Describe Narrator/Speaker: Poetry - AP English Literature and Composition

1. Which term names a speaker who describes themselves with "I" but is not the author?

   Lyric speaker (a persona, not the poet). Creates distance between poet and poem through fictional voice.

2. What is a persona in a poem, and how does it relate to the speaker?

   An adopted identity; the speaker's role or character. The speaker assumes a specific character or mask.

3. Which option best identifies the perspective: "She wondered whether he lied, but said nothing"?

   Third-person limited. Access to "she wondered" shows internal thoughts in third person.

4. Which narrative perspective uses "I" and limits the reader to one character's perceptions?

   First-person (limited to the narrator's knowledge and bias). The narrator participates in the story and can only share their own experiences.

5. What is the difference between the narrator (fiction) and the speaker (poetry) in analysis?

   Narrator tells a story; speaker is the poem's voice/persona. Narrator exists in prose fiction; speaker exists in poetry.

6. What is an unreliable narrator (as a testable definition)?

   A narrator whose account is not fully trustworthy. May lie, misinterpret, or have limited understanding.

7. Which option best identifies the narrator: "I watched them from the doorway, unseen"?

   First-person narrator. "I" pronoun indicates the narrator is part of the story.

8. Identify the point of view signaled by: "I remembered the day we left."

   First-person point of view. "I" pronoun signals personal narration.

9. What is a first-person narrator or speaker, and which pronouns typically signal it?

   A voice using "I" or "we" to tell the experience directly. Creates immediacy through direct personal perspective.

10. Identify the narrator type: "He opened the letter. She left without speaking."

    Objective (dramatic) third-person narration. Only external actions reported, no thoughts revealed.

11. What is a reliable narrator or speaker in literary analysis?

    A voice whose account is credible and internally consistent. Trustworthy voice without contradictions or bias.

12. What is a dramatic monologue, defined by speaker, audience, and situation?

    Single speaker addresses a listener in a specific situation. One voice speaks to silent listener throughout.

13. What does dramatic monologue mean in terms of who speaks and who is addressed?

    One speaker addresses a silent listener in a specific situation. Creates drama through one-sided conversation revealing character.

14. What is a second-person narrator, and what pronoun typically signals it?

    Narration addressing "you" as the focal character. Makes the reader the protagonist through direct address.

15. What is an objective (dramatic) third-person narrator, and what does it omit?

    Reports actions/dialogue only; omits characters' inner thoughts. Camera-like perspective without internal access.

16. Identify the narrator type: "He clenched his jaw, unaware she had lied."

    Third-person limited narration. Only knows one character's thoughts, not the other's.

17. What is a persona (mask) in poetry, and how does it relate to the poet?

    A constructed speaker; not automatically identical to the poet. Poet creates fictional voice separate from self.

18. What is a third-person omniscient narrator, and what can it access?

    Third-person voice with access to multiple characters' thoughts. All-knowing perspective sees into every character.

19. What is a third-person limited narrator, and what is its key limitation?

    Third-person voice limited to one character's inner life. Follows one character's perspective without omniscience.

20. Which option best describes the speaker's stance: the voice mocks its subject with biting irony?

    Speaker is satirical and ironic in tone. Mockery and biting irony create a critical, detached voice.

21. Identify the narrator type: "She feared the verdict, but he felt relief."

    Third-person omniscient narration. Access to both characters' thoughts shows omniscience.

22. Identify the single best label for a narrator who tells the story after events have occurred.

    Retrospective narrator. Looking back from a later time provides hindsight and reflection.

23. What is the key difference between narrator and author in literary analysis?

    Narrator is a constructed voice; author is the real writer. One is fictional; the other is the actual person who wrote the text.

24. Which narrative perspective uses "he/she/they" and can enter multiple minds or know all events?

    Third-person omniscient. The narrator knows everything about all characters and events.

25. What is a second-person narrator or speaker, and which pronoun typically signals it?

    A voice addressing "you," placing the reader as the addressee. Rare technique that directly involves the reader.

26. What is the difference between tone and mood when describing a speaker?

    Tone is speaker's attitude; mood is the reader's emotional response. Speaker creates tone; reader experiences mood.

27. Identify the narrator type: a character narrates but misreads motives and contradicts known facts.

    Unreliable first-person narrator. Misreading and contradicting facts signals unreliability.

28. What is narrative distance, and what does "close" distance typically create?

    Closeness to a mind; close distance heightens intimacy/subjectivity. Proximity to character's consciousness affects reader.

29. In poetry, what is the speaker (as distinct from the poet) best defined as?

    The persona or voice presenting the poem's words. A constructed voice that may differ from the poet's own views.

30. Which narrative perspective uses "he/she/they" but stays inside one character's mind?

    Third-person limited. Follows one character's thoughts while using third-person pronouns.

31. What is an unreliable narrator or speaker, in one precise definition?

    A voice whose account is distorted, biased, or demonstrably false. Cannot be trusted due to bias or deception.

32. Choose the best description: A poem's "I" shares details the poet could not know.

    The speaker is a persona, not the poet. Impossible knowledge proves fictional speaker.

33. Which option best identifies the perspective: "They all feared the storm, though none admitted it"?

    Third-person omniscient. Knowing what "they all" feel reveals unlimited narrative access.

34. What is free indirect discourse, and what does it blend?

    Third-person narration blended with a character's diction/thoughts. Narrator adopts character's voice without quotes.

35. Identify the point of view signaled by: "You walk into the room and freeze."

    Second-person point of view. "You" directly addresses the reader.

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