The Speaker

The principal character in this poem, as in most poems, is the speaker. In this case, the speaker is fairly well characterized, although he is not named. The speaker is intelligent, insightful, and has a rich, creative fantasy life. He is also passionately sexual, and appears to delight in both the erotic dream he experienced and the re-telling of the dream in the form of the poem.

Lucia

The only other character mentioned in the poem is the "dainty Lucia" (4). She is the subject of the poet's erotic fantasy. Nothing else is mentioned about her, besides her apparently delicate frame and the implication that she is a "maid," or virgin (19).

Bacchus

Bacchus is alluded to in the poem, though he is not a character per se. Bacchus is the Greco-Roman god of wine and revelry, including sexual openness. Bacchus (known in Greek mythology as Dionysus) was originally...