The daughter of the King of Sicily. Adelizia is sunk in melancholy when Prince Sigismund happens upon her and proclaims his undying love for the princess; she curtly dismisses his suit. She is shipwrecked off the coast of Arcadia where the traitor Oswell attempts to rape her. She is rescued by Alexis but allows Oswell to flee, unpunished, into the forest. When she arrives at court, accompanied by the senators Leonardo and Silenus, she willingly takes Sigismund as husband, restoring his sanity and King's Ferdinand's happiness.
ALEXIS
Son of the shepherd Lisippus; his suit for Gisbert's daughter Urania is frustrated when the shepherd installs Lucius (disguised as Lisander) his heir and husband to Urania. He subsequently rescues Adeleizia when she is shipwrecked off Arcadia and Oswell attempts to rape her.
CASTADORA
A disguise adopted by Urania, daughter to the shepherd Gisbert. She uses the disguise to endear herself to the whore Gullman and her daughter Flavia where she is able to observe Lucius' suit for the prostitute. When Lucius' falls on hard times, she comforts him, reveals her true identity, and is reunited with her husband.
CATZO
A fool. He is boon companion to Prince Sigismund. The clown futilely attempts to rouse the prince's melancholic spirits.
CONSTABLE
A non-speaking character. He is summoned by Gullman to arrest Lucius for the murder of her daughter Flavia.
COSMO
A wealthy shepherd, father to the clown Surdo. He entreats Gisbert to consider his son's suit for his daughter Urania and is disappointed when he learns that Urania is betrothed to Lucius (disguised as Lisander). When Lucius discovers that he is again a Lord of Thessaly when Ferdinand is re-enthroned, he promptly sells Cosmo the lands and possession of his erstwhile master and Cosmo's rival.
FERDINAND
King of Thessaly and father to Prince Sigismund. After repelling one attempt by his usurping nephew Oswell to overthrow him, Ferdinand seeks to install his son Sigismund as king but finds him too melancholic to rule. He urges the fool Catzo to revivify the prince but in the meantime entrusts the four senators Vincentio, Silenius, Leonardo and Glistar to "determine the affairs of state," releasing all former traitors, modeling himself on the "good king." When Gisbert fails to find judicial remedy in the senate, the king hears his case, takes pity on him, and appoints him senator, banishing Leonardo and Silenus in the process. However, when Gisbert sentences his daughter Urania and her husband Lucius to death for the murder of Flavia, the king commutes their sentence. His happiness is restored when his son is married to Princess Adelizia of Sicily, an act which restores the prince's sanity.
FLAVIA
A "whore." Daughter to the bawd Gullman, she becomes the object of Lucius' affections. When she discovers that Lucius was previously married to Urania, she promptly rejects him and threatens to have him hanged but is persuaded to conspire temporarily with Urania (disguised as Castadora) to consummate her marriage to her true husband. She is murdered by Lucius after summoning the constable to arrest the adulterer.
GISBERT
A poor shepherd, father of Urania. Despite the suits of Surdo and Alexis, both sons of well-to-do shepherds, Gisbert adopts his exiled servant Lucius (disguised as Lisander) heir and gives him his daughter's hand in marriage. His generosity, however, proves misguided when Lucius discovers on his wedding day that he is again a Lord and promptly leaves Arcadia and sells Gisbert's property to his rival Cosmo. When he pursues Lucius to court, he is promptly rejected and exiled by his former servant. Seeking judicial remedy for the wrongs done to him, Gisbert makes his case in the senate ("the poor man's audience chamber"); but despite the sympathy of the four senators they are unable to provide redress, feeling that sorrow and hardship are the poor man's lot. The old man finally receives justice when he presents his case to King Ferdinand and Prince Sigismund who take pity on the old man and appoints him senator. When Lucius and Urania are arraigned for the murder of Flavia, he sentences the couple to death. The sentence is commuted by King Ferdinand.
GLISTAR
A senator of Thessaly. He along with his three counterparts is entrusted to "determine the affairs of state" by King Ferdinand while the monarch attempts to cure his son, Prince Sigismund, of his melancholic temperament. When Gisbert seeks judicial remedy in the senate for the wrongs done to him and his daughter by Lucius, the four senators sympathize with the shepherd but are unable to provide redress, feeling that sorrow and hardship are the poor man's lot.
GULLMAN
A bawd, and mother to Flavia. She seeks to assist Urania (disguised) in reclaiming her rightful husband Lucius, despite his amorous suit for her daughter. When she realizes that Lucius is already married to Urania, she seeks to have the adulterer arrested and subsequently executed. Lucius kills her daughter and is sentenced to death by the newly-appointed Senator Gisbert but the sentence is commuted by King Ferdinand.
HANGMAN
A "ghost character." He is summoned by Gullman to execute Lucius for the murder of her daughter Flavia.
LEONARDO
A senator of Thessaly. He along with his three counterparts is entrusted to "determine the affairs of state" by King Ferdinand while the monarch attempts to cure his son, Prince Sigismund, of his melancholic temperament. When Gisbert seeks judicial remedy in the senate for the wrongs done to him and his daughter by Lucius, the four senators sympathize with the shepherd but are unable to provide redress, feeling that sorrow and hardship are the poor man's lot. When King Ferdinand is moved by Gisbert's suit, he is banished from the court to Arcadia where he conspires with Oswell only to turn on the traitor when they arrive at King Ferdinand's court.
LISANDER
A disguise assumed by Lucius after fleeing to Arcadia when King Ferdinand is overthrown. Working as a servant to the poor shepherd Gisbert for seven years, the master makes him his heir and gives him his daughter, Urania, in marriage despite the protestations of two competing and neighboring shepherds Alexis and Surdo (sons of Lisippus and Cosmo respectively). He sheds the disguise when Ferdinand reclaims his throne and his wealth and position at court are restored.
LISIPPUS
An honest shepherd, father to Alexis. He entreats Gisbert to consider his son's suit for his daughter Urania and is disappointed when he learns that Urania is betrothed to Lucius (disguised as Lisander). He attempts to mediate between Cosmo and Gisbert but the former rejects his efforts and Gisbert is forced to seek legal remedy in King Ferdinand's court.
LITTIGO
A courtier in Ferdiand's court; he refuses to entertain Gisbert's lawful suit against the newly installed senator Lucius.
LORDS
Attendants of the rebel Oswell in his overthrow of the rightful King Ferdinand of Thessaly.
LUCIUS
A nobleman of Thessaly. He is forced to flee to Arcadia and adopts the identity Lisander when King Ferdinand is overthrown by Oswell. Working as a servant to the poor shepherd Gisbert for seven years, the master makes him his heir and gives him his daughter, Urania, in marriage despite the protestations of two competing and neighboring shepherds Alexis and Surdo (sons of Lisippus and Cosmo respectively). On his wedding day, however, he is informed of the change of power in Thessaly, that he is again a Lord, and his wealth restored. He promptly leaves Arcadia and his wife, dispenses with his disguise as Lisander, and sells Gisbert's possessions to his rival Cosmo. Upon arrival in the Thessalian Court, Lucius renounces his former life, is installed as Senator, claims to have been a crusader for the previous seven years, promptly falls in love with Flavia (daughter of the bawd Gullman), and, in a scene reminiscent of Hal's rejection of Falstaff in 2 Henry IV, dismisses his former master when he comes to court. Fallen on hard times when King Ferdinand and Prince Sigismund entertain Gisbert's accusations against him and Flavia rejects his advances after learning of his previous marriage, Lucius seeks the comfort of Urania (disguised as Castadora). When Gullman and her daughter summon the constable, he murders Flavia and, along with his wife, is sentenced to death by Gisbert (now a senator). The sentence is communted by King Ferdinand when his son Sigismund is united with Princess Adelizia.
JASPERO
A courtier and the object of Flavia's affection; he refuses to entertain Gisbert's lawful suit against the newly installed senator Lucius.
MENALCAS
A messenger of Senator Vincentio. He goes to the shepherd Gisbert informing him of state affairs in Thessaly.
OFFICERS
These two unindividuated characters formally present Lucius in the Senate.
OSWELL
A rebel against the legitimate King Ferdinand of Thessaly. He is banished to Arcadia when Valerio (the King of Sicily) helps to reinstall the rightful monarch. After attempting to rape Valerio's daughter Adelizia, he meets the exiled senators Silenus and Leonardo and conspires with them against Ferdinand to regain his "diadem," using Adelizia as pawn. Silenus and Leonardo turn on their erstwhile ally when they arrive at King Ferdinand's court. In keeping with the generic expectations of tragicomedy, Oswell is not executed but banished from the kingdom.
POSTMAN
This messenger between Valerio, King of Sicily and Ferdinand, King of Thessaly. He brings word of Adelizia's shipwreck and presumed death.
SIGISMUND
Son of Ferdiand, King of Thessaly. When his father seeks to install him king, Sigismind is so utterly melancholic that he is deemed, both by his father and his man Catzo, unfit to rule. He finds temporary reprieve from his sorrow when he meets Princess Adelizia of Sicily and promptly declares his love for her, only to have his suit summarily rejected. When Adelizia arrives at court, after being shipwrecked off Arcadia and pursued by the traitor Oswell, she willingly takes Sigismund as husband, restoring his sanity and the King's happiness.
SILENUS
A senator of Thessaly. He along with his three counterparts is entrusted to "determine the affairs of state" by King Ferdinand while the monarch attempts to cure his son, Prince Sigismund, of his melancholic temperament. When Gisbert seeks judicial remedy in the senate for the wrongs done to him and his daughter by Lucius, the four senators sympathize with the shepherd but are unable to provide redress, feeling that sorrow and hardship are the poor man's lot. When King Ferdinand is moved by Gisbert's suit, he is banished from the court to Arcadia where he conspires with Oswell only to turn on the traitor when they arrive at King Ferdinand's court.
SURDO
Son of the shepherd Lisippus; his suit for Gisbert's daughter Urania is frustrated when the shepherd installs Lucius (disguised as Lisander) as his heir and husband to Urania.
URANIA
Daughter to the shepherd Gisbert. She is pursued by three pastoral suitors: Surdo (son of Cosmo), Alexis (son of Lisippus), and Lucius (disguised as Lisander and a servant to her father). Gisbert adopts Lucius heir and grants him his daughter's hand in marriage. Disguised as Castadora in the presence of Gullman, Urania witnesses Lucius proclaim his love for Flavia (Gullman's daughter) and, immediately after her husband's departure, declare her love for Jaspero. When Lucius' falls on hard times, she comforts him, reveals her true identity, and is reunited with her husband. She is implicated in Lucius' murder of Flavia and, along with her husband, is sentenced to death by Gisbert (now a senator). The sentence is commuted by King Ferdinand when his son Sigismund is reunited with Princess Adelizia.
VALERIO
A "ghost character." The King of Sicily, he assists in re-installing Ferdinand to the throne of Thessaly and provides his daughter in marriage to Prince Sigismund.
VINCENTIO
A senator of Thessaly. He along with his three counterparts is entrusted to "determine the affairs of state" by King Ferdinand while the monarch attempts to cure his son, Prince Sigismund, of his melancholic temperament. When Gisbert seeks judicial remedy in the senate for the wrongs done to him and his daughter by Lucius, the four senators sympathize with the shepherd but are unable to provide redress, feeling that sorrow and hardship are the poor man's lot.