Orpheus (Speaker)
The speaker of the poem is Orpheus, a well-known bard and musician in Ancient Greek mythology. He travels to the underworld to try and save his bride Eurydice, who perished from a snake bite on their wedding day. After impressing Hades and his wife Persephone with a song, Orpheus is allowed to bring Eurydice back, on the condition that he does not turn around and look at her as they journey out of the underworld. Unable not to look, Orpheus turns around and in doing so, fails his mission, condemning Eurydice to death. In the poem, he is stuck in an endless loop, remembering his failure to save her.
Eurydice
While not named explicitly in the text, Eurydice is the person to whom the speaker is referring when he says "you." She does appear in the poem, but only as an element of Orpheus's memory. Her death leaves him consumed by guilt.
