Final answer:
While a poem's speaker might not be the poet and could be confessing to the reader, claiming the speaker's tone is joyful pride or regretful shame without textual evidence is speculative. The speaker, word choice, and tone shape the narrative voice and influence the emotional experience intended for the reader.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question posed suggests an analysis of a poem's speaker, tone, and audience. Arguments can be made regarding whether the speaker is not the poet, the speaker is confessing, or the audience is the reader. These are all valid possibilities in poetry. However, claiming that the speaker's tone is joyful pride or regretful shame without the context of a specific poem is speculative and would require textual evidence to support either argument.
It is important to note that a poem's speaker acts as a narrator, which might be a persona that the poet creates—they are not necessarily one and the same. Word choice, word order, and tone contribute to the creation of this persona and their connection to the reader. By considering these aspects, one can interpret the speaker’s tone and the intended emotional experience for the reader. Understanding that the audience of a poem often extends beyond the reader to encompass whoever the speaker appears to be addressing can further enrich the interpretation of a poem.