17 pages 34-minute read

Elizabeth Bishop

Insomnia

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1951

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

The speaker is an unnamed individual suffering from insomnia. Experiencing profound feelings of loneliness, the speaker spends the night looking into a mirror and feeling alienated from the normal world. The speaker imagines an inverted reality where deeply held desires might actually be fulfilled.

Key Relationships

Symbolic Foil to The Moon

Harbors Affection for The Unnamed Lover

Personified as a feminine figure, the moon acts as a powerful presence in the night sky. She is depicted as an independent, self-assured daytime sleeper who exists without care or regret. Unlike the inert speaker, the moon possesses the fiery attitude to spurn the universe and find a new place to dwell.

Key Relationships

Symbolic Foil to The Speaker

Supporting Characters

The unnamed lover is the distant figure whom the speaker addresses. This person does not return the speaker's affections in the waking world, existing as a requited partner only within the speaker's imagined, inverted reality.

Key Relationships

Romantic Interest of The Speaker