[These are intended to be read after the poem, not before it.]

ERATO AND MELPOMENE:
In Greek mythology, Erato was the muse of love poetry and Melpomene the muse of tragedy. As such, Erato represents Opal's voice in the poem and Melpomene represents the narrator.

GALATEA:
Ovid wrote in his Metamorphoses about a sculptor named Pygmalion who carved a woman out of ivory, which was so realistic that he fell in love with it. Venus, Roman goddess of love, brought the statue to life for him. Later versions of the story give the statue's name as Galatea. In the poem this represents the relationship between Opal and her clone, and is the major theme of Opal's strand.

NARCISSUS AND ECHO:
In Greek mythology, Echo was a nymph who loved the proud and beautiful Narcissus. But he spurned her and she wasted away until just her voice was left, only able to repeat what others said to her. To punish him, the gods made Narcissus fall in love with his own reflection in Echo's pond. Unable to look away, he also wasted away and became the Narcissus flower. In the poem this is the second representation of the relationship between Opal and her clone, and is the major theme of the narrator's strand. However the ending suggests that Opal is not Narcissus (in love with herself) but Echo (in love with one who is in love with themself).