The Speaker

The conceit of the poem is that the speaker is addressing his lover, though we’re not meant to understand it as an actual spoken or written communication. Other than the fact that he is in love, we know next to nothing about this speaker. This is the conceit upon which the entire poem turns: that the speaker and his betrothed were never really alive until they found each other, and all that came before was just a dream to prepare them for the real deal. Ultimately, it can be said that the speaker and his lover are not two distinct and separate characters, but exist as one, projecting mirror reflections of the other—each only one half of a circle that is only complete when joined together.