Point of View

The point of view of this collection of poems is first person. The point of view is limited and unreliable, which is due to the subjectivity that is a necessary component of the genre of poetry. This collection of poetry expresses the way that the poet, Mary Oliver, views different things in life. All of these poems are written in such a way that they can be considered as exposition or as individual monologues. Some of these poems are narrative, telling a story, while others are speculative, just meditating on some aspect of nature or life.

In this collection, "August", "The Kitten" and "In the Pinewoods, Crows and Owl" are narrative. Other narrative poems in this collection include "The Bobcat", "Egrets", "Clapp's Pond", "Tasting the Wild Grapes", and "John Chapman", as well as "A Poem for the Blue Heron", "Flying", and "An Old Whorehouse". Additionally, "Rain...