Literature Glossary
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Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.
Persona Poem
Definition:
Ever wish you could be somebody else? You know, like Ant-Man or the Queen of Genovia? Then you should start writing persona poems.
In a persona poem, the poet takes on a character and writes from his or her perspective using first-person point-of-view. So the "I" in the poem isn't the poet; it's the character. It's a lot like acting.
And here's a mind-bender for you: Many poets, critics, and four out of five dentists believe that all poems are persona poems. In other words, even if you wrote a poem all about what went down at your 16th birthday bash—you know, the pineapple pizza, the water balloon fight, and the subsequent police raid—the "I" in that poem isn't actually you. It's a persona, or speaker, you adopted for that poem.
While you let that one sink in, check out these examples of persona poems:
- "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning
- "The Motorcyclists" by James Tate
- "Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood