Point of View

"The Crystal Gazer" is told from the first-person perspective of a speaker who embraces her full self and chooses not to participate in the hustle and bustle of society around her. This takes some degree of grit and determination, which she conveys through the anaphora "I shall" as she outlines her resolve to gather the scattered parts of herself. The entire poem is written in the future tense, meaning that the descriptions have not yet become the speaker's present reality. However, she has clearly given the matter some deep thought. This can be seen in the poem's structural elements (regular stanzas, rhythm, and rhyme scheme). While speakers should not automatically be equated with the poet, this particular speaker reflects Teasdale's increasingly solitary life. However, the speaker in "The Crystal Gazer" clearly chooses to enter her solitude as both a sanctuary and a fortress. This can...