The speaker serves as the voice of the poem, an individual who deeply observes the environment and recognizes it as charged with divine energy. He looks at the physical world and sees a persistent "freshness deep down things" that survives human interference. However, he watches human society with a deeply pessimistic eye, noting how generations have continuously traded, toiled, and smeared the earth to the point where humanity can no longer feel the soil beneath its feet.

God acts as the central divine figure of the poem, whose presence serves as an electrifying and life-giving force across the earth. His energy manifests in dual ways: as a passionate, rapid flame bursting forth like "shining from shook foil," and as a slow, rich gathering of greatness akin to crushed oil. He provides the hidden spirit and design living inside every natural object, though humanity fails to heed his authority.

The Holy Ghost serves as a revivifying spiritual force at the conclusion of the poem, representing hope and continuous renewal. Pictured as a great, protective bird hovering over the earth, this entity provides care and warmth to a world damaged by human commerce. The active presence of the Holy Ghost guarantees that nature is never permanently depleted.

Humankind acts as the destructive, unfeeling collective force in the poem. Characterized as generations that continuously trudge across the earth, they are entirely consumed by trade, commerce, and monotonous toil. Their repetitive labor strips the environment bare, leaving a permanent smudge and smell on natural spaces, while their artificial shoes physically disconnect them from the earth beneath their feet.