# Christ — Poetry character guide > Christ in Poetry by Oscar Wilde. **Role:** minor **Also known as:** Dear Christ, Lord Christ **First appearance:** 0054-easter-day ## Who they are The central figure of Christianity, invoked in religious poems. ## Relationships ### [The Young Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_young_man) _psychological_ Christ appears as a spiritual figure who challenges and comforts the Young Man, representing divine love and sacrifice. ### [The Warders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/the_warders) _rivalry_ Christ opposes the Warders, who represent earthly authority and punishment, in a spiritual conflict. ## In the story ### [A Lament](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/a-lament) Implied as the divine figure to whom the sufferer draws nearer through sorrow and strife. ### [The True Knowledge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-true-knowledge) Implied as the 'Thou' who knows all, the divine listener in the poem. ### [Lotus Leaves](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/lotus-leaves) Referenced as 'Him' who lies beneath the flowers laid by the speaker, suggesting a burial or memorial. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/iv) The garland is laid where 'He lies,' suggesting a visit to Christ's tomb or a memorial. ### [Eleutheria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/eleutheria) Invoked in 'Sonnet on the Massacre of the Christians in Bulgaria' as a figure whose resurrection is doubted amid persecution. ### [Sonnet to Liberty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/sonnet-to-liberty) Referenced metaphorically as 'These Christs that die upon the barricades,' symbolizing martyrs for liberty. ### [To Milton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/to-milton) Invoked as 'Dear God!' in a rhetorical plea about the state of England. ### [Sonnet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/sonnet) Addressed directly as 'Christ' and 'Son of God' and 'Son of Man'; questioned whether he truly lives or remains in the tomb, and called upon to show his might. ### [Rosa Mystica](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/rosa-mystica) Referenced in 'Sonnet Written in Holy Week at Genoa' and 'Rome Unvisited' as the slain son of Mary and a figure of divine suffering. ### [San Miniato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/san-miniato) Referenced as the Holy One who crowns Mary with love and flame. ### [Sonnet Written in Holy Week at Genoa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/sonnet) Referenced as 'Jesus the son of Mary' who has been slain, and through the imagery of the Cross, the Crown, the Soldiers and the Spear. ### [Rome Unvisited](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/rome-unvisited) Referenced as 'Him who holds the awful keys' and 'the gentle Shepherd of the Fold,' and later as the one who hides His face. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/iii) Referenced as 'Him who holds the awful keys' and 'the gentle Shepherd of the Fold' and 'the only God-anointed King'. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/iv) Referred to as 'Him who now doth hide His face' ### [Urbs Sacra Aeterna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/urbs-sacra-aeterna) Implied through the reference to the 'Holy One' and the 'Church of God'. ### [Sonnet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/sonnet) Addressed as 'Lord' and associated with gentle natural imagery (lilies, vines, sparrows) rather than judgment. ### [Easter Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/easter-day) Recalled as the wandering figure who had no place to rest, in contrast to the Pope's splendor. ### [E Tenebris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/e-tenebris) Implored to reach down and save the speaker from a stormy sea of despair. ### [Humanitad](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/humanitad) Alluded to in the imagery of the smitten mouth, crown of thorns, and crucifixion. ### [On the Sale by Auction of Keats’ Love Letters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/on-the-sale-by-auction-of-keats-love-letters) Alluded to as the 'wretched man' whose garments were gambled for by soldiers. ### [The Sphinx](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-sphinx) Referenced as the 'pallid burden' on the crucifix, the only God who has died. ### [Poems in Prose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/poems-in-prose) Implied figure in 'The Doer of Good' who heals a leper, gives sight to a blind man, forgives a woman's sins, and raises a dead man; also appears as the divine figure with feet of brass and hair like fine wool in 'The Teacher of Wisdom'. ### [The Doer of Good](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-doer-of-good) The central figure who performs miracles and later confronts those he healed about their subsequent lives. ### [The Master](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-master) Referenced as the just man whose deeds the young man has mirrored. ### [The House of Judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-house-of-judgment) Referenced as 'God' in the House of Judgment, judging the man's life. ### [The Teacher of Wisdom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-teacher-of-wisdom) The divine figure with feet of brass and hair like fine wool who appears at the end to grant the hermit perfect love. ### [The Ballad of Reading Gaol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-ballad-of-reading-gaol) Invoked in prayer and as a figure of redemption and mercy for the condemned. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/i) Invoked as 'Dear Christ' in a moment of horror upon learning the man will be hanged. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/iii) Christ is invoked in the line 'Ah! wounds of Christ!' as the prisoners confront the living terrors of their guilt and the execution. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/iv) Christ is invoked as the one who brings His will to light and who came down to save sinners, including the hanged man. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/v) Invoked as the Son of God who sees the maiming of brothers and enters through a broken heart; referenced in the context of the Thief of Paradise and the cleansing of sin. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/vi) Referenced as the one who will call forth the dead, offering a silent hope for the condemned. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/characters/christ - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_18_se/characters