The Speaker

The central character of the poem is the speaker, the figure who speaks from the first person perspective to narrate the poem for the audience. In this text, the speaker is a young man who is in love. He speaks compellingly of the nature and depth of that love. He believes himself capable of great patience. However, he is also very aware of the fact that life is only so long. He is constantly conscious of death, longing to make the most of life while he still enjoys it. As such, his primary objective within the scope of the poem is to convince his beloved to succumb to his romantic advances before it is too late for them to enjoy physical pleasure on earth.

The Mistress

The speaker's mistress (in the early modern era, "mistress" simply meant "a female beloved") is a virtuous and beautiful young woman...