Speaker

[ucef]

Peace be with you, when we find "I" in a poem like "Much have I traveled in the realms of gold" does this mean that the speaker is the poet himself? If so, is it always the speaker when we find "I"? apart from dialogs. thanks

[Raymott]

Peace be with you, when we find "I" in a poem like "Much have I traveled in the realms of gold" does this mean that the speaker is the poet himself? If so, is it always the speaker when we find "I"? apart from dialogs. thanks

No, it's not. One of the first things to learn about first person writing in both poetry and fiction is that the protagonist, the 'I persona', the speaker is not (necessarily) the poet or author.
Of course, it can be - and it's more likely to be in poetry than fiction. But you can't assume that at the outset.