Characters and speaker

The main and only characters in the poem “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats are the speaker and the nightingale, which receives human traits.

The speaker

The speaker or the narrator in the poem can be associated with the persona of John Keats because the poem is said to have been inspired by the poet hearing a nightingale sing during spring in Hampstead.

In the poem, the speaker comes across as very sensitive, experiencing different moods, inspired by the song of the bird. Before he hears the nightingale, he describes himself as being heartbroken and drunk:

“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,” (ll. 1-2)

But, as he hears the nightingale sing, he enters a state of euphoria “being too happy in thine happiness” (l. 6). Further on, the speaker sees himself as an addict. However, though he pretends his addiction to be ...