The speaker is an ungendered, confident first-person voice who actively refuses to be a passive victim to fear and disorder. Facing years of personal duress, they turn to the structured form of a sonnet to establish control over their circumstances. The speaker assumes a mocking, authoritative attitude toward their adversary, asserting that human fears are simple and weak once properly understood.

Chaos is a personified, masculine entity representing a state of utter confusion and worldly turmoil. Characterized by his associations with floods, fires, and demonic forces, he initially appears terrifying and all-powerful. However, under the strict geometric and poetic confines of the speaker's verse, his true nature is revealed as something simple that only maintains power when misunderstood.

Order is a capitalized, personified entity representing strict parameters and cosmic balance. Acting as the direct opponent to disorder, Order seeps into its adversary to neutralize destructive energies. It provides the firm boundaries necessary to maintain discipline and direction, taking the physical shape of the sonnet's precise iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme.