The Attendant Spirit
A heaven-sent spirit with shapeshifting powers, the Attendant Spirit is tasked by Jove to protect the Lady and her brothers on their journey through the woods, appearing to the characters mostly to offer advice and direction. He does so often through the guise of Thyrsis, one of the family's shepherds (and an allusion to a character in classical poetry). Although otherwise reluctant to return to Earth, which he likens to an animal pen, he believes that it is worth it to protect those who are truly virtuous. He ends the play by summoning Sabrina to release the Lady from Comus's curse and bring the Children home. Before returning to the celestial realm, he encourages all who wish to join him to live virtuously.
Comus
Comus is the masque's titular character and antagonist. He is a sorcerer, and the offspring of the Pagan god Bacchus and the sorceress-nymph Circe. As such, Comus embodies temptation, sin, and debauchery. He has the power to corrupt others by tricking them into drinking a potion that transforms them into beastly characters that flank him throughout the story. When he spies the Lady walking alone in the woods, he believes he can mislead her in a similar fashion. However, the same chastity that attracted Comus to her also prevents him from transforming her like the others in his court. He is eventually dispatched by her brothers, but escapes into the woods. The character of Comus bears a striking resemblance to Milton's Satan as he appears in Paradise Lost and Paradise Regain'd, arguing frequently in favor of personal power rather than devotion to God. He is also, like Satan, a skilled rhetorician, capable of manipulating his speech to better seduce his victims.
The Lady
The Lady is a member of the royal family and endowed with an almost supernatural protection because of her chastity. While traveling to her father's house, she gets separated from her brothers and is discovered by Comus. Her purity entices Comus and he challenges himself to corrupt her and make her sin. Comus deceives her into following him to his palace and he restrains her in an enchanted throne. Despite Comus’s efforts, the Lady remains virtuous, engaging him in an argument about sin and social welfare as she advocates for moderation and chastity. The rejection of Comus's drink symbolically reflects the Lady's rejection of courtly delights and the family's focus on benevolent government.
The Elder Brother
The Lady's brothers initially accompany her to their father's house, but they get lost while looking for food. The Elder Brother speaks philosophically, often drawing on allusions from antiquity to teach his younger brother about the true power of chastity. The Elder Brother is confident and knowledgeable, but does not put his philosophical musings into practice. When the pair encounters the Attendant Spirit, the Elder Brother suggests they arm themselves to take on Comus, an idea the Attendant Spirit rejects outright. Yet, the storming of Comus's palace more closely resembles the Elder Brother's plan, as the two brothers attack Comus and break his glass but ultimately allow him to escape. Thus, the Elder Brother still relies on traditional masculine power structures like weaponry rather than imagining an alternative means of conquering sin and debauchery.
The Second Brother
The Second, or younger brother, acts as the foil to his Elder. He is quick to doubt and fear, is often wrong or ignorant, and is the quieter one of the two. The Second Brother's anxiety over their sister's wellbeing is what allows the Elder Brother to delve into his philosophical musings. The Second Brother is notably impressed by the Elder Brother's words, showcasing the brothers' hypocrisy between speaking philosophically without enacting its principles.
Sabrina
Sabrina is a nymph native to the area summoned by the attendant Spirit to undo Comus's curse. Much like the Lady, Sabrina is described as gentle, innocent, and chaste. The attendant spirit introduces her as a mortal with a tragic past transformed into a river nymph, claiming she is sympathetic to the plight of other chaste women. She responds to the Spirit's song and sprinkles blessed water on the Lady's breast, fingers, lips, and chair. As the Lady rises unrestrained from her seat, Sabrina disappears. Sabrina is also emblematic of an alternative political structure that favors smaller, local government over singular and absolute power—one of Milton's early critiques of the English monarchy to appear in his work.
