# Merope — Poetry character guide

> Merope in Poetry by Matthew Arnold.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Merope Peace, Merope O Aepytus

**First appearance:** 0144-merope

## Snapshot

The mateless queen of Messenia, who has spent years mourning a husband and son and now moves through her own court like a ghost.

## Who they are

Merope is the widow of Cresphontes, living under the roof of the man who killed him, her grief so absolute that Arnold's chorus names her 'the Mateless, the One' whom no bard can read. Her longing and sadness ferment in her breast while she waits for a son she believes dead, and her suspicion of strangers runs hot enough to turn violent. She matters because her unrecognizing love is the engine of the play's central agony: the mother who would avenge her child is the last person able to see him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se/characters/merope
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se/characters