Poetry · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Poetry by T. S. Eliot.
Unknown Narrator
major
Also known as your, myself
The pervasive first-person voice across many poems, often introspective or observing.
J. Alfred Prufrock
major
A neurotic, middle-aged man who agonizes over social inadequacy and missed opportunities.
Sweeney
supporting
Also known as Agamemnon Apeneck Sweeney, Agamemnon
A brutish, animalistic figure appearing in several poems as a symbol of primal humanity.
Tiresias
supporting
The blind prophet from The Waste Land, who witnesses and unites all the poem's characters.
Stetson
minor
A fellow soldier addressed in The Waste Land, linked to the Punic Wars and resurrection.
Mr. Apollinax
minor
A witty, disruptive houseguest who unsettles a tea party with his laughter and intellect.
Perseus
minor
Mythological hero referenced in juvenilia, slaying Medusa and rescuing Andromeda.
Saint Mary Woolnoth
minor
Also known as Mary, Saint
A church personified in The Waste Land, marking time with a dead sound on the final stroke.
Circe
minor
The enchantress from Homer's Odyssey, appearing in a juvenilia poem as a seductive witch.
Phlebas the Phoenician
minor
Also known as Water Phlebas the Phoenician, Consider Phlebas
A drowned Phoenician sailor whose death is contemplated in The Waste Land.
Goonight Lou
minor
Also known as Goonight
A character in Sweeney Agonistes, part of a vaudeville-style dialogue.
Gérard de Nerval
minor
Also known as myself
The French poet referenced in The Waste Land, walking his lobster on a leash.
Pipit
minor
A young girl addressed in A Cooking Egg, associated with innocence and memory.
Grishkin
minor
A Russian ballerina with a seductive, animalistic presence in Whispers of Immortality.
Mrs. Porter
minor
Mentioned in The Waste Land, associated with a bawdy ballad and spring rain.
Marie
minor
Also known as Goonight May
A woman recalling childhood sledding and reading in The Waste Land's opening.
Michelangelo
minor
The Renaissance artist referenced in The Waste Land, associated with a painting.
Juliet
minor
Shakespeare's tragic heroine, alluded to in The Waste Land and other poems.
Princess Volupine
minor
A decadent socialite in Burbank with a Baedeker, symbolizing cultural decay.
Madame Sosostris
minor
A clairvoyante in The Waste Land who reads tarot cards and warns of death by water.
Dear Mrs. Equitone
minor
A correspondent in The Waste Land, addressed in a letter about spiritualism.
Lil
minor
A woman in The Waste Land whose husband Albert returns from war, discussed in a pub.
Henry Clarke Warren
minor
A Buddhist scholar referenced in The Waste Land, associated with the Buddha's Fire Sermon.
