# Poetry — Character guide

> Key figures in Poetry by Oscar Wilde.

- [The Hermit](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_hermit.md): A solitary figure who serves as a narrator or focal character in several poems.
- [The Teacher of Wisdom](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_teacher_of_wisdom.md): A philosophical figure who imparts knowledge and appears in a poem of the same name.
- [The Young Man](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_young_man.md): A youthful character often addressed or referenced in lyrical passages.
- [Queen Venus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/queen_venus.md): The Roman goddess of love, appearing as a character in mythological contexts.
- [Narcissus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/narcissus.md): A mythological youth who falls in love with his own reflection.
- [Anthony](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/anthony.md): A historical or literary figure referenced in the poems.
- [Queen Henrietta Maria](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/queen_henrietta_maria.md): The queen consort of Charles I, appearing as a character in a poem.
- [The Warders](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_warders.md): Guardians or keepers mentioned in the narrative.
- [Athena](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/athena.md): The Greek goddess of wisdom, appearing in mythological references.
- [Byron](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/byron.md): The Romantic poet Lord Byron, referenced as a figure in the poems.
- [Christ](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/christ.md): The central figure of Christianity, invoked in religious poems.
- [Dante](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/dante.md): The Italian poet Dante Alighieri, referenced as a literary figure.
- [Cassandra](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/cassandra.md): A Trojan prophetess cursed to speak true prophecies no one believes.
- [Keats](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/keats.md): The Romantic poet John Keats, referenced in poems about art and love.
- [The Wretched Cyprian](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_wretched_cyprian.md): A sorrowful figure associated with Cyprus, likely Venus in a tragic aspect.
- [Young Hylas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/young_hylas.md): A beautiful youth from Greek myth, companion of Heracles.
- [Gaston de Foix](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/gaston_de_foix.md): A French military commander from the Italian Wars.
- [Helen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/helen.md): Helen of Troy, the legendary beauty whose abduction sparked the Trojan War.
- [Persephone](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/persephone.md): The Greek queen of the underworld, daughter of Demeter.
- [Rosa Mystica](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/rosa_mystica.md): A mystical rose, often a symbol of the Virgin Mary in poetry.
- [Poseidon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/poseidon.md): The Greek god of the sea, appearing in mythological contexts.
- [Joseph of Arimathea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/joseph_of_arimathea.md): The biblical figure who buried Jesus after the crucifixion.
- [Love](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/love.md): The personification of love, addressed as a character in poems.
- [Mary](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/mary.md): The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, referenced in religious poems.
- [Ellen Terry](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/ellen_terry.md): A famous Victorian actress, addressed in a poem.
- [Bassanio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/bassanio.md): A character from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
- [Theodoric](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/theodoric.md): A historical king of the Ostrogoths, referenced in poems.
- [Pan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/pan.md): The Greek god of the wild, shepherds, and rustic music.
- [Dionysos](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/dionysos.md): The Greek god of wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy.
- [Endymion](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/endymion.md): A beautiful youth from Greek myth loved by the moon goddess Selene.
- [Daphnis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/daphnis.md): A Sicilian shepherd from Greek pastoral poetry.
- [Tamburlaine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/tamburlaine.md): A historical conqueror, subject of Christopher Marlowe's play.
- [Death](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/death.md): The personification of death, appearing as a figure in poems.
- [Artemis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/artemis.md): The Greek goddess of the hunt and wilderness.
- [Pallas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/pallas.md): An epithet for the goddess Athena, meaning maiden or warrior.
- [Slander](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/slander.md): The personification of malicious gossip or defamation.
- [The Dryads](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_dryads.md): Tree nymphs from Greek mythology, appearing in pastoral poems.
- [Lear](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/lear.md): The tragic king from Shakespeare's King Lear.
- [Roma](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/roma.md): The personification of the city of Rome.
- [Agamemnon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/agamemnon.md): The king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War.
- [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/apollo.md): The Greek god of music, poetry, and prophecy.
- [Aeschylos](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/aeschylos.md): The ancient Greek playwright, author of the Oresteia.
- [Milton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/milton.md): The English poet John Milton, author of Paradise Lost.
- [Huntress Dian](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/huntress_dian.md): The Roman goddess of the hunt, equivalent to Artemis.
- [Proserpine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/proserpine.md): The Roman queen of the underworld, equivalent to Persephone.
- [Jove](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/jove.md): The Roman king of the gods, equivalent to Zeus.
- [Bacchus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/bacchus.md): The Roman god of wine, equivalent to Dionysos.
- [Old Jeannette](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/old_jeannette.md): An elderly female character mentioned in a poem.
- [Mnemosyne](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/mnemosyne.md): The Greek goddess of memory and mother of the Muses.
- [Faun](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/faun.md): A mythological creature, half-man and half-goat, from Roman myth.
- [Ammon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/ammon.md): An Egyptian deity, often identified with Zeus or Jupiter.
- [Apidanus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/apidanus.md): A river god from Greek mythology, associated with a river in Thessaly.
- [Adonis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/adonis.md): A beautiful youth from Greek myth, loved by Aphrodite.
- [Panthea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/panthea.md): A female character from Greek myth or literature, possibly from Xenophon.
- [Antinous](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/antinous.md): A beautiful youth from Greek myth, lover of the emperor Hadrian.
- [O Melancholy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/o_melancholy.md): The personification of melancholy, addressed in a poem.
- [Eros](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/eros.md): The Greek god of love, equivalent to Cupid.
- [Charmides](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/charmides.md): A beautiful youth from Greek literature, subject of a poem by Wilde.
- [Amaryllis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/amaryllis.md): A stock name for a shepherdess in pastoral poetry.
- [Neptune](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/neptune.md): The Roman god of the sea, equivalent to Poseidon.
- [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/isabella.md): A female character from literature, possibly from Keats or Shakespeare.
- [Beatricé](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/beatrice.md): The beloved of Dante Alighieri, appearing in his works.
- [Sphinx](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/sphinx.md): A mythical creature with a human head and lion's body, from Greek myth.
- [Grave Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/grave_odysseus.md): The cunning hero of Homer's Odyssey, depicted as solemn.
- [Fate](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/fate.md): The personification of destiny or inevitable outcome.
- [Sin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/sin.md): The personification of moral transgression, often in religious contexts.
- [Nilus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/nilus.md): The personification of the Nile River in Egyptian mythology.
- [Reedy Styx Old Charon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/reedy_styx_old_charon.md): The ferryman of the dead across the river Styx in Greek myth.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/characters