Kidnapped from West Africa as a child, Phillis lives in colonial Boston where she is enslaved by a wealthy family. She learns Latin and Greek while utilizing the family's extensive library to study classical literature. As the speaker of the poem, she finds profound, momentary freedom in her vivid mind, using it as a psychological refuge from the freezing climate and the harsh conditions of her captivity.

Personified as an "imperial queen," Imagination (often called Fancy) is a mental force that commands the intellect and heart. She flies on powerful wings beyond the physical world to the heavens. Within the speaker's mind, she possesses the power to transform frozen fields into blooming gardens, providing a temporary mental escape from the strictures of daily life.

Personified as a stern entity with "iron bands" and "northern tempests," Winter represents the freezing New England climate. For the speaker, this season operates as an oppressive force that dampens the fires of creativity and forces a return to the cold, restrictive reality of physical displacement.

The matriarch of the Boston family that purchases Phillis at the docks. She grows fond of the quiet girl and permits her to study the Bible, classical mythology, and formal poetry. Though she provides educational tools and a measure of dignity, she legally holds the young poet as property.

The mythological goddess of the dawn. She introduces a "pure stream of light" that ends the night, serving as a metaphor for the inevitable morning that pulls the poet out of her mental refuge.

A figure from Greek mythology. He sleeps in a bed that Aurora leaves when morning breaks, mirroring the sudden end of the speaker's vivid mental escapes.

The mythological goddess of flowers. During the mental springtime summoned by Fancy, she resumes her "fragrant reign" and decorates the barren plains with blooming petals.

The Greek god of the woods. He diffuses his honors throughout the forest within the speaker's mind, covering the bare trees with green leaves despite the physical cold outside.