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persona
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Plural:
personae
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literature
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persona

literature
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History

persona, in literature, the person who is understood to be speaking (or thinking or writing) a particular work. The persona is almost invariably distinct from the author; it is the voice chosen by the author for a particular artistic purpose. The persona may be a character in the work or merely an unnamed narrator; but, insofar as the manner and style of expression in the work exhibit taste, prejudice, emotion, or other characteristics of a human personality, the work may be said to be in the voice of a persona.

The term derives from the Latin persona, meaning an actor’s mask, and is thus etymologically related to the term dramatis personae, designating the characters in a drama.