Characters & Setting

Who, What, Where and When of Poetry

Chapter 15

In poetry, character is studied as

The interactions of the speaker and the reader

Inner conflicts of the reader Conditions of love, hate, acceptance,

disagreement, etc. The speaker’s commentary on personal,

social & political life.

Setting

Possessions Place they live Periods of time Financial status Includes events & situations as well as

objects and places

Speaker = The “Voice” of the Poem Also called “persona” (latin root=mask) or

narrator Can be the poet’s voice Can be human, animal, man-made, etc.

Inside Speaker

Uses 1st person voice Involved with the poem’s actions

Outside Speaker

Uses 3rd person Objective about actions (descriptive of

action)

Other ways to learn about the speaker Title Diction Grammatical forms Word levels

Listener: the person the speaker is talking to Not the reader Is “inside” the poem May exchange dialogue Speaker/listener relationship creates drama Dramatic monologue: speaker talks directly

to an on-the-spot listener whose reactions may affect the course of the poem

“My Last Duchess”by

Robert Browning

Writing about Character & Setting in Poetry How it differs from writing about characters

in prose– The way you find out about the character is

more through inference– Types of characters—often limited to the

speaker

Use “discovering ideas” to outline your presentations (pg _____)

Strategies for Organizing Ideas

Formulate a central idea that focuses on the speaker’s personality or status– Character as revealed by his actions– Character as revealed by interaction– Character as revealed by circumstance or

setting

Interrelationship of character & external situation