The real-life author of the poem is a prolific artist and writer. His personal life deeply influences his creative output, including a tumultuous romantic history and a long estrangement from his daughter. Later in life, he finds stability with his third wife. He achieves significant popular acclaim for his distinct experimental poetic style and visual art.

The poetic voice of the work is an individual completely devoted to their beloved. They express a deep affection that anchors their existence and gives meaning to their life. Viewing their connection as an epic force comparable to celestial bodies, the speaker maintains a sense of deep intimacy. They feel a profound responsibility to safeguard their partner's heart.

The unnamed addressee of the poem functions as the center of the speaker's universe. The text leaves their identity and physical characteristics unspecified. This ambiguity lets the figure represent romantic, parental, or divine love depending on the reading. Their existence provides the speaker with a profound sense of purpose and grounding connection.

Nancy is Cummings's biological daughter. She is raised in Ireland without knowledge of her true paternity after her mother leaves Cummings. She eventually reunites with him in 1946, seeking an active relationship. Her re-entry into his life brings complex emotions and acts as a potential inspiration for the poem's themes of enduring parental love.

Marion is a photographer and model who becomes Cummings's long-term partner and third wife. They meet through his work for Vanity Fair magazine. She provides him with a committed relationship during his later years. The study guide frames her as a stabilizing presence and a likely romantic inspiration for his love poetry during the 1950s.

Elaine is Cummings's first wife and the mother of his daughter. After only two months of marriage to Cummings, she falls in love with an Irish nobleman and moves away. She deliberately cuts off all contact between Cummings and his child. She raises Nancy in total ignorance of her biological father.

Frank is an Irish nobleman who captures Elaine Orr's affections shortly after her marriage to Cummings. He marries Elaine and actively helps her block Cummings from visiting or maintaining contact with his daughter. He raises the child in Ireland.

Edward is E. E. Cummings's father. He works as a Harvard professor before becoming a Calvinist minister. He actively supports his son's early creative interests in poetry and drawing. He provides an intellectual and religious foundation that influences the poet's later works.

Rebecca is E. E. Cummings's mother. Alongside her husband, she actively fosters her son's creative talents from a very young age. She contributes to a supportive environment where he writes a poem daily throughout his youth.

John is a future novelist and a friend of Cummings from their time at Harvard. The two young men volunteer together in 1916 to serve in the French ambulance corps during World War I.

Anne is Cummings's second wife. They marry in 1929 after his tumultuous first marriage ends. The relationship is relatively brief, and the couple officially divorces by 1932.