Home › Glossary › Letter F

forked persona

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 single poem written in the voice of multiple personas or perspectives.

Detailed Definition
A forked persona is a poetic speaker who embodies or voices two distinct identities, perspectives, or internal conflicts within a single poem—often through dialogue, alternating stanzas, or shifting diction; this device dramatizes psychological division, moral ambiguity, or cultural duality, allowing the poem to explore contradiction without resolution through a split or dialogic self.
Example
Example in poetry:
Forked persona presents two conflicting identities in one speaker; In Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” the duke reveals pride and cruelty; In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the speaker is both timid and self-aware; In “Hysteria” by Pound, the voice splits between desire and disgust
Additional Notes
A forked persona describes a speaker or character in a poem who presents two seemingly contradictory or distinct aspects of their personality, belief, or identity simultaneously; this device creates complexity and tension, suggesting an internal conflict or dual nature.
Also Known As
Split persona divided voice dual poetic speaker Bifurcated voice
Skip to main content