Literary Skill: Voice The voice of a literary work is the author or character's distinctive way of expressing him- or herself. In the poem "Not Waving but Drowning" Smith presents several different points of view, each with a different voice. Directions: Use the chart below to examine the use of voice in the poem. In the first column, identify the three points of view in the poem. In the second column, write a brief quote from each voice. In the last column, use your own words to describe the characteristics or personality of each voice.