The Unfortunate Lover
Who is the speaker in the poem, The Unfortunate Lover?
.
.
In most poems, the speaker is also the protagonist of the poem. "The Unfortunate Lover," however, splits these roles into two – the poem is not narrated by the lover to whom the poem's events happen. Instead, the speaker takes a distant, but still sympathetic, approach. He refers to the protagonist as "my poor lover," suggesting a sense of intimacy, even ownership, of his story (11). However, ultimately he is outside it, watching and commenting on the poem's themes.
BookRags