Speaker
The speaker is a third-person voice who does not appear in the poem. Given the similarities in style and content to Dickinson's other work, it is reasonable to assume Dickinson herself is the poem's speaker. She maintains a wistful tone throughout and uses a number of abstractions to explore the idea of summer's passing. Her primary emotions are a mixture of admiration for summer's aesthetic beauty and disappointment at its quiet escape. She is most strongly defined by her awareness of the loss created by the turnover of time. The poem is suffused with a quiet desire for things to remain the same, particularly with regard to holding onto summer days.
Summer
While summer is mentioned in the second line, "she" is fully personified in the latter part of the poem. Shown as a beloved guest at a social gathering, summer is given many signifiers of beauty and elegance by Dickinson. The power of her presence is so strong that the speaker is clearly impacted by her eventual exit. The speaker describes summer slipping away as "her light escape into the beautiful," which suggests both the speaker's sadness at summer's departure as well as "her" radiant grace.
