# Hum — Poetry character guide > Hum in Poetry by John Keats. **Role:** minor **Also known as:** gentle Hum, mine, your, you, I **First appearance:** 0051-i ## Who they are A minor character, possibly a servant or comic figure. ## Relationships ### [Saturn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/saturn) _professional_ Hum serves as Saturn's loyal but weary attendant, bound by duty and a sense of inevitable decline. ### [Isabel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/isabel) _friendship_ Hum offers quiet comfort to Isabel, sharing her grief over Saturn's emotional distance. ### [Bertha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/bertha) _friendship_ Bertha shares a warm, confiding friendship with Hum, often discussing the strange events around Saturn. ### [Saturn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/saturn) _professional_ Hum serves as Saturn's loyal but weary attendant, bound by duty and a sense of inevitable decline. ### [Saturn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/saturn) _professional_ Hum serves as Saturn's loyal but weary attendant, bound by duty and a sense of inevitable decline. ### [Bertha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/bertha) _friendship_ Bertha shares a warm, confiding friendship with Hum, often discussing the strange events around Saturn. ### [Bertha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/bertha) _friendship_ Bertha shares a warm, confiding friendship with Hum, often discussing the strange events around Saturn. ### [Isabel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/isabel) _friendship_ Hum offers quiet comfort to Isabel, sharing her grief over Saturn's emotional distance. ## In the story ### [On Hearing the Bag-Pipe and Seeing “The Stranger” Played at Inverary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/on-hearing-the-bag-pipe-and-seeing-the-stranger-played-at-inverary) Addressed as 'Mum' in the final line, representing the speaker's own heart or inner self. ### [The Cap and Bells](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/the-cap-and-bells) Soothsayer summoned by Elfinan via Eban. ### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxi) The soothsayer, recently arrived in the empire, whom the emperor orders Eban to summon. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxii) Hum is the target of the speaker's summons, threatened with dire consequences if he does not comply. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxiii) Old Hum is sought out by the slave for his knowledge of the city's shortcuts. ### [Eban's Arrival at Hum's Hotel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxx) Hum is the proprietor of the hotel Eban visits. ### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxxii) The Swiss servant who responds to the page's question. ### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxxv) Hum speaks about the dog and tells the Swiss not to beat it. ### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xxxvii) Engages in dialogue about the Emperor's condition. ### [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xli) Hum speaks to the Emperor, requesting a drink and then accepting Nantz with a specific preparation. ### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xlii) The sage who responds to the Emperor's pledge by listing various Berthas. ### [XLIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xliii) Hum speaks to the Emperor, revealing his knowledge of the Emperor's love for Bertha Pearl. ### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xliv) Speaker who recounts knowing Bertha since her birth in an Indian wild. ### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xlvi) The courtier who responds with wordplay and suggests the lady is in Canterbury. ### [XLVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/xlviii) Comforts the Emperor and tends to his needs ### [LI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/li) Exclaims to the monarch not to despair, offering reassurance. ### [LIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/liv) Gentle Hum responds to the Emperor's query about the time and offers advice. ### [LV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lv) Speaker who proposes to fetch the lady and advises the king on travel. ### [LIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lix) Hum is addressed and given instructions regarding the book. ### [LXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxi) Opens the window and announces the crowd to the Emperor. ### [LXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxii) Speaker who observes the morning scene and comments on the ambassador's return. ### [LXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxiii) The Emperor Hum is complimented on his poetic style and encouraged to share his verses. ### [LXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxvii) Hum is addressed by Elfinan, who urges not to delay and bids farewell. ### [LXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxix) Hum speaks, noting the Emperor's absence and his own overindulgence in wine, and considers pilfering diamonds. ### [LXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxx) Hum, drunk and unsteady, falls down the stairs and is found dead. ### [LXXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/lxxxviii) Encountered far gone in liquor on the first landing, described as a vile impostor. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/hum - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters