Speaker

Definition: is the voice in the poem that can be the poet or a imaginary character created by the poet

Example: In the poem, "January" by John Updike the speaker is the poet.
        January
The days are short,
       The sun a spark

Hung thin between
       The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps
        Track the floor,
And parkas pile up
        Near the door.

The river is
        A frozen place
Held still beneath
       The trees' black lace

The sky is low.
       The wind is gray.
The radiator
        Purts all day.

Significance: A speaker of a poem help commmuncates the feelings or messages of the poet to the reader. Sometimes the speaker is hard to tell.