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borrowed speaker

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A poetic persona adopted from a fictional, historical, or mythological figure, allowing the poet to speak through an externalized, often authoritative voice.

Detailed Definition
borrowed speaker is a poetic persona adopted from history, myth, literature, or public life through which the poet articulates perspectives beyond their own experience; this dramatic monologue strategy enables exploration of marginalized voices, historical trauma, or ethical dilemmas, as in Robert Browning’s monologues or Rita Dove’s On the Bus with Rosa Parks.
Example
Example in poetry:
Borrowed speaker adopts another’s voice: Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues (“My Last Duchess”) use historical personas; Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” employs second-person borrowed speaker to implicate reader in racism; contemporary poets write in voices of refugees, ancestors, or AI; the technique enables empathy and critique through ventriloquism; borrowed speaker differs from persona by emphasizing ethical responsibility
Additional Notes
A persona adopted by the poet, where the voice clearly belongs to a specific, identified character other than the poet themselves; The poet "borrows" a distinct perspective or identity to tell the poem; Essential to the dramatic monologue.
Also Known As
Adopted speaker Borrowed persona Assumed voice Borrowed voice
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