point of View

The first stanza of the poem is related from the first person singular point of view. Throughout this section, the speaker uses first-person pronouns such as “my” and “I” in order to initially interject themselves into the poem (1-2). As a result, the poem first appears to be about the speaker themselves and their own subjective experiences. Even when they shift their focus toward Lucy in the third and fourth line, they still use words to suggest they are describing their own subjective experience, such as “she seemed a thing” (3). The use of the word “seemed” signals to the reader that the speaker is not giving an objective description of Lucy, but rather their own individual perception of her (7). Overall, this gives the first stanza a more intimate atmosphere as it takes on a personal tone.

The point of view in the second stanza shifts...