Poetry · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Poetry by Matthew Arnold.
Empedocles
major
Also known as Pausanias
A philosopher who debates with Pausanias on the slopes of Etna.
Balder
major
Also known as Balder Dead, Baldur the Good
The beloved Norse god whose death is mourned by all the gods.
Hermod
supporting
Also known as Niord
The swift god who journeys to the underworld to retrieve Balder.
Tristram
major
Also known as Sir Tristram
A knight of the Round Table entangled in a tragic love affair.
Sohrab
major
Also known as The young Sohrab
A young Persian warrior who unknowingly fights his father Rostam.
Rostam
major
Also known as The mighty Rostam, the great Rostam
The legendary Persian hero who slays his son Sohrab in battle.
Aepytus
major
Also known as Merope Aepytus
The son of Merope who returns to avenge his father's murder.
Merope
major
Also known as Merope Peace, Merope O Aepytus
The queen of Messenia who mourns her husband and son.
Arcas
supporting
Also known as Arcas Faithful
A loyal servant who aids Merope and Aepytus.
Iseult
major
Also known as The young surviving Iseult
The Irish princess who loves Tristram and marries King Marc.
Polyphontes
supporting
Also known as Cresphontes, king Polyphontes
The usurper king of Messenia who killed Merope's husband.
Odin
supporting
Also known as Lidskialf Odin
The all-father of the Norse gods who mourns Balder.
Hoder
supporting
Also known as the blind Hoder
The blind god who unwittingly kills Balder with a mistletoe dart.
Hela
supporting
The goddess of the underworld who keeps Balder's soul.
Nanna
minor
Also known as O Nanna
Balder's wife who dies of grief and joins him in the underworld.
Frea
minor
A Norse goddess who mourns Balder's death.
Lok
supporting
Also known as Loki
The trickster god who engineers Balder's death.
Callicles
supporting
Also known as young Callicles
A young poet who sings to Empedocles on Mount Etna.
Vivian
minor
Also known as the fay Vivian
A fairy enchantress who imprisons Merlin.
Merlin
minor
The wizard who is trapped by the fay Vivian.
Marguerite
minor
Also known as the Duchess Marguerite
A noblewoman who appears in a poem of love and loss.
Goethe
minor
The German poet referenced in several poems.
Heine
minor
Also known as Henri Heine
The German poet whose grave is visited in a poem.
Wordsworth
minor
The English poet referenced in a memorial poem.
Obermann
minor
A melancholic figure from Senancour's novel, revisited in verse.
Thyrsis
minor
A shepherd poet mourning the death of his friend Corydon.
Geist
minor
A beloved dog whose death is mourned in a poem.
Matthias
minor
Also known as Poor Matthias
A pet bird whose death is lamented in verse.
Kaiser
minor
Also known as Kaiser Dead
A pet dog whose death is commemorated in a poem.
Saint Brandan
minor
Also known as Brandan
A saint who voyages to find the earthly paradise.
Rachel
minor
Also known as The dying Rachel
A tragic figure from the Bible, mourned in a poem.
Monica
minor
Saint Augustine's mother, depicted in her last prayer.
Arthur Hugh Clough
minor
Also known as Arthur
A poet and friend of Arnold, mourned in Thyrsis.
Senancour
minor
The author of Obermann, referenced in Arnold's poem.
Byron
minor
The Romantic poet, referenced in a poem about Newstead.
Shelley
minor
The Romantic poet, alluded to in a poem.
Dante
minor
The Italian poet, referenced in a poem.
Marc
minor
Also known as King Marc, Marcus
The king of Cornwall who marries Iseult.
Rakhsh
minor
Rostam's faithful and mighty horse.
Gudurz
minor
Also known as the anxious Persians Gudurz
A Persian chief who advises Rostam.
Afrasiab
minor
Also known as King Afrasiab
The king of Turan and enemy of the Persians.
Zal
minor
Rostam's father, a legendary Persian hero.
Hercules
minor
Also known as Great Hercules
The Greek hero, referenced in several poems.
Zeus
minor
The king of the Greek gods, mentioned in poems.
Apollo
minor
Also known as Young Apollo
The Greek god of music and poetry, invoked in verse.
Callisto
minor
Also known as Transform'd Callisto
A nymph transformed into a bear, then a constellation.
Pan
minor
Also known as Pan with Marsyas, Marsyas
The Greek god of the wild, associated with music.
Chiron
minor
The wise centaur who taught heroes.
Tiresias
minor
The blind prophet of Thebes, referenced in a poem.
Prometheus
minor
The Titan who gave fire to humanity, referenced in verse.
Ulysses
minor
The Greek hero of the Odyssey, mentioned in a poem.
Philoctetes
minor
The Greek archer with the bow of Heracles.
Orestes
minor
The son of Agamemnon who avenged his father's murder.
Agamemnon
minor
The king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek forces at Troy.
Pylades
minor
Also known as Ah Pylades
The loyal friend of Orestes in Greek myth.
Electra
minor
The sister of Orestes who helped him avenge their father.
Deianeira
minor
The wife of Heracles who unwittingly caused his death.
Hyllus
minor
The son of Heracles and Deianeira.
Macaria
minor
The daughter of Heracles who sacrificed herself for Athens.
Eurystheus
minor
The king who imposed the twelve labors on Heracles.
The Heracleidae
minor
The descendants of Heracles who sought refuge in Athens.
Laias
minor
Also known as Aepytus Laias, O Aepytus
A friend or ally of Aepytus in the Merope drama.
Temenus
minor
A son of Aristomachus and a Heraclid king.
Cresphontes
minor
The murdered husband of Merope and king of Messenia.
Aristodemus
minor
A Heraclid leader in the conquest of the Peloponnese.
Aristomachus
minor
A Heraclid king and father of Temenus and Cresphontes.
Aegimius
minor
A Dorian king who allied with the Heracleidae.
Echemus
minor
A king of Tegea who fought the Heracleidae.
Tisamenus
minor
A son of Orestes and king of Argos.
Eurysthenes
minor
A son of Aristodemus and a king of Sparta.
Procles
minor
A son of Aristodemus and a king of Sparta.
Neleus
minor
A son of Codrus and founder of Miletus.
Melanthus
minor
A king of Athens who fought the Boeotians.
Cypselus
minor
A tyrant of Corinth mentioned in the historical introduction.
Peisianax
minor
A friend of Empedocles who appears in the poem.
Pausanias
minor
A physician who converses with Empedocles on Etna.
