Poetry Term #9

9) Speaker

Definition: 

Many times in poetry, personal feelings and thoughts are expressed in first person. However, just as the authors of novels do not necessarily feel and think the same things as their characters, poets who use “I” in their poems may not be speaking for themselves. The speaker of the poem is the proper term in formal analysis.

Example:

I will persist,

Even when life resists,

My time is coming,

I must keep running,

I'll run MY race,

and keep MY pace,

Difficulties I'll face,

But I'll keep my grace,

I do what I do,

Because I remain true,

I will rise above,

Doing what I love,

I will make that dough,

Doing what I know,

And to those who laugh,

They can kiss my ***ets 

Significance:

Speaker transfers the emotion of the poem to the listener. Having another person speak his own thoughts creates the effect of a whole new world with a very different point of view from the author himself.