# Unknown — Poetry character guide > Unknown in Poetry by Edward Thomas. **Role:** major **Also known as:** mine, myself, I., himself, Myself **First appearance:** 0000-the-trumpet ## Who they are A restless, self-questioning wanderer who measures love, memory, and home against what poets promised, and finds his own experience stubbornly different. ## In the story ### [The Trumpet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-trumpet) The speaker who calls out to rise and awaken at dawn. ### [The Sign-Post](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-sign-post) The speaker who reads the sign and hears the two voices. ### [Tears](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/tears) The speaker who has no tears left and recalls past moments of beauty and truth. ### [Two Pewits](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/two-pewits) The ghost who wonders why the pewits cry and fly so merrily, observing from a detached, spectral perspective. ### [The Manor Farm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-manor-farm) The speaker who observes the thawing landscape and visits the Manor Farm, reflecting on the timeless stillness. ### [The Owl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-owl) The speaker who descends from the hill and finds refuge at the inn. ### [Swedes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/swedes) The speaker observes the swede pile and draws a comparison to a Pharaoh's tomb. ### [Will You Come?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/will-you-come) The speaker who issues the repeated invitation to ride at night. ### [As the Team’s Head-Brass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/as-the-team-s-head-brass) The speaker who sits on the fallen elm and converses with the ploughman. ### [Thaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/thaw) The speaker observes the thaw from below, unable to see winter's passing directly. ### [Interval](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/interval) The speaker observes the stormy twilight and the woodman's cot, contemplating his own mortality and impermanence. ### [Like the Touch of Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/like-the-touch-of-rain) The speaker who experiences the joy of walking in the storm and the pain of being dismissed. ### [The Path](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-path) The observing narrator who describes the path, the road, and the children's use of the path. ### [The Combe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-combe) The speaker observes the combe and reflects on its ancient darkness and the killing of the badger. ### [If I Should Ever by Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/if-i-should-ever-by-chance) The speaker who imagines buying estates and setting a whimsical rent for his daughter. ### [What Shall I Give?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/what-shall-i-give) The speaker who contemplates what to give his daughter. ### [If I Were to Own](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/if-i-were-to-own) The speaker who imagines owning the land and bargaining with his son. ### [And You, Helen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/and-you-helen) The speaker who addresses Helen and contemplates what gifts to bestow. ### [When First](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/when-first) The speaker who recounts the loss of hope and the final walk down the hill. ### [Head and Bottle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/head-and-bottle) The speaker observes the drinking man and describes his complete absorption in the bottle. ### [After You Speak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/after-you-speak) The speaker who interprets the beloved's words and compares their love to a lark's flight. ### [Sowing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/sowing) The speaker who experiences the perfect sowing day and the gentle rain. ### [When We Two Walked](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/when-we-two-walked) The speaker who recalls walking with a companion and reflects on the nature of their happiness. ### [In Memoriam (Easter, 1915)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/in-memoriam-easter-1915) The speaker who observes the flowers and reflects on the absent soldiers. ### [Fifty Faggots](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/fifty-faggots) The speaker who contemplates the faggots, the passage of time, and the war's end. ### [Early One Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/early-one-morning) The speaker who sets out alone at dawn, reflecting on departure and the past. ### [The Cherry Trees](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-cherry-trees) The speaker observes the cherry trees and the deserted road, reflecting on absence and mortality. ### [It Rains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/it-rains) The speaker walks alone in the orchard, reflecting on past love and present solitude. ### [The Huckster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-huckster) The observer describing the huckster and his wife's laughter. ### [A Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/a-gentleman) The narrator presents the conflicting perspectives on the gentleman. ### [The Bridge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-bridge) The speaker who has come a long way and rests alone on the bridge, remembering old friends. ### [Lob](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/lob) The speaker who encounters the old man in Wiltshire and later returns to seek him. ### [Bright Clouds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/bright-clouds) The observing presence describing the pond, clouds, and reeds. ### [The Clouds That Are So Light](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-clouds-that-are-so-light) The speaker who compares the clouds' shadows to the mark left on a dark heart. ### [Some Eyes Condemn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/some-eyes-condemn) The speaker who observes and reflects on different kinds of eyes, ultimately addressing the beloved. ### [May 23](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/may-23) The speaker observes the fine day and interacts with Jack Noman. ### [The Glory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-glory) The speaker who experiences the glory of the morning and wrestles with feelings of inadequacy and the passage of time. ### [Melancholy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/melancholy) The speaker experiences melancholy, fever, and a preference for solitude over human company. ### [Adlestrop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/adlestrop) The speaker who remembers the unscheduled stop at Adlestrop and describes the scene. ### [The Green Roads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-green-roads) The speaker who observes the forest and reflects on memory and forgetting. ### [The Mill-Pond](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-mill-pond) The speaker who recalls the stormy afternoon at the mill-pond and the encounter with the girl. ### [It Was Upon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/it-was-upon) The speaker who recalls the July evening and the stranger's words after twenty years. ### [Tall Nettles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/tall-nettles) The speaker who observes and appreciates the nettles and the farmyard corner. ### [Haymaking](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/haymaking) The observing consciousness that describes the landscape and the haymaking scene. ### [How at Once](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/how-at-once) The speaker who observes the swift and contemplates the permanence of its return versus the transience of other experiences. ### [Gone, Gone Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/gone-gone-again) The speaker who observes the passage of time and the decay of the house, reflecting on loss and survival. ### [The Sun Used to Shine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-sun-used-to-shine) The speaker who reminisces about walks before the war. ### [October](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/october) The speaker who walks through the October landscape and reflects on happiness and melancholy. ### [The Long Small Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-long-small-room) The speaker who recalls the long small room and his own aging hand. ### [Liberty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/liberty) The speaker stands idle under the moonlight, reflecting on liberty, loss, and a lingering attachment to imperfection. ### [November](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/november) The narrator observes and reflects on the month of November, contrasting the dirty earth with the clean skies. ### [The Sheiling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-sheiling) The narrator observes and describes the sheiling and its relationship with the land. ### [The Gallows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-gallows) The narrator observes and describes the hanged animals on the gallows tree. ### [Birds' Nests](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/birds-nests) The speaker who observes the nests and feels a pang of shame for missing them earlier. ### [Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/rain) The solitary speaker in the hut, reflecting on death and the rain's cleansing power. ### [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/home) The narrator reflects on the journey and the word 'home,' resisting deeper emotion. ### [There's Nothing Like the Sun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/there-s-nothing-like-the-sun) The speaker who meditates on the sun's varied beauty across the seasons. ### [When He Should Laugh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/when-he-should-laugh) The speaker who reflects on wisdom and laughter. ### [An Old Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/an-old-song) The speaker who walks elate by the sea, observes the light bridge, and repeats the old song. ### [The Penny Whistle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-penny-whistle) The observing narrator who reflects on the scene and the unspoken meaning of the whistle. ### [Lights Out](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/lights-out) The speaker who approaches the borders of sleep and chooses to enter the unknown forest alone. ### [Cock-Crow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/cock-crow) The speaker observes the dawn and the cocks crowing. ### [Words](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/words) The speaker who pleads with English words to choose him as their instrument. ### [Words](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/words) The narrator visits The White Horse inn and engages in conversation with the wild girl, observing the landscape and reflecting on the inn's history. ### [I Never Saw That Land Before](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/i-never-saw-that-land-before) The speaker who experiences a profound, one-time connection with an unknown land. ### [The Dark Forest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-dark-forest) The speaker observes the dark forest and the stars, reflecting on the division between inside and outside. ### [Celandine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/celandine) The speaker who mourns and remembers the lost beloved through the celandine flowers. ### [The Ash Grove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-ash-grove) The speaker who wanders the ash grove and later recalls its tranquility with ghostly gladness. ### [Old Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/old-man) The speaker who contemplates the herb Old Man, its names, and the elusive memory it stirs. ### [The Thrush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-thrush) The speaker who observes the thrush and contemplates the meaning of seasons and memory. ### [I Built Myself a House of Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/i-built-myself-a-house-of-glass) The speaker who built the house of glass and now wishes it were broken. ### [February Afternoon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/february-afternoon) The speaker who dreams of a thousand years passing and observes the eternal patterns of birds and war. ### [Digging](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/digging) The speaker who digs and reflects on the clay pipes and the dead soldier. ### [Two Houses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/two-houses) The observer who describes both houses and the haunting presence of the past. ### [The Mill-Water](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-mill-water) The speaker observes the mill-water's sound and its effect on solitude and thought. ### [A Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/a-dream) The dreamer who walks with an old friend and becomes mesmerized by the strange stream. ### [Sedge-Warblers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/sedge-warblers) The speaker who dreams of a lost time and nymph, then turns to the present beauty of the brook and sedge-warblers. ### [Under the Woods](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/under-the-woods) The reflective observer who contrasts the woods' past vitality with its present stillness. ### [What Will They Do?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/what-will-they-do) The speaker contemplates their own mortality and the indifference of the world. ### [To-Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/to-night) The speaker who arranges the meeting and addresses Harry and Kate. ### [A Cat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/a-cat) The speaker who loathes the cat for killing birds and reflects on her life. ### [The Unknown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-unknown) The speaker who yearns for the unknown woman and reflects on her impact. ### [Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/song) The speaker who weeps and sighs over unrequited or paradoxical love. ### [She Dotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/she-dotes) The speaker observing the woman's doting on birds. ### [For These](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/for-these) The speaker who describes the desired land and asks fate for contentment. ### [March the Third](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/march-the-third) The speaker who observes and meditates on the significance of March the third and the birds' singing. ### [The New House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-new-house) The speaker who enters the new house alone and experiences a deep sense of foreboding and age. ### [March](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/march) The speaker endures the cold and finds solace in the thrushes' song, reflecting on the promise of Spring. ### [The Cuckoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-cuckoo) The speaker who cannot hear the cuckoo and is haunted by the memory of a dead man's voice. ### [Over the Hills](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/over-the-hills) The speaker who recalls the past journey and reflects on the impossibility of returning to it. ### [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/home) The speaker returns home and reflects on the deep familiarity of the place. ### [The Hollow Wood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-hollow-wood) The observer describing the scene in the hollow wood. ### [Wind and Mist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/wind-and-mist) The speaker who describes the view and engages with the other man, eventually revealing his own painful past living in the house. ### [The Unknown Bird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-unknown-bird) The speaker who alone hears the unknown bird and is haunted by its song. ### [The Lofty Sky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-lofty-sky) The speaker who desires the lofty sky and feels trapped among the woods. ### [After Rain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/after-rain) The speaker observes the aftermath of rain and the details of the natural scene. ### [Digging](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/digging) The speaker who digs and reflects on the scents and sounds of the earth. ### [But These Things Also](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/but-these-things-also) The speaker observes the subtle signs of spring and reflects on the coexistence of seasons. ### [April](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/april) The speaker who contrasts the beauty of April with a more profound moment of forgiveness. ### [The Barn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-barn) The speaker who contemplates the barn's decay and its parallel to his own life. ### [The Barn and the Down](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-barn-and-the-down) The speaker who observes the barn and the down, reflecting on the illusion of scale and the lesson in perception. ### [The Child on the Cliffs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-child-on-the-cliffs) The mother addressed by the child, present on the cliff with a book. ### [Good Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/good-night) The speaker who observes the sounds of the town and feels a sense of belonging despite being a stranger. ### [The Wasp Trap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-wasp-trap) The speaker observes the moonlight's effect on the wasp trap. ### [July](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/july) The speaker, alone in a boat on a lake, observing the stillness of the July day. ### [A Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/a-tale) The narrator observes the ruined cottage and the natural elements that preserve its story. ### [Parting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/parting) The speaker who contemplates the nature of the Past and the pain of parting. ### [Lovers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/lovers) The narrator describes the scene and the reactions of the two men. ### [That Girl's Clear Eyes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/that-girl-s-clear-eyes) The speaker who observes the girl's clear eyes and reflects on their own sealed nature. ### [The Source](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-source) The observing presence that describes the struggle between air and earth. ### [The Mountain Chapel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-mountain-chapel) The speaker observes the chapel and graveyard, reflecting on the wind's eternal voice and the transience of human life. ### [First Known When Lost](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/first-known-when-lost) The speaker who notices the copse only after it is gone. ### [The Word](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-word) The speaker who has forgotten many things but remembers a single word sung by a thrush. ### [These Things That Poets Said](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/these-things-that-poets-said) The speaker who reflects on love and poetry, and who feels changed by the experience of loving. ### [Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/home) The speaker who longs for an unseen home and grapples with the impossibility of return. ### [Aspens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/aspens) The speaker observes the aspens and reflects on their ceaseless grieving, linking their nature to his own rhymes. ### [An Old Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/an-old-song) The speaker who recalls his youthful trespassing and lifelong attachment to the Lincolnshire song. ### [There Was a Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/there-was-a-time) The speaker reflects on his past youth and strength, his current weakness, and his denial of age in the face of a worthy cause. ### [Ambition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/ambition) The speaker who experiences a rare moment of ambition and omnipotence, then questions its meaning. ### [No One Cares Less Than I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/no-one-cares-less-than-i) The speaker who hears the bugle call and crafts words to it. ### [Roads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/roads) The speaker who loves roads and reflects on their permanence, loneliness, and the company of the dead. ### [This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/this-is-no-case-of-petty-right-or-wrong) The speaker who articulates a nuanced patriotism, rejecting petty partisanship and affirming a deep, almost religious love for England. ### [The Chalk-Pit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-chalk-pit) The first speaker, who is haunted by the emptiness and silence of the chalk-pit and prefers to leave it as a mystery. ### [Health](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/health) The speaker who contrasts the eye's freedom with the body's frailty and meditates on the nature of health and desire. ### [Beauty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/beauty) The speaker who feels tired, angry, and ill at ease, yet finds a fragment of his heart seeking beauty. ### [The New Year](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-new-year) The speaker who meets the old man in the woods on New Year's morning. ### [The Brook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-brook) The speaker who sits by the brook, observing nature and the child. ### [The Other](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-other) The speaker who emerges from the forest and becomes obsessed with finding his double. ### [House and Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/house-and-man) The speaker who remembers the man and his house, observing from the gate. ### [The Gypsy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-gypsy) The narrator who interacts with the Gypsy woman and boy, reflecting on the encounter. ### [Man and Dog](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/man-and-dog) The speaker who encounters the old man on the road and bids him goodnight. ### [A Private](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/a-private) The narrator reflects on the dead ploughman's life and death. ### [Out in the Dark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/out-in-the-dark) The speaker who observes the dark and reflects on the insignificance of light and love before night's might. ### [The Lane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-lane) The speaker who observes the lane and reflects on time and nature. ### [The Watchers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/the-watchers) The observer describing the scene from the inn. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/characters/unknown_narrator - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_5_se/characters