Point of View

“Journey of the Magi” is written from the first-person point of view. It is narrated by one of the Three Kings as they travel to the manger where Jesus is born before Christmas. The mage inserts himself deeply into the poem and the imagery Eliot invokes is all dependent on how the mage experiences the journey, the harsh cold, and the feeling of being pushed aside for a new, superseding belief system. Despite this, readers are able to connect with the mages as characters as well as see the narrative from a birds-eye perspective.

The point of view is significant because it allows Eliot to impart the poem with genuine empathy for the mage and his suspicion that he is no longer as vital to the world that previously cherished him. The mage previously delighted in the easy summer accommodations he enjoyed in “summer palaces...