Hirshfield's poetry has been well received by scholarly critics and general readers since she published her first work in the 1980s. Most often, she is praised for her ability to present everyday life experiences in light of their deeper, spiritual meaning, but without becoming erudite or lapsing into philosophical rhetoric. Her use of simple language and soft tone belie the true force of her poetry's messages, and many critics have cited such in their reviews. In a book review of The Lives of the Heart for Booklist, critic Donna Seaman writes that Hirshfield's "imagery is simple in form but iridescent in implication; her meditative focus on stillness is curiously provocative and illuminating, and the veracity of all that Hirshfield has to say about forbearance and loss makes itself felt first and then is clearly understood." Seaman goes on to say that the poet "celebrates the epic...