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Persona, Voice and Poetic Allusion

Medieval St. John Poetry
Writing
Assignment:

 

Saint Jean Ecrivant. fol. 225v
eriviaire de Martin d'Aragon,
Espagne, Catalogne, fin du XIVe s.

 

Review the discussion on persona and voice with the poems by Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes at Persona, Voice and Allusion: Two Poets Sing America.Choose one or more of the selected poems and read the full text:

I Hear America Singing
Song of Myself - I
I, Too, Sing America
Let America Be America Again

Full text are available at The American Academy of Poets http://www.poets.org/index.cfm

Write a poem in any form, (verse, free verse, prose or visual) giving attention to persona and voice. Your poem's persona may be a created character or the speaking poet. Let this persona have a manifesto or a statement to make about him/or herself. Allow the speaker's voice through diction and word choice reveal the persona.

This poem should also make allusion to the poem you selected from above. Your poem is conversing with the selected poem through the speaker's voice. Consider the context and theme of the selected poem. If you don't want to converse with these poets let your poem's persona talk about that.

Persona
Development
Questions

Saint Luke Patron Saint of icon writers

Ask yourself questions to develop the persona for your poem.

  • What is your persona's/character’s name? Nickname?

  • What are your persona's/character’s facial features: hair color? Eye color?

  • What are his/her physical traits? a birthmark? a scar?

  • What are his/her favorites things?

  • Who are your persona’s friends and family? Who does she surround herself with? Who are the people your persona is closest to? Who does he wish he were closest to?

  • Where was your persona born? Where has she lived since then? Where is home?

  • Where does your persona go when she’s angry?

  • What is her biggest fear? Who has she told this to? Who would she never tell? Does she have a secret?

  • What are her goals, desires, challenges and habits?

  • Has she ever been in love?

  • What does this persona need to say? or do? or have? or obtain?

  • What is your character's mood: melancholy, lamenting, angry, excited, hopeful, afraid, or humorous?

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