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Persona sonnet

Form
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 persona sonnet is a 14-line poem written from the imagined viewpoint of a historical, fictional, or archetypal character rather than the poet’s own.

Detailed Definition
Persona sonnet is a sonnet voiced by a created character rather than the poet’s autobiographical self; it uses the form’s argumentative structure to dramatize the persona’s inner conflict, social position, or moment of revelation, as in Browning’s dramatic monologues.
Example
Example in poetry:
Terrance Hayes’s “Sonnet” series reimagines the form through Black American vernacular and jazz rhythms, creating a modern persona sonnet; W.H. Auden’s “Sonnet” (“Lay your sleeping head, my love”) uses a tender, protective persona within strict iambic pentameter; Rita Dove’s “Parsley” employs a dictator’s persona in a sonnet to explore linguistic violence; Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”) uses an ironic, anti-Petrarchan persona; Natasha Trethewey’s persona sonnets give voice to historical figures like mixed-race Civil War soldiers.
Additional Notes
Persona sonnet: A sonnet spoken by a created character rather than the poet; uses the form’s compression to reveal psychological depth or social critique.
Also Known As
Mask fourteen-liner Voice love poem Character sonnet
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