Speaker. A poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation. Margaret Atwood uses the persona of a siren in her 'Siren Song', a poem that seduces its listeners with dissimulation. Body language and creative wording are the poet's primary tools in building his persona as a scarecrow: he walks on stage and hangs his arms in a limp "T" shape. A persona poem is a poem in which the poet speaks through an assumed voice. A dramatic character, distinguished from the poet, who is the speaker of a poem. Therefore, the lyrical speaker is the character to which the author intends to give life in his text. Notice the focus of the speaker: What is he or she paying attention to? In a persona poem, the poet takes on a character and writes from his or her perspective using first-person point-of-view. A persona appears in first person, using the pronoun “I.” The speaker of the poem is never the writer, but a fictional character, which the writer sometimes uses as an alter ego or a mask. Epic Long story told in elevated language (usually poetry), which relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society. Browning in his dramatic monologues uses full-on personae: in one poem he is a fifteenth century Spanish monk, in another an eighteenth century French courtesan, in a third he is an early nineteenth century psychopath. with free interactive flashcards. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Analyze the language for words that suggest moods: colors, sounds and images. Read the poem again, ask the question, “What is this poem about?” Pay attention to the title; it often hints at the situation or meanings of the poem. What is the speaker/persona in the poem? Read the poem again, making notes in the margins; ask the question, “What is this poem about?” Pay attention to the title; it often hints at the situation or meanings of the poem. Dramatic monologues are a type of persona poem, because "as they must create a character, necessarily create a persona". Discuss and compare the role of the speaker or persona in a selection (3 or 4) of our readings. Copyright © 2021 All rights reserved. Others allow a belief in poetry as personal testimony, which Samuel Menashe insists on in his introduction to 'Self-Employed'. The following stanzas address the inequality. Anthony Thwaite's 'Monologue in the Valley of the Kings' uses the word 'I' but it refers, not to the poet, but to the Pharaoh, Thwaite's persona in this poem. More often than not this assumption is false. Choose from 172 different sets of term:persona = the speaker of a poem. Jot down anything that comes to mind. 'Persona' is the Latin word for 'mask' (more or less). The next point is one we have already touched on briefly above; the speaker of a poem seems to fill essentially the same role as the narrator of a novel, but under no circumstances should you attempt to use the terms interchangeably. If Tate had written this poem with the sole purpose of mocking the speaker, we’d have thought a lot less of the poem and possibly less of Tate. Noun ()One who speaks. Then you should start writing persona poems. The speaker of a poem is always going to be the "person" who is "speaking" the words of the poem. So the 'persona' in a poem is the 'mask' the poet speaks through. 1. 1093858. The importance of using persona has been discussed since ancient times. c) lyric poem. A persona in poetry is used when the poet writes a poem from the viewpoint of someone who is not the poet. She holds a M.A. The speaker is the voice or persona of a poem. The audience is given hints about the speaker as the poet describes his sights, using metaphors and imagery to … Underline words or images repeated by the speaker; repetition creates emphasis, and emphasis reveals the concerns and attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem. The poet often invents the speaker of the poem in order to give him/herself more freedom to compose the poem. Poet= the one who writes the poem Speaker= the one who tells/says the poem The speaker is the narrative voice of the poem. flashcards on Quizlet. Write a brief description of the speaker’s physical appearance, age, gender, social status and any other details that help bring the speaker to life. This person should not be confused with the writer, who is the author of the text. The speaker or persona on the poem "mother to son" is the mother New questions in English. Her essays are included in "Resilience," "Students’ Encyclopedia of American Literary Characters" and "The Southern Quarterly." Read the poem all the way through once without stopping to ask questions. Other times, the speaker can take on the voice of a persona–the voice of someone else including animals and inanimate objects. Images repeated by the speaker; repetition creates emphasis, and emphasis reveals the concerns and attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem. Dramatic monologues, as they must create a character, necessarily create a persona; however, as a poem using a persona need not tell a reader anything about the situation of the speaker, the narrative, or the person that the poem is spoken to, a persona-poem need not be a dramatic monologue. in English from the University of North Carolina. Determine the “situation” of the poem: What is happening when the poem begins? About Persona. The persona narrating the poem is ambiguous because rather than pinning down a single individual, it could stand for any black man in America. Write down an immediate impression of the speaker in the poem: What kind of speaker do you imagine in your “mind’s eye”? Points of View. If the details in the poem are not specific about these characteristics, use the context of the poem to speculate. Describe the rhythm of the speaker’s voice to help determine his or her attitude: Is the rhythm gentle and flowing or choppy and curt? For instance, a wealthy male poet might write a poem that sounds like a poor young woman wrote it, because it talks about experiences indicating that in the first person. It is not necessary that a poet is always the speaker, because sometimes he may be writing from a different perspective, or may be in the voice of another race, gender, or even a material object. The reader or listener must do more than just hear the voice of the poem to identify the speaker. Purpose of a Persona. (politics) The chair or presiding officer of certain legislative bodies, such as the U.K. House of Commons or the U.S. House of Representatives. Examine the kinds of language used by the speaker: Is it formal or colloquial, as in everyday speech? Get the answers you need, now! Her poetry appears in "Black Fly Review" and "Kentucky Poetry Review," among others. Often times, the speaker is the poet. Sometimes a persona may persist across several poems, such as Wendy Cope's alter ego Jason Strugnell. In writing, the speaker is the voice that speaks behind the scene. The persona who describes the process of composing and playing music in Robert Browning’s “Abt Vogler” is a German organist by the same name. Thus persona is the “I” of a narrative or the implied speaker of a lyric poem. The persona may be a character in the work or merely an unnamed narrator; but, insofar as the manner and style of expression in … Sometimes the writer may share real-life experience or feelings in autobiographical writing. This is particularly true when it comes to the term in literature. 4336052. Learn term:persona = the speaker of a poem. Describe the setting portrayed in the descriptive images: Are they taken from nature or the city, a specific location or a generalized setting? A persona, from the Latin for mask, is a character taken on by a poet to speak in a first-person poem. “Aristotle in the Poetics says that the poet should say very little in propria persona (in his own voice), as he is no imitator or poet when speaking from himself.” What this means is that in works of fiction (prosaic, poetic or dramatic) the author must put her own personality aside, and become a character—the narrator.