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fused persona

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 speaker formed by blending multiple voices, identities, or perspectives into a single, composite persona for expressive or thematic unity.

Detailed Definition
A fused persona is a poetic speaker that blends multiple identities, voices, or historical selves into a single lyrical “I,” dissolving clear boundaries between author, character, and archetype; this technique complicates subjectivity and challenges notions of authentic voice in confessional or postmodern poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
Fused persona appears in Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” where speaker merges with mythic figure; In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song,” Prufrock fuses with Hamlet; In Anne Carson’s “The Beauty of the Husband,” persona blends with Helen of Troy; In Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth,” speaker fuses with mother and lover; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” “you” fuses reader and racialized subject.
Additional Notes
fused persona: A poetic voice where two or more distinct identities, characters, or perspectives are blended into a single speaking 'I', creating an intentionally complex, ambiguous, or collective speaker.
Also Known As
Merged persona hybrid character unified poetic self Blended voice
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