The Speaker
The speaker of the poem is very likely the poet, who has written this poem to lament the death of his sister. The poem proceeds as he beautifully describes the sister and delineated the angst that plagues him.
He also contemplates the meaning of death, as he says that the sister is finally at rest. There is peace for her, while his own life is buried under the earth.
The sister
While there is no explicit recognition of "her" as the sister of the poet, the poem is an elegy written in dedication of the sister.
The sister is extensively described throughout the poem. She is glorified, and her former glory is contrasted with her current state, where she has fallen to dust. Indeed, the sister is the heroine of the poem, even though this poem is written in first person, as the poem is written for her and lionizes her.
