Speaking of Us
Speaking of Us
This chapter reflects on the perils and controversies surrounding common usage of the first-person plural. Poetry's first-person plural often prompts questions central to modern social thought: For whom does the poet write, and what authority does she have to speak for others? Is there a prior selfhood standing behind the collective, or is the “I” suspended in the voicing of “we”? Is “we” one or many? Can the poet construct a “we” that retains multiplicity within its choral force? When does the poem give assent to this claim of collective identity, and when does it distance itself?
Keywords: poets, poetry, first-person plural, social thought
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