The Speaker is a philosophical observer who meditates on mortality and the inevitability of death. Rejecting fearful or conservative Puritanical views of the afterlife, he offers a rational perspective rooted in the natural environment. He studies the interconnectedness of all living things and views death as a great equalizer that unites all of humanity in a shared resting place.

Personified as a maternal, supportive female presence, Nature mirrors human happiness and provides healing sympathy during dark times. She functions as a profound teacher and a repository of wisdom, specifically regarding mortality. Ultimately, she acts as the great equalizer and caretaker, reclaiming human bodies into the earth to mix with the elements. She embodies a specific nineteenth-century ideal: pliant, decorative, supportive, and asking nothing in return.

The Reader represents the human audience, whom the speaker assumes harbors anxieties about death. Addressed directly through apostrophe, the reader receives instructions to seek solace in the outdoors and listen to the environment. The reader stands in for all mortals facing the certainty of the grave.