Point of View

“Re-Reading Jane” is written in the fourth-person point of view using the pronouns “we” and “us”: “We are pricked to tears by the justice of her violence” (Line 6). Although the author is writing from personal experience, the use of the fourth-person pronoun expands the speaker’s perspective to encompass a generation of people. The poem is told through the voice of not only people (predominantly women) who enjoy Jane Austen’s work, but also people who are tangentially aware of it through retellings, cultural allusions, and references on the internet. It also encompasses human beings as a species: “show us how absurd we’d look to you” (Line 27). By positioning humanity as a collective consciousness, the poet highlights Jane Austen’s insight into the human condition. She also invites the reader into this consciousness, sharing the authenticity and silliness of these experiences with us and...