1. Point of View vs. Perspective
How does it impact poetry?

2. Point of View
What is point of view? When writing, authors must decide from which point of view they want to express their ideas. There are different choices – first person, second person, or third person point of view. The types of pronouns used and genre of the text can be a clue when identifying the point of view that an author used in a text.

3. First Person POV
When a character in the story recounts his/her own experiences or impressions. Clues: The reader only knows the knowledge that THAT specific character has. Uses pronouns such as I, me, my, mine, we, our, ours.

4. Second Person POV
The story of the piece of writing in the perspective of the reader. (The use of second person POV is very uncommon.) Clues: mainly used with instruction manuals, recipes, directions, and poetry. Uses pronouns you and yours.

5. Third Person POV
There are three types of third person POV – objective, omniscient, and limited. Third person objective is when the narrator remains a detached observer, telling only the story’s action and dialogue. Clues: Lets the reader know what is seen and heard, but does not have knowledge of inner dialogue with characters. Uses pronouns he, she, it, they.

6. Third Person POV Cont.
Third person limited is when the narrator tells the story from the view point of ONE character in the story. Clues: The narrator has inside information of the thoughts and feelings of one character. Uses the pronouns he, she, it, they. Third person omniscient is when the narrator has unlimited knowledge and can describe every character’s thoughts and interpret their behaviors. Uses pronouns he, she, it, they.

7. What does perspective mean?
-Perspective is whose eyes you are looking through
Not to be confused with POV where it is who is telling the story but rather what kind of background and experiences you bring that cause you to feel a certain way about something
Remember reading “The Three Little Pigs” and “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs?” Why was it important to distinguish notice the difference in the POV and perspective used in each of those texts?

8. Perspective cont.
When looking at perspective, it is important to consider the knowledge and background information of the author. Let’s learn about the poet Langston Hughes: How might Langston Hughes’s background influence his poetry?

9. Dreams By: Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

10. Park Bench By: Langston Hughes
I live on a park bench. You, Park Avenue. Hell of a distance Between us two. I beg a dime for dinner – You got a butler and a maid. But I’m wakin’ up! Say ain’t you afraid? That I might, just maybe In a year or two Move on over To Park Avenue

11. Helen Keller By: Langston Hughes
She, In the dark, Found light Brighter than many ever see. Within herself, Found loveliness, Through the soul's own mastery. And now the world receives From her dower: The message of the strength Of inner power.

12. Dramatic Irony
Authors employ numerous tactics to let their perspective “shine through” in their writing, including the use of allusions, humor, and dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is used in both poetry and prose and refers to when one party – the narrator, the author, the characters have more information than another – such as other characters, or even the reader. Dramatic Irony TedEd cartoon:

13. Dramatic Irony, cont.
How is this dramatic irony?

14. Dramatic Irony, Cont.
How is this dramatic irony?

15. “Protocols” By: Randal Jarell
We went there on the train. They had big barges that they towed. We stood up, there were so many I was squashed. There was a smoke-stack, then they made me wash. It was a factory, I think. My mother held me up And I could see the ship that made the smoke. When I was tired my mother carried me. She said, "Don't be afraid." But I was only tired. Where we went there is no more. Odessa. They had water in a pipe--like rain, but hot; The water there is deeper than the world And I was tired and fell in in my sleep And the water drank me. That is what I think. And I said to my mother, "Now I'm washed and dried.” My mother hugged me and it smelled like hay And that is how you die. And that is how you die.
How is dramatic irony used in this poem?

16. “A Boundless Moment” By: Robert Frost
He halted in the wind, and--what was that
Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost?
He stood there bringing March against his thought,
And yet too ready to believe the most.
"Oh, that's the Paradise-in-Bloom," I said;
And truly it was fair enough for flowers
Had we but in us to assume in March
Such white luxuriance of May for ours.
We stood a moment so, in a strange world,
Myself as one his own pretense deceives;
And then I said the truth (and we moved on).
A young beech clinging to its last year's leaves.
How is dramatic irony used in this poem?