The Speaker is an intellectual, reflective individual living in the modern age, struggling with unrequited love. He feels disconnected from the active, violent world, preferring abstract contemplation and peace. Despite lacking the courage of epic heroes, he possesses a deep, enduring desire for his romantic interest.

The Beloved is an unnamed woman who possesses an active, elemental nature that contrasts sharply with the speaker's passivity. Her mind is noble and simple as a fire, while her beauty is dangerous and restricted, comparable to a tightened bow. She operates with a severe, solitary sternness that seems to belong to a more heroic, mythological past rather than the contemporary world.

Helen is a mythological figure of legendary beauty from ancient Greek prehistory. As the daughter of Zeus and Leda, her beauty famously sparked the Trojan War. In the context of the poem, she serves as the ultimate symbol of how love and beauty act as catalysts for massive, violent conflict.

The ignorant men represent the contemporary masses whom The Beloved attempts to incite to revolution or street violence. The speaker believes they possess desire but lack the epic courage required to truly follow through on high-minded, violent teachings.