The listener
This unknown listener is an abstract figure who stands in the snow, looks at the snowy trees, and listens to the wind and leaves. He is likely the "one" referred to in the poem's first line, and is then mentioned more directly in the final stanza. This observer is the one who, if he completely aligns his perception with winter, will understand the nothingness of which he and the landscape form a part.
The Snow Man
The title snow man does not appear in the body of the poem, but may be a figure with whom we are meant to identify the listener, or to whom we can compare the listener. The hypothetical snowman serves as a figure who exemplifies the "mind of winter" that Stevens proposes, who has "been cold a long time."
The speaker
The voice that narrates the poem belongs either to a second person who is abstracted and removed from the scene where the listener is present, or to a disembodied, omniscient poetic narrator.
