SPEAKER AND AUDIENCE IN POETRY

• The persona of the narrator of the poem.

  • Sometimes this is the poet, but sometimes the narrator is a created character.

Speaker

• The real person who wrote the poem.

Poet

POET vs. SPEAKER

AUDIENCE

• The Group a piece of writing is intended for.

  • Sometimes in poetry, this can be an inanimate object or something not present.

  • Usually these poems personify the object and speak directly to it, like a letter would.

• Sometimes, you may need to infer the meaning.

  • A READER MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE INTENDED AUDIENCE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY CAN'T LEARN FROM IT.

Purpose

• The reason behind a poem.

  • Sometimes a reason needs to be inferred

  • Sometimes even a poet may not be sure of the purpose, so a reader brings in their own understanding.

WHAT IS CONTEXT?

• Tells when and why a poem was written.

• Sometimes, we need history for the poem to work well. Other times, a poem stands on its own with universal meaning.

1. The History of the Poem

• Info that explains allusions and literal meaning of language.

• This can help you understand the figurative significance as well.

2. Helpful background information