The duke of Ferrara
The speaker of "My Last Duchess." A tyrannical but charming man who has had at least his previous wife put to death for flirtation.
The envoy
The audience of "My Last Duchess." He represents the father of the duke's impending bride, and is there to negotiate terms for the marriage.
Porphyria
The woman who is murdered in "Porphyria's Lover." She seems to be a wealthy woman who has left a society party to see her lover.
Porphyria's Lover
The narrator of "Porphyria's Lover." A seemingly common man who is resentful of how Porphyria will chose society over him, and who kills her to stop that choice from happening.
Brother Lawrence
The hated monk of "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister." There is no evidence he is vindictive, hateful, or impious, though the poem's narrator sees him that way.
Narrator of "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister"
A resentful and petty monk who hates Brother Lawrence presumably for a lack of piety, but probably for less rational reasons.
The beloved
In Browning's love poems, the beloved tends to cause a dilemma for the speaker of that poem. Even in the poems where the speaker's love is pure and unfettered, he usually has some dilemma, either mental or physical, that he must overcome to reach her.
The bishop
The dying clergyman of "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed's Church." A greedy man driven by jealousy and resentment toward his dead rival, and who tries to guilt his sons into building a large tomb.
The bishop's sons
The audience of "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed's Church." If they are actually his sons, they would have to be illegitimate since he is a bishop, though they might also be nephews or younger clergy.
Fra Lippo Lippi
The speaker of "Fra Lippo Lippi." Based on a real Renaissance painter, he is an accomplished naturalist who is nevertheless forced to paint moral subjects by his supervisors. He considers his life a struggle between artistic freedom and worldly compromise.
The prior
Fra Lippo Lippi's supervisor. He represents the pressure on Lippi to paint moral, religious subjects even though the painter has a facility for painting the world as it really looks.
The narrator of "A Toccata of Galuppi's"
A man of science or mathematics who considers the meaning behind Galuppi's music.
Galuppi
Based on a real Venetian composer.
Childe Roland
A questing knight in search of the Dark Tower. He is haunted by memories of failure and impending doom, but committed to his quest nevertheless.
The hoary cripple
He gives Roland directions off the road on his quest for the Dark Tower. An untrustworthy figure whom the knight must trust anyway.
Cuthbert
A friend of Roland's who was shamed for having betrayed his friends in the past.
Giles
A friend of Roland's who was shamed for having betrayed his friends in the past.
Andrea del Sarto
The narrator of "Andrea del Sarto." Based on a real Renaissance painter renowned for creating "faultless" paintings, he considers his life a failure for never having developed the ability to put "soul" into his work like his better known contemporaries do.
Lucrezia
Andrea del Sarto's wife. Seemingly an unfaithful and demanding woman, and one Andrea blames for his failure in life.
Michel Agnolo
The name used by Andrea del Sarto to describe Renaissance painter Michelangelo. A painter renowned for putting "soul" into his art, of whom Andrea is jealous. He once complimented Andrea's talent.
Rafael
The name used by Andrea del Sarto to describe Renaissance painter Raphael. A painter renowned for putting "soul" into his art, of whom Andrea is jealous.
Caliban
The humanoid creature of Shakespeare's The Tempest, used by Browning in "Caliban Upon Setebos." He resents all those who control him and laments the misery of his life.
Setebos
The name Caliban gives to his creator in "Caliban Upon Setebos." By Caliban's estimation, a bored deity who creates and rules his creatures randomly, simply for the sake of it, and from no moral imperative.
Prospero
Caliban's master on the island in "Caliban Upon Setebos." A magician. Taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Miranda
Prospero's daughter in "Caliban Upon Setebos." One of Caliban's masters. Taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Rabbi Ben Ezra
The speaker of "Rabbi Ben Ezra." Based on a real historical theologian, he professes a strong philosophy that we ought use patience in our lives to prepare for later lives.
Pied Piper
The titular character of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." He uses his flute to magically attract any creatures to follow him.
The Mayor
From "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." He promises the Piper payment for ridding the town of rats, then reneges.
The Corporation
In "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," the corporation works with the mayor to promise the Piper payment for ridding the town of rats.
The lame boy
The one child who did not get taken away by the Pied Piper, because he could not keep up. He spends the rest of his life depressed because he was left behind.
The apothecary
The old man and audience in "The Laboratory," who is making the poison.
The narrator of "The Laboratory"
A lady-in-waiting from a nearby court. She has come to the apothecary to buy poison to kill her rivals for a man at court.
Roland
The narrator's horse in "How They Brought the Good News From Ghent to Aix," who survives the journey and is celebrated as he dies.
The narrator of "How They Brought the Good News From Ghent to Aix"
One of three men tasked with bringing important news quickly. He is the only one whose horse survives the journey.
Dirck
One of the three riders in "How They Brought the Good News From Ghent to Aix." His horse falters along the way and he does not make it.
Joris
One of the three riders in "How They Brought the Good News From Ghent to Aix." His horse falters along the way and he does not make it.
The narrator of "Evelyn Hope"
A middle-aged man who speaks to the corpse of Evelyn Hope, of the love he has harbored for her from afar.
Evelyn Hope
A young girl, now dead. She has been loved from afar by the narrator, without knowing anything about it.
The grammarian
The dead man in "A Grammarian's Funeral." He spent his life dedicated to studying grammar, even at the cost of living a normal life.
The narrator of "A Grammarian's Funeral"
A disciple of the grammarian. He leads the charge to bury the grammarian high up in the mountains away from normal life and praises the grammarian's memory and choices.
St. John
The speaker of much of "A Death in the Desert." He professes a philosophy that truth can be compromised in service of greater truth, and that the world has dedicated itself too much to reason when it should be more focused on faith.
Pamphylax
The man to whom the document of "A Death in the Desert" is attributed. If accurate, it means the main text is written by him, even though most of the words are spoken by St. John.
