Point of View

This poem uses the second-person pronoun “you”: “With a little effort you can / make your own transforming wolfskin” (Lines 2-3). However, the speaker is using the you pronoun to directly address the reader; the reader is not the point of view character as in a traditional second-person narrative. This puts it in either the first-person or omniscient point of view. Although the “I” pronoun isn’t used, there is a narrator off the page. This balance of omniscience and immediacy creates a sense of intimacy with the narrator. The speaker is knowledgeable and can see across time, but is giving the reader their full attention.

Language and Meaning

“Wolfways” is relatively straightforward, blending an austere, mythic voice with more contemporary vernacular. For example, the syntax of the phrase “put on your wolfskin / cloak, become the wolf yourself” (Lines 7-8) suggests an old-world ritual, while the...