List of Shakespearean characters (A–K)

This is an index of characters appearing in the plays of William Shakespeare. Template:Spoiler NOTE: Characters who exist outside Shakespeare are marked "(hist)" where they are historical, and "(myth)" where they are mythical. Where that annotation is a link (e.g. (hist)), it is a link to the page for the historical or mythical figure. The annotation "(fict)" is only used in entries for the English history plays, and indicates a character who is fictional, not historical.

A

Statue of William Shakespeare, who, according to tradition, played Adam in his own play As You Like It.

• Aaron is an evil moorish character in Titus Andronicus. He incites most of the other evil characters.
• The Abbott of Westminster (fict) supports Richard and the Bishop of Carlisle in Richard II.
• Abhorson is an executioner in Measure for Measure.
• Abram, a Montague servant, fights Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of Romeo and Juliet.
• Adam is a kindly old servant, rumoured to have been played by Shakespeare himself, in As You Like It.
• Adriana is the frequently angry wife of Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors.
• Don Adriano de Armado is an arrogant Spanish braggart in Love's Labour's Lost.
• For Aegeon see Egeon.
• Aemelia is an abbess in The Comedy of Errors. She proves to be the long-lost wife of Aegeon, and the long-lost mother of the Antipholus twins.
• Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (hist) is one of the Triumvers - the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
• Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a foolish knight, and suitor to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
• The Mayor of St. Albans appears briefly in the "Simpcox" episode in Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Duke of Albany is Gonerill's husband in King Lear.
• The Duke of Alençon (hist) is one of the French leaders in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Alexander:
  • Alexander Court (fict) is a soldier in Henry V's army.
  • Alexander Iden (hist) kills Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Alice (fict) gives the French princess Katharine an English lesson in Henry V.
• For Aliena see Celia from As You Like It, who calls herself Aliena while in her self-imposed exile in the Forest of Arden.
• Alonzo is the King of Naples, an enemy to Prospero, in The Tempest. He mourns for his son, Ferdinand, who he believes is drowned.
• Ambassador:
  • Some ambassadors from France present Henry V with a gift of tennis balls, from the Dauphin.
  • Some ambassadors from England bring news that Rozancrantz and Guildenstern are dead, in Hamlet.
• Amiens is a follower of Duke Senior in As You Like It.
• Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a foolish knight, and suitor to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
• Andronicus:
  • Marcus Andronicus is the brother of Titus Andronicus.
  • Titus Andronicus is the central character of Titus Andronicus.
• Angelo:
  • Angelo deputises for the Duke during the latter's absence from Vienna, but proves corrupt, seeking the sexual favours of Isabella, in Measure for Measure.
  • Angelo is a goldsmith who has been commissioned to make a chain by Antipholus of Ephesus, which he delivers to Antipholus of Syracuse in error. Antipholus of Ephesus later refuses to pay for it, causing much consternation, in The Comedy of Errors.
• Angus is a thane in Macbeth.
• Anne:
  • Anne Page is the daughter of Master and Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She loves Fenton, but her father wishes her to marry Slender and her mother wishes her to marry Caius.
  • Lady Anne (hist) is the widow of Prince Edward, wooed by Richard over the corpse of her late father-in-law (Henry VI) in Richard III.
• For Anthony see Antony/Anthony below.
• Antigonus is a courtier of Leontes in The Winter's Tale, who takes the infant Perdita to Bohemia. He famously exits, pursued by a bear, which eats him.
• Antiochus, king of Antioch, is engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. He orders the death of Pericles, who has discovered his secret.
• Antipholus:
  • Antipholus of Ephesus, twin of Antipholus of Syracuse - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Antipholus of Syracuse, twin of Antipholus of Ephesus - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
• Antonio:
  • Antonio is the title character, although not the central character, of The Merchant of Venice. Shylock claims a pound of his flesh.
  • Antonio is the brother of Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Antonio is a sea captain who rescues, and loves, Sebastian in Twelfth Night.
  • Antonio is the brother of Prospero in The Tempest. He conspires with Sebastian to murder Alonzo and Gonzalo.
  • Antonio is Proteus' father, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Antony/Anthony:
  • For Anthony in Romeo and Juliet see Servingmen.
  • Mark Antony (hist) (Often just Antony, and sometimes Marcus Antonius) turns the mob against Caesar's killers and becomes a Triumver in Julius Caesar. His romance with Cleopatra drives the action of Antony and Cleopatra.
• Three Apparitions appear to Macbeth, with prophecies.
• Apothecary is a small but vital role in Romeo and Juliet. He sells Romeo the poison which ends his life.
• Archbishop:
  • Archbishop of Canterbury:
    • The Archbishop of Canterbury (hist) is an important character in the first act of Henry V. He expounds Henry's claim to the French throne.
    • See also Cardinal Bourchier, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time dramatised in Richard III.
  • Archbishop of York:
    • The Archbishop of York (1) (hist) is one of the rebel leaders in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
    • The Archbishop of York (2) (hist) assists Queen Elizabeth and the little Duke of York to obtain sanctuary in Richard III.
• Archidamus is a Bohemian lord in The Winter's Tale.
• The Prince of Arragon is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
• Ariel is a spirit, controlled (but eventually freed) by Prospero in The Tempest.
• Don Adriano de Armado is an arrogant Spanish braggart in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Audrey is a "foul slut" loved by Touchstone in As You Like It.
• Tullus Aufidius, leader of the Volscians, is the arch-enemy, and briefly the ally, of Coriolanus.
• Aumerle (hist) is a companion of Richard in Richard II.
• Autolycus is a rogue, singer, and snapper up of unconsidered trifles in The Winter's Tale.

B

The Ghost of Banquo by Théodore Chassériau.

• Bagot (hist) is a favourite of Richard in Richard II.
• Balthasar:
  • Balthasar is Romeo's servant in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Balthasar is a singer, attending on Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Balthasar is a merchant in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Balthasar is a servant of Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
  • See also Portia in The Merchant of Venice, who takes the name Balthasar in her disguise as a lawyer from Rome.
• Banquo is a captain who, with Macbeth, meets the three witches and hears their prophecies. He is later murdered on Macbeth's orders, but his ghost haunts Macbeth at a feast.
• Baptista Minola is the father of Katherine and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Bardolph:
  • Bardolph (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. In The Merry Wives of Windsor he becomes a drawer for the Host of the Garter. He is hanged for stealing a pax in Henry V.
  • Lord Bardolph (hist) is a nobleman, one of the Percy faction, in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Barnardine is too drunk to consent to be executed, in Measure for Measure.
• Barnardo and Marcellus are soldiers who invite Horatio to see the ghost of Old Hamlet, in Hamlet.
• For Bartholomew, or Barthol'mew, see the Page in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
• Bassanio, loved by Antonio, is the suitor who wins the heart of Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
• Basset (fict) is a follower of the Duke of Somerset, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Bassianus is the younger brother of Saturninus, and is betrothed to Lavinia, in Titus Andronicus.
• Bastard:
  • The Bastard of Orleans (hist) is one of the French leaders in Henry VI, Part 1.
• John Bates (fict) is a soldier in Henry V's army.
• Beadle:
  • A Beadle arrests Doll Tearsheet in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • A Beadle whips Simpcox in Henry VI, Part 2.
• For Beaufort see Bishop of Winchester.
• Beatrice is a central character in Much Ado About Nothing. She falls in love with Benedick.
• For Bedford see Prince John of Lancaster, who was the Duke of Bedford.
• Sir Toby Belch is a drunken knight, and kinsman to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
• Benedick is a central witty character in Much Ado About Nothing. He falls in love with Beatrice.
• Benvolio is a friend and kinsman of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
• Berkeley:
  • Berkeley and Tressell (fict) are the two gentlemen accompanying Lady Anne, and Henry VI's coffin, in Richard III.
  • Lord Berkeley (hist) acts as messenger from York to Bolingbroke, in Richard II.
• Berowne is the notably witty lord of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost. He is thought to be an unfinished character sketch for the later Benedick.
• The Duke of Berry (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
• Bertram is the count of Rousillon in All's Well That Ends Well. He is married, against his will, to Helena.
• Bianca:
  • Bianca is the younger sister of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. She is loved by Gremio and Hortensio, and eventually marries Lucentio.
  • Bianca is a whore or mistress (the text is inconsistent on which she is) to Michael Cassio in Othello.
• Biondello is a servant to Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Bishop (title):
  • The Bishop of Carlisle (hist) supports Richard in Richard II.
  • Bishop of Ely:
    • The Bishop of Ely (1) (hist) conspires with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the opening scene of Henry V.
    • The Bishop of Ely (2) (hist) ultimately shows his opposition to Richard, in Richard III.
  • The Bishop of Winchester (hist) (later "the Cardinal") is the chief enemy of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
• Blunt:
  • Sir James Blunt is a supporter of Richmond in Richard III.
  • Sir John Blunt is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Sir Walter Blunt is a soldier and messenger to the king in Henry IV, Part 1. He is killed by Douglas while wearing the king's armour.
• The Boatswain is a character in the first and last acts of The Tempest.
• Bolingbroke:
  • Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV (hist) leads a revolt against King Richard in Richard II. He is the title character of Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 which chart the rebellions against him by the Percy faction, and his difficult relationship with his eldest son, Hal.
  • Bolingbroke, with Southwell, Jourdain and Hume, are the supernatural conspitators with Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Borachio is a villain, a servant of Don John, in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Nick Bottom is a weaver, one of the mechanicals, in A Midsummer Night's Dream. While rehearsing a play, Puck changes Bottom's head for an ass's head. Titania falls in love with him. He plays Pyramus in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• The Duke of Bourbon (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
• Cardinal Bourchier (hist) delivers the little Duke of York from sanctuary, and into the hands of Richard and Buckingham, in Richard III.
• Boy:
  • Boy (hist) in Richard III is the young son of the murdered Clarence (described in one speech as little Ned Plantagenet).
  • The Boy (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor (in which he is called Robin). He is also a character in Henry V, who goes to war with Pistol , Bardolph and Nym.
  • A boy attends on Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • A boy sings a song to Mariana, in Measure for Measure.
• Boyet, a French lord, is the Princess of France's personal assistant, in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Brabantio is the father of Desdemona, who objects to her marriage to Othello.
• Brackenbury (hist) is the Lieutenant of the Tower of London in Richard III.
• The Duke of Britain (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
• For Brother see Stafford's Brother.
• Brutus:
  • Decius Brutus (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
  • Marcus Brutus (hist) (usually just Brutus) is a central character of Julius Caesar, who conspires against Caesar's life and stabs him.
• Buckingham:
  • The Duke of Buckingham (1) (hist) is a Lancastrian in Henry VI, Part 2. His death is reported in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Duke of Buckingham (2) (hist) is a Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3, and is a co-conspirator with Richard - although he is eventually rejected, then murdered on Richard's orders - in Richard III.
• Bullcalf is nearly pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Burgundy:
  • The Duke of Burgundy (1) (hist) brokers the peace treaty between the kings of France and England in the last act of Henry V.
  • The Duke of Burgundy (2) (hist) fights firstly in alliance with the English, and later in alliance with the French, in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Duke of Burgundy (3) refuses to marry Cordelia without a dowry, in King Lear.
• Bushy (hist) is a favourite of Richard in Richard II.
• Dick the Butcher (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.

C

Claudio, deceived by Don John, accuses Hero by Marcus Stone.

• Jack Cade (hist) leads a proletarian rebellion in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Caesar:
  • Julius Caesar (hist) is the title character of Julius Caesar, an Emperor of Rome who is stabbed in the Capitol, on the Ides of March.
  • Octavius Caesar (hist) is one of the Triumvers - the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
• Caius:
  • Caius Cassius (hist) is a central character in Julius Caesar. He incites the conspiracy against Caesar, and recruits Brutus to the conspirators' ranks.
  • Caius Ligarius (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
  • Caius Marcius Coriolanus is the central character of Coriolanus, who earns the tile "Coriolanus" in recognition of his skill at smiting Volscians in Coriolai.
  • Doctor Caius (hist-ish) is a French doctor in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He challenges Parson Hugh to a duel.
  • See also Earl of Kent.
• Caliban, son of a devil and a witch, is a deformed slave to Prospero in The Tempest.
• Calphurnia (hist) is the wife of Caesar, whose dream predicts her husband's death, in Julius Caesar.
• For Cambio see Lucentio, who calls himself Cambio in his disguise as a schoolmaster.
• The Earl of Cambridge (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Scroop and Grey) in Henry V.
• Camillo is a follower of Leontes, ordered to kill Polixines, but who instead warns Polixines of his danger and becomes his companion, in The Winter's Tale.
• Canterbury:
  • The Archbishop of Canterbury (hist) is an important character in the first act of Henry V. He expounds Henry's claim to the French throne.
  • See also Cardinal Bourchier, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time dramatised in Richard III.
• Capulet:
  • Capulet is Juliet's father in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Lady Capulet is Juliet's mother in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Old Capulet is a minor character - a kinsman of Capulet - in the party scene of Romeo and Juliet.
  • See also Juliet and Tybalt.
• Captain:
  • A Captain survives the shipwreck at the start of Twelfth Night with Viola, and helps her with her disguise.
  • A Captain of the Welsh army brings Richard the bad news that his army, believing him dead, has deserted him, in Richard II.
  • A Captain brings Duncan news of Macbeth and Banquo's victories, in the first act of Macbeth.
  • A Captain attending on Edgar delivers Lear and Cordelia to be hanged in King Lear.
  • A Captain of the Norwegian army meets Hamlet, and explains Fortinbras' mission against the Poles.
  • Several characters hold (or purport to hold) the rank of captain, including Fluellen, Gower, Jamy, Macmorris and Pistol.
  • Several characters are sea captains, including Antonio in Twelfth Night.
• Cardinal:
  • Cardinal Bourchier (hist) delivers the little Duke of York from sanctuary, and into the hands of Richard and Buckingham, in Richard III.
  • See also the Bishop of Winchester, who becomes a Cardinal in the course of Henry VI, Part 1.
• Casca (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar, in Julius Caesar.
• The Bishop of Carlisle (hist) supports Richard in Richard II.
• Michael Cassio is a lieutenant in Othello. Iago persuades Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Othello's wife, Desdemona.
• Caius Cassius (hist) is a central character in Julius Caesar. He incites the conspiracy against Caesar, and recruits Brutus to the conspirators' ranks.
• Catesby (hist) is a double agent - seemingly loyal to Lord Hastings but actually reporting to Buckingham and Richard - in Richard III.
• For Catherine see Katherine.
• Cathness is a thane in Macbeth.
• Simon Catling, Hugh Rebeck and James Soundpost are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
• Celia is Rosalind's companion and cousin, and is daughter to Duke Frederick in As You Like It.
• For Cesario see Viola, who calls herself Cesario in her male disguise, and her brother Sebastian who is sometimes called Cesario, being mistaken for his sister.
• Charles:
  • Charles is a wrestler, defeated by Orlando, in As You Like It.
  • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Emmanuel the Clerk of Chatham (fict) is murdured by Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Lord Chief Justice (hist) is a dramatic foil to Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Chiron and Demetrius, are the two sons of Tamora in Titus Andronicus. They rape and mutilate Lavinia, and are eventually killed and cooked by Titus, who serves them to Tamora to eat.
• Chorus:
  • The Chorus speaks the opening sonnet in Romeo and Juliet, and a further sonnet at the beginning of the second act.
  • The Chorus (fict) is the second most major character, after the king himself, in Henry V. He speaks a lengthy prologue to each of the five acts, and an epilogue.
  • See also Rosalind, Rumour and Time, each of whom act as a chorus in their play.
• Christopher:
  • Christopher Sly is a drunken tinker in the induction toThe Taming of the Shrew. He is gulled into believing he is a lord.
  • Christopher Urswick (hist) is a minor character: a priest acting as messenger for Lord Stanley, in Richard III.
• Metellus Cimber (hist) is one of the conspirators in Julius Caesar.
• Cinna:
  • Cinna (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
  • Cinna is a poet, mistaken for the conspirator Cinna in Julius Caesar. Realising they have the wrong man, the mob "kill him for his bad verses".
• Citizen:
  • Three citizens debate the succession of Edward V, in Richard III.
• Clarence:
  • George, Duke of Clarence (hist) is the younger brother of Edward and the elder brother of Richard in Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III. He is often known as "purjured Clarence", having broken his oath to Warwick and fighting instead for his brother's faction. He is eventually drowned in a butt of malmesy wine.
  • Thomas, Duke of Clarence (hist) is Hal's younger brother, who appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
• Claudio:
  • Claudio is a friend to Benedick and a follower of Don Pedro, in Much Ado About Nothing. He falls in love with Hero but is persuaded, wrongly, that she has been unfaithful.
  • Claudio, brother to Isabella, is sentenced to death for fornication in Measure for Measure.
• King Claudius is the uncle and stepfather of Hamlet. He has murdered his brother Old Hamlet, has taken over his crown, and has married his queen, Gertrude.
• Cleomines is a courtier to Leontes, who, with Dion delivers the oracle from Delphos in The Winter's Tale.
• Emmanuel the Clerk of Chatham (fict) is murdured by Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Clifford:
  • Clifford (sometimes called Young Clifford) (hist) is a staunch Lancastrian, and is the Yorkists most hated enemy — as the killer of Rutland — in Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Old Clifford (hist), father of Clifford, is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Clown:
  • The Clown is the good-natured son of the Old Shepherd, gulled by Autolycus, in The Winter's Tale.
  • For the two Clowns in Hamlet see "Gravedigger".
  • See also Touchstone, who is simply called "Clown" until he reaches the Forest of Arden.
  • Numerous characters are clowns, or are comic characters originally played by the clowns in Shakespeare's company.
  • See also Fool.
• Cobweb is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Sir John Coleville is a rebel captured by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Conrade is a villain, a servant of Don John, in Much Ado About Nothing.
• The Constable of France (hist) leads the French forces in Henry V.
• Cordelia (myth) is the goodly youngest daughter of King Lear. She marries the King of France. At the end of the play she is hanged on Edmund's instructions.
• Corin is a kindly shepherd in As You Like It.
• Caius Marcius Coriolanus is the central character of Coriolanus, who earns the tile "Coriolanus" in recognition of his skill at smiting Volscians in Coriolai.
• Cornelius and Voltemand are two ambassadors from Claudius to the Norwegian court, in Hamlet.
• The Duke of Cornwall is Regan's husband, who puts out Gloucester's eyes, in King Lear.
• Costard is a clown and country bumkin from Love's Labour's Lost.
• Count (title):
  • A number of characters have the title Count, including Claudio (from Much Ado About Nothing) and Paris.
• Countess (title):
  • The Countess of Auvergne tries to entrap Talbot in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Countess of Rousillon is Bertram's mother, and Helena's protector, in All's Well That Ends Well.
  • See also Olivia.
• Alexander Court (fict) is a soldier in Henry V's army.
• Courtesan:
  • A courtesan dines with Antipholus of Ephesus, who finds himself locked out of his own home, in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Several characters are courtesans, or are accused of being courtesans, most notably Cressida from Troilus and Cressida.
• Crab is Launce's dog, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Cressida is one of the titular characters in Troilus and Cressida. The Trojan prince Troilus falls in love with this young daughter of a Trojan defector.
• Curan is minor character, a follower of the Earl of Gloucester, in King Lear.
• Curio is an attendant on Orsino in Twelfth Night.
• Curtis is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Cymbeline, the title character of Cymbeline, is king of the Britons, and father to Imogen, Guiderus and Arviragus.

D

Desdemona by Frederic Leighton

• Dauphin (sometimes Dolphin in older texts):
  • The Dauphin (hist) is Henry V's chief enemy.
  • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Davy (fict) is justice Shallow's servant in Henry IV, Part 2.
• DeBoys:
  • Jaques DeBoys is a brother to Oliver and Orlando in As You Like It.
  • See also Oliver and Orlando from As You Like It, whose surname is also DeBoys.
• Decius Brutus (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
• Demetrius:
  • Demetrius is in love with Hermia at the start of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Later, he loves and marries Helena.
  • Demetrius and Chiron, are the two sons of Tamora in Titus Andronicus. They rape and mutilate Lavinia, and are eventually killed and cooked by Titus, who serves them to Tamora to eat.
• Dennis is a minor character - a servant to Oliver - in As You Like It.
• Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby (hist) is a military leader who ultimately reveals his loyalty to the Richmond faction, in spite of his son being a hostage to Richard, in Richard III.
• Desdemona is Othello's wife. He strangles her, in the mistaken belief that she is unfaithful.
• Dick:
  • Dick the Butcher (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • See also Richard.
• Dion is a courtier to Leontes, who, with Cleomines delivers the oracle from Delphos in The Winter's Tale.
• Doctor (title):
  • A Doctor in Cordelia's train tends the mad King Lear.
  • Doctor Caius (hist-ish) is a French doctor in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He challenges Parson Hugh to a duel.
  • An English Doctor is a minor character in Macbeth.
  • A Scottish Doctor witnesses Lady Macbeth sleepwalking in Macbeth.
  • See also Pinch in The Comedy of Errors, who is sometimes referred to as "Doctor Pinch".
• Dogberry, accompanied by Verges, is a clownish officer of the watch in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Doll Tearsheet (fict) is a whore, who is emotionally involved with Falstaff, and is later arrested for murder in Henry IV, Part 2.
• For Dolphin see Dauphin.
• Don (title):
  • Don John is the bastard brother of Don Pedro, and is the chief villain in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Don Pedro is the prince of Arragon in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Don Adriano de Armado is an arrogant Spanish braggart in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Donalbain (hist) is the second son of Duncan in Macbeth.
• Dorcas and Mopsa are shepherdesses, usually portrayed as rather tarty, in The Winter's Tale.
• Dorset (hist) and Grey (hist), are the two sons of Queen Elizabeth from her first marriage, who are arrested and executed on the orders of Buckingham and Richard in Richard III.
• The Earl of Douglas leads the Scottish rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
• Dromio:
  • Dromio of Ephesus, servant to Antipholus of Ephesus and twin of Dromio of Syracuse - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Dromio of Syracuse, servant to Antipholus of Syracuse and twin of Dromio of Ephesus - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
• Duchess (title):
  • Duchess of Gloucester:
    • The Duchess of Gloucester (hist) is the widow of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. His murder (before the play opens) drives much of the action of Richard II.
    • Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester is the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2, in which she dabbles in witchcraft with disastrous results.
  • Duchess of York:
    • The Duchess of York (1) (hist) is a (partly comic) character in Richard II, who must plead for the life of her son, Aumerle.
    • The Duchess of York (2) (hist) is the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3. She outlives him to mourn the death of two of their sons in Richard III.
• Duke (title):
  • The Duke of Albany is Gonerill's husband in King Lear.
  • The Duke of Alencon is one of the French leaders in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Duke of Arragon is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
  • For Duke of Bedford see Prince John of Lancaster.
  • The Duke of Berry (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
  • The Duke of Bourbon (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
  • The Duke of Britain (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
  • Duke of Buckingham:
    • The Duke of Buckingham (1) (hist) is a Lancastrian in Henry VI, Part 2. His death is reported in Henry VI, Part 3.
    • The Duke of Buckingham (2) (hist) is a Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3, and is a co-conspirator with Richard - although he is eventually rejected, then murdered on Richard's orders - in Richard III.
  • Duke of Burgundy:
    • The Duke of Burgundy (1) (hist) brokers the peace treaty between the kings of France and England in the last act of Henry V.
    • The Duke of Burgundy (2) (hist) fights firstly in alliance with the English, and later in alliance with the French, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Duke of Burgundy (3) refuses to marry Cordelia without a dowry, in King Lear.
  • Duke of Clarence:
    • George, Duke of Clarence (hist) is the younger brother of Edward and the elder brother of Richard in Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III. He is often known as "purjured Clarence", having broken his oath to Warwick and fighting instead for his brother's faction. He is eventually drowned in a butt of malmesy wine.
    • Thomas, Duke of Clarence (hist)is Hal's younger brother, who appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
  • The Duke of Cornwall is Regan's husband, who puts out Gloucester's eyes, in King Lear.
  • Duke of Exeter:
    • The Duke of Exeter (1) (hist) is an uncle of Henry V. He acts as emissary to the French King in Henry V. He has a more choric role in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Duke of Exeter (2) (hist) is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Duke Frederick is the villain (the usurper of Duke Senior) in As You Like It.
  • Duke of Gloucester:
    • Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (hist) appears as a brother of Hal in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. He is a much more important character as the protector in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2, in which he is murdered by his rivals.
    • Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III (hist), brave but evil, is the third son of Richard, Duke of York (1). He is a fairly minor character in Henry VI, Part 2, is more prominent in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the title character - and murderer of many other characters - in Richard III.
    • See also Earl of Gloucester.
  • Duke of Lancaster:
    • John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hist), uncle to King Richard and father to Bolingbroke, dies in Richard II, having delivered his famous "This sceptred isle..." speech.
    • See also Bolingbroke, son to John of Gaunt, who claims the dukedom of Lancaster on his father's death.
  • The Duke of Milan is patron to both Valentine and Proteus, and is the father of Silvia, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
  • Duke of Norfolk:
    • The Duke of Norfolk (hist) is a supporter of the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III.
    • Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (hist) is Bolingbroke's enemy, exiled by Richard, in Richard II.
  • The Duke of Orleans (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
  • Duke Senior is the father of Rosalind. He is the true duke, and has been usurped by his brother, Duke Frederick, at the start of As You Like It.
  • Duke of Somerset:
    • The Duke of Somerset (1) (hist) is a follwer of King Henry in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Duke of Somerset (2) (hist) appears among the Lancastrian faction in Henry VI, Part 2. His head is carried onstage by Richard (later Richard III) in the opening scene of Henry VI, Part 3.
    • The Duke of Somerset (3) (hist and hist) is a conflation by Shakespeare of two historical Dukes of Somerset. He supports both factions at different stages of Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Duke of Suffolk (William de la Pole) (hist) is a manipulative character, loved by Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
  • The Duke of Surrey (hist) accuses Aumerle of plotting Woodstock's death in Richard II).
  • The Duke of Venice tries the case between Shylock and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice.
  • For Duke of Vienna see Vincentio in Measure for Measure.
  • Duke of York:
    • The Duke of York (1) (hist) is the uncle of both Richard and Bolingbroke in Richard II.
    • The Duke of York (2) (hist) is a minor character, the leader of the "vaward" in Henry V. (TRIVIA: Historically this character is one and the same person as Aumerle.)
    • Richard, Duke of York (1) (hist) is a central character in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3. He is the Yorkist claimant to the throne of England, in opposition to Henry VI, and he is eventually killed on the orders of Queen Margaret.
    • Richard, Duke of York (2) (hist) is the younger of the two princes in the tower, murdered on the orders of Richard in Richard III.
  • For The Duke in Measure for Measure, see Vincentio.
  • Numerous characters are Dukes, including Antonio (from The Tempest), Orsino, Prospero, Solinus, Theseus and Vincentio (from Measure for Measure).
• Dull is a constable in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Dumaine, with Berowne and Longaville, is one of the three companions of The King of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Duncan (hist) is the king of Scotland, murdered by Macbeth.

E

File:Edward4.JPG

The historical Edward IV, a character in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Richard III.

• Earl (title):
  • Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby (hist) is a military leader who ultimately reveals his loyalty to the Richmond faction, in spite of his son being a hostage to Richard, in Richard III.
  • The Earl of Douglas leads the Scottish rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • The Earl of Cambridge (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Scroop and Grey) in Henry V.
  • The Earl of Gloucester is the father of Edgar and Edmund, who has his eyes put out by the Duke of Cornwall, in King Lear.
  • The Earl of Grandpre (fict?), a French leader, makes an unduly optimistic speech on the morning of Agincourt, in Henry V.
  • The Earl of Huntingdon (hist) is a non-speaking follower of the king in Henry V.
  • The Earl of Kent is a follower of King Lear who evades banishment by disguising himself as a servant, and calling himself Caius.
  • Earl of Northumberland:
    • The Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, (hist) is an important character in Richard II), where he is Bolingbroke's chief ally, and in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, in which he leads the rebellion against his former ally, who is now king.
    • The Earl of Northumberland (hist) fights for the Lancastrians in Henry VI, Part 3.
    • See also Seyward in Macbeth.
  • The Earl of Oxford (hist) is a staunch Lancastrian, supporting Henry in Henry VI, Part 3, and Richmond in Richard III.
  • The Earl of Pembroke (hist) is a non-speaking Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII (hist) leads the rebellion against the cruel rule of Richard III, and eventually succeeds him as king.
  • Earl Rivers (hist), is the brother to Queen Elizabeth in Richard III. He is arrested and executed on the orders of Richard and Buckingham.
  • Earl of Salisbury:
    • The Earl of Salisbury (1) (hist) remains loyal to King Richard in Richard II.
    • The Earl of Salisbury (2) (hist) fights for the king in Henry V. He is killed by the Master Gunner's Boy in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Earl of Salisbury (3) (hist) supports the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • The Earl of Surrey is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Earl of Warwick:
    • The Earl of Warwick (1) (hist) is a supporter of the kings in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
    • The Earl of Warwick (2) (hist) is an important player in the Wars of the Roses, firstly for the Yorkist party, and then for the Lancastrians. He appears in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Earl of Westmoreland:
    • The Earl of Westmoreland (1) (hist) is one of the leaders of the royal forces in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
    • The Earl of Westmoreland (2) (hist) fights for King Henry in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Earl of Worcester (hist) is the brother of the Earl of Northumberland, and a leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
• Edgar is the worthy, legitimate son of Gloucester in King Lear. He disguises himself as "Poor Tom".
• Edmund:
  • Edmund is the bastard son of Gloucester, and the most calculating of the villains, in King Lear.
  • Edmund Mortimer (1) (hist) is a claimant to the English throne, and a leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Edmund Mortimer (2) (hist) explains the Yorkist claim to the crown to Richard Duke of York (1), in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Edward:
  • Edward later King Edward IV (hist) is the eldest son of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, part 2 and Henry VI, part 3 - in which he becomes king. He dies in Richard III.
  • Prince Edward:
    • Prince Edward (hist) is the son of Henry VI, who joins his mother Queen Margaret as a leader of the Lancastrian forces in Henry VI, Part 3. He is killed by the three Yorks (Edward, George and Richard).
    • Prince Edward of York later King Edward V (hist) is the eldest son of Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth. He appears in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the elder of the two princes in the tower in Richard III.
  • See also Ned.
• Egeon is a merchant from Syracuse, father of the Antipholus twins in The Comedy of Errors. He is under Solinus's sentence of death unless he can pay a thousand marks' fine.
• Egeus is the father of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He wishes to have her married, against her will, to Demetrius.
• Sir Eglamour assists Silvia's escape from her father's palace, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Elbow is a dim-witted constable in Measure for Measure.
• Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester is the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2, in which she dabbles in witchcraft with disastrous results.
• Elizabeth:
  • Queen Elizabeth (hist) is a suitor to, and then queen to, Edward IV in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III. She is a major character in the later play, and a foil to Richard.
• Ely:
  • The Bishop of Ely (1) (hist) conspires with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the opening scene of Henry V.
  • The Bishop of Ely (2) (hist) ultimately shows his opposition to Richard, in Richard III.
• Emmanuel the Clerk of Chatham (fict) is murdured by Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Emilia:
  • Emilia is the wife of Iago in Othello. She steals Desdemona's handkerchief for Iago. At the end of the play - too late to save Desdemona - she realises Iago's villainy, and exposes him, but is then murdered by him.
  • Emilia is a lady attending on Hermione, both at court and in prison, in The Winter's Tale.
  • See also Aemilia.
• An English Doctor is a minor character in Macbeth.
• Ephesus:
  • Antipholus of Ephesus, twin of Antipholus of Syracuse - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Dromio of Ephesus, servant to Antipholus of Ephesus and twin of Dromio of Syracuse - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • See also Solinus, who is Duke of Ephesus.
• Sir Thomas Erpingham (hist) is an officer in Henry V's army.
• Escalus:
  • Escalus, Prince of Verona tries to keep the peace between Montague and Capulet, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Escalus is a lord involved in the government of Vienna, in Measure for Measure.
• Exeter:
  • The Duke of Exeter (1) (hist) is an uncle of Henry V. He acts as emissary to the French King in Henry V. He has a more choric role in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Duke of Exeter (2) (hist) is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Sir Piers of Exton (fict) murders the deposed King Richard in Richard II.

F

Falstaff by Eduard von Grützner

• Fabian is a servant to Olivia, and one of the conspirators against Malvolio, in Twelfth Night.
• A Fairy flirts with Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Sir John Falstaff (fict, but see Sir John Oldcastle and Sir John Fastolfe) is a central character of Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the Henry plays, he is "bad angel" to prince Hal, and is eventually rejected by him. He is the lecherous gull of the title characters in Merry Wives. His death is reported in Henry V, although he is not a character in that play. He is (with Hamlet) one of the two most significant roles in Shakespeare.
• Fang is a constable in Henry IV, part 2.
• Sir John Fastolfe (hist) is a coward, stripped of his garter in Henry VI, Part 1.
• A Father who has killed his son at the Battle of Towton appears in Henry VI, Part 3. See also Son.
• Feeble is pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Ferdinand:
  • Ferdinand is the only son of Alonzo (King of Naples) in The Tempest. Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, and his love is tested by Prospero.
  • See also King of Navarre, whose first name is Ferdinand.
• Fenton is a suitor to Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Feste is the clown and musician in Twelfth Night: a foil for Malvolio.
• For "First...", see entries under the rest of the character's designation (e.g. Murderer for First Murderer, Player for First Player, etc.).
• Lord Fitzwalter (hist) is among those who challenges Aumerle in Richard II.
• Fleance is the son of Banquo in Macbeth. He escapes when his father is murdered.
• Florizel is the son of Polixines, and therefore prince of Bohemia, in The Winter's Tale. He elopes with Perdita when his father prevents their marriage.
• The Fool is a recurring (though not continuous) character throughout the canon:
  • The Fool serves as a foil for the King in King Lear.
  • See also Feste, Touchstone.
• Fluellen (fict) is a Welsh captain in Henry V.
• Francis Flute is a bellows-mender in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays Thisbe in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• Ford:
  • Master Ford is a central character in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He suspects his wife of infidelity with Sir John Falstaff. He tests Falstaff in disguise, calling himself Master Brook.
  • Mistress Ford, wife of Master Ford, is a title character of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She pretends to accept Falstaff's overtures of love to her.
• A Forester, a minor character, accompanies the Princess and her ladies in waiting on a shooting expedition in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Fortinbras is a prince of Norway in Hamlet. He is a peripheral figure throughout the play, but arrives to take over the throne of Denmark after the death of the Danish royal family in the final act.
• France:
  • The Constable of France (hist) leads the French forces in Henry V.
  • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The King of France (myth) is the husband of Cordelia in King Lear.
    • The King of France is cured by Helena, and in recompense he agrees to order Bertram to marry her, in All's Well That Ends Well.
  • The King of France (hist) is Henry V's enemy.
  • King Lewis XI of France (hist), insulted by Edward IV's marriage to Lady Grey, allies himself with Warwick and Margaret in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Princess of France leads a diplomatic mission to Navarre and becomes romantically entangled with the King, in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • The Queen of France (hist) appears in the last act of Henry V.
• Francis:
  • Francis is a confused drawer in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Francis Flute is a bellows-mender in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays Thisbe in Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • Friar Francis presides at the aborted marriage ceremony for Hero and Claudio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Francisca is a nun, senior to Isabella, in Measure for Measure.
• Francisco is a soldier on watch at Elsinore, who appears briefly in the opening moments of Hamlet.
• Duke Frederick is the villain (the usurper of Duke Senior) in As You Like It.
• Friar (title):
  • Friar Francis presides at the aborted marriage ceremony for Hero and Claudio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Friar John is a minor character, who is unable to deliver a crucial letter from Friar Laurence to Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Friar Laurence is confessor and confidante to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. He instigates the unsuccessful plot involving the potion drunk by Juliet.
  • Friar Peter assists Isabella and Mariana in the final act of Measure for Measure.
  • Friar Thomas leads an order of friars, and assists Vincentio to disguise himself as a friar, in Measure for Measure.
  • For The Friar or Friar Lodowick in Measure for Measure, see Vincentio.
• Froth is a foolish gentleman, among those arrested and brought before Angelo by Elbow, in Measure for Measure.

G

• Gadshill (fict) is the "setter" of the Gadshill robbery in Henry IV, Part 1.
• A Gaoler has custody of Egeon in The Comedy of Errors.
• For Ganymede see Rosalind.
• A gardener (with his men) encounters Queen Isabel in Richard II.
• Two gardener's men, with the gardener, encounter Queen Isabel in Richard II.
• Gargrave (fict) fights for the English in France in Henry VI, Part 1.
• The Host of the Garter is the practical-joking innkeeper in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hist), uncle to King Richard and father to Bolingbroke, dies in Richard II, having delivered his famous "This sceptred isle..." speech.
• Gentleman:
  • A gentleman discusses the plight of mad Ophelia with Horatio in Hamlet.
  • Two gentlemen (fict) are ransomed for a thousand crowns each in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • A number of gentlemen (possibly three, although it impossible to know for certain how Shakespeare intended them to be doubled) are speaking roles in King Lear.
• A Gentlewoman attending on Lady Macbeth witnesses her sleepwalking, with the Scottish Doctor, in Macbeth.
• George:
  • George (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • George, Duke of Clarence (hist) is the younger brother of Edward and the elder brother of Richard in Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III. He is often known as "purjured Clarence", having broken his oath to Warwick and fighting instead for his brother's faction. He is eventually drowned in a butt of malmesy wine.
• Queen Gertrude is Hamlet's mother. She has married Claudius.
• Ghost. The following characters appear as Ghosts. See the entries under their character name:
  • Banquo
  • Hermione
  • Old Hamlet
  • and in Richard III:
    • Dorset
    • The Duke of Buckingham (2)
    • Earl Rivers
    • George, Duke of Clarence
    • Grey
    • Henry VI
    • Lady Anne
    • Lord Hastings
    • Prince Edward
    • Prince Edward of York
    • Richard Duke of York (2)
• Girl:
  • Girl (hist) in Richard III is the young daughter of the murdered Clarence.
• Glansdale (fict) fights for the English in France in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Owen Glendower (hist), a warrior and magician who tries the patience of Hotspur, leads the Welsh forces in the rebellion in Henry IV, Part 1.
• Gloucester:
  • The Earl of Gloucester is the father of Edgar and Edmund, who has his eyes put out by the Duke of Cornwall, in King Lear.
  • Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester is the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2, in which she dabbles in witchcraft with disastrous results.
  • Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (hist) appears as a brother of Hal in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. He is a much more important character as the protector in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2, in which he is murdered by his rivals.
  • Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III (hist), brave but evil, is the third son of Richard, Duke of York (1). He is a fairly minor character in Henry VI, Part 2, is more prominent in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the title character - and murderer of many other characters - in Richard III.
• Gobbo:
  • Launcelot Gobbo is a clown in The Merchant of Venice, a servant to Shylock, and later to Lorenzo.
  • Old Gobbo, the blind old father of Launcelot Gobbo, is a clown in The Merchant of Venice.
• Gonerill is the cruel eldest daughter of King Lear. She is married to the Duke of Albany.
• Gonzalo is a courtier to Alonzo in The Tempest.
• For Robin Goodfellow see Puck.
• Matthew Gough (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Governor of Harfleur (hist) surrenders to Henry V.
• Gower:
  • Gower (fict) is a messenger to the Lord Chief Justice in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Gower (fict) is an English captain in Henry V.
• The Earl of Grandpre (fict?), a French leader, makes an unduly optimistic speech on the morning of Agincourt, in Henry V.
• Gratiano is a hot-headed friend of Antonio and Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice. He marries Narissa.
• Gravedigger. The First Gravedigger and the Second Gravedigger are clowns in Hamlet. Hamlet's conversation with the First Gravedigger over Yorick's skull is the most famous scene in Shakespeare.
• Green (hist) is a favourite of Richard in Richard II.
• Gregory and Sampson, two men of the Capulet household, open the main action of Romeo and Juliet with their aggressive and lecherous banter.
• Gremio is an elderly suitor to Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Grey:
  • Grey (hist) and Dorset (hist) are the two sons of Queen Elizabeth from her first marriage, who are arrested and executed on the orders of Buckingham and Richard in Richard III.
  • Sir Thomas Grey (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Cambridge and Scroop) in Henry V.
  • For Lady Grey see Queen Elizabeth.
• A groom of the King's stable (fict) visits the imprisoned Richard at Pontefract in Richard II.
• Grumio is a servant to Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Guildenstern and Rozencrantz are two former friends of Hamlet, invited to the Danish court to spy on him. They eventually accompany Hamlet towards England, but he escapes while they continue with the journey, to their deaths.

H

Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Hamlet in Grigori Kozintsev's 1963 film.

• A Haberdasher is verbally abused by Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Hal, later King Henry V (sometimes called The Prince of Wales, Prince Henry or just Harry) (hist) is a central character in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 and is the title character of Henry V. He has a closer relationship with Falstaff than with his father (Henry IV), but he eventually ascends the throne, rejects Falstaff, and leads the English to victory at Agincourt.
• Hamlet:
  • Hamlet is the central character of the play with the same name. He is a prince of Denmark, called on to avenge his father's (Old Hamlet's) murder by Claudius.
  • Old Hamlet is the father of Hamlet. His ghost appears to exhort Hamlet to revenge Old Hamlet's murder by Claudius.
• Harcourt is a messenger to the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
• The Governor of Harfleur (hist) surrenders to Henry V.
• Harry:
  • Hotspur or Harry Percy (hist), brave and chivalrous but hot-headed and sometimes comical, is an important foil to Hal, and leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • See also Hal, Bolingbroke.
  • See also "Henry".
• Hastings:
  • Hastings Pursuivant is a minor character who meets his namesake, Lord Hastings, in Richard III.
  • Lord Hastings (hist) is the prime minister, beheaded on Richard's orders in Richard III.
• For Hecat see Hecate.
• Hecate is a leader of the witches in Macbeth.
• Helena:
  • Helena, the ward of the Countess of Rousillon, is the central character of All's Well That Ends Well. She is married to Bertram against his will, but she eventually wins his love.
  • Helena, formerly loved by Demetrius, has been rejected by him at the start of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Henry:
  • Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV (hist) leads a revolt against King Richard in Richard II. He is the title character of Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 which chart the rebellions against him by the Percy faction, and his difficult relationship with his eldest son, Hal.
  • Hal, later King Henry V (sometimes called The Prince of Wales, Prince Henry or just Harry) (hist) is a central character in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 and is the title character of Henry V. He has a closer relationship with Falstaff than with his father (Henry IV), but he eventually ascends the throne, rejects Falstaff, and leads the English to victory at Agincourt.
  • King Henry VI (hist), the title character of Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3, is a weak and ineffectual king, and the plays chart the rebellions against him, leading to his overthrow and murder.
  • The Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII (hist) leads the rebellion against the cruel rule of Richard III, and eventually succeeds him as king.
  • The Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, (hist) is an important character in Richard II, where he is Bolingbroke's chief ally, and in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, in which he leads the rebellion against his former ally, who is now king.
  • See also Hotspur (whose real name is Henry Percy).
  • See also "Harry"
• A Herald calls for a champion to face Edmund in King Lear.
• Sir Walter Herbert is a follower of Richmond in Richard III.
• Hermia loves Lysander, and is loved by Demetrius, at the start of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Hermione is the wife of Leontes in A Winter's Tale. She suffers as a result of his mistaken belief in her infidelity. At the end of the play she appears to return from the dead, having appeared as a statue.
• Hero falls in love with Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing. She is wronged by Don John and Borachio, and is abandoned at the altar, and left for dead, by Claudio.
• Hippolyta (myth) is a leader of the Amazons, and is betrothed to Theseus at the start of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Holofernes is a pedantic schoolmaster in Love's Labour's Lost. He plays Judas Maccabaeus in the Pageant of the Nine Worthies.
• Horatio is a student, and a friend and confidante of Hamlet.
• Thomas Horner (fict) fights a duel with his apprentice Peter Thump in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Hortensio is a friend to Petruchio and suitor to Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew. He disguises himself as a music teacher in order to pursue Bianca, but ultimately loses her and marries a rich widow.
• Host:
  • The Host of the Garter is the practical-joking innkeeper in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
  • The Host of Julia's lodgings brings the disguised Julia into Proteus' company, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Hostess:
  • The Hostess of an alehouse throws out the unruly Sly, amidst an argument about broken glasses in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
  • See also Mistress Quickly, who is often referred to as "hostess".
• Hotspur or Harry Percy (hist), brave and chivalrous but hot-headed and sometimes comical, is an important foil to Hal, and leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
• Hugh:
  • Hugh Rebeck, Simon Catling and James Soundpost are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Parson Hugh is a Welsh priest in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is challenged to a duel by Caius. He plays a fairy in the final act.
  • Sir Hugh Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Hume, with Southwell, Jourdain and Bolingbroke, are the supernatural conspitators with Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (hist) appears as a brother of Hal in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. He is a much more important character as the protector in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2, in which he is murdered by his rivals.
• The Earl of Huntingdon (hist) is a non-speaking follower of the king in Henry V.
• Several Huntsmen, two of whom are speaking roles, accompany the Lord in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
• Hymen (myth), the Greek god of marriage, is a character in As You Like It.

I

• Iachimo is a villain in Cymbeline. He persuades Posthumus, wrongly, that he has slept with Posthumus' wife, Imogen.
• Iago is the villain (and the main character, measured by the number of lines spoken) of Othello.
• Alexander Iden (hist) kills Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Imogen is the daughter of Cymbeline. Her husband, Posthumus, wrongly believes she has been unfaithful and orders her killed.
• Isabel/Isabella:
  • Isabella (sometines addressed as Isabel) is the virtuous central female character in Measure for Measure: a novice nun who pleads to Angelo for the life of her brother Claudio.
  • Queen Isabel (hist) is Richard II's queen, exiled upon his deposition.

J

• Jack:
  • Jack Cade (hist) leads a proletarian rebellion in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • See also John: especially Sir John Falstaff, who is often addressed as Jack.
• Jacquenetta is described as a light wench, and is the love interest of many comic characters in Love's Labour's Lost
• Jaques (pronouced "jake-wheeze"):
  • Jaques is a melancholy lord in As You Like It.
  • Jaques DeBoys is a brother to Oliver and Orlando in As You Like It.
• James:
  • James Soundpost, Simon Catling and Hugh Rebeck are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Sir James Blunt is a supporter of Richmond in Richard III.
  • Sir James Tyrrell (hist) is employed by Richard III to murder the princes in the tower.
• Jamy (fict) is a Scottish captain in Henry V.
• Jessica is Shylock's daughter in The Merchant of Venice. She elopes with Lorenzo.
• Joan la Pucelle (hist), better known to history as Joan of Arc, leads the Dauphin's forces against Talbot and the English in Henry VI, Part 1.
• John:
  • Don John is the bastard brother of Don Pedro, and is the chief villain in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Friar John is a minor character, who is unable to deliver a crucial letter from Friar Laurence to Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • John Bates (fict) is a soldier in Henry V's army.
  • John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hist), uncle to King Richard and father to Bolingbroke, dies in Richard II, having delivered his famous "This sceptred isle..." speech.
  • John Rugby is a servant to Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
  • John Talbot is the son of Sir John Talbot. They die together bravely in battle in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Prince John of Lancaster (hist), the younger brother of Hal, would be a fairly minor character in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, were it not for his central, unscrupulous, role in the Gaultree Forest episode of Henry IV, Part 2. He is also the Duke of Bedford who is Regent of France in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir John Blunt is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Sir John Coleville is a rebel captured by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Sir John Falstaff (fict, but see Sir John Oldcastle and Sir John Fastolfe) is a central character of Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the Henry plays, he is "bad angel" to prince Hal, and is eventually rejected by him. He is the lecherous gull of the title characters in Merry Wives. His death is reported in Henry V, although he is not a character in that play. He is (with Hamlet) one of the two most significant roles in Shakespeare.
  • Sir John Fastolfe (hist) is a coward, stripped of his garter in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir John Montgomery (historically Thomas Montgomery) is a minor Yorkist character in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir John Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir John Stanley supervises Eleanor's penance in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Sir John Talbot (hist) is the leader of the English forces in France, and therefore the chief enemy of Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Joseph is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Jourdain, with Southwell, Hume and Bolingbroke, are the supernatural conspitators with Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Julia is the faithful lover of Proteus, who follows him disguised as a young man and is dismayed to discover his infatuation with Silvia.
• Juliet:
  • Juliet is a title character in Romeo and Juliet. The daughter of Capulet, she falls in love with Romeo, the son of her father's enemy Montague, with tragic results.
  • Juliet, lover of Claudio, becomes pregnant by him, leading to his death sentence, which begins the action of Measure for Measure.
• Julius Caesar (hist) is the title character of Julius Caesar, an Emperor of Rome who is stabbed in the Capitol, on the Ides of March.
• Justice (title):
  • A Justice is a minor role in the trial of Froth and Pompey, in Measure for Measure.
  • The Lord Chief Justice (hist) is a dramatic foil to Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Justice Shallow (fict) is an elderly landowner in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
  • Justice Silence (fict) is an elderly friend of Justice Shallow in Henry IV, Part 2.

K

Detail from King Lear mourns Cordelia's death by James Barry.

• Kate:
  • Kate Keepdown is a whore in Measure for Measure.
  • See also Lady Percy.
  • See also Katherine.
• Katharine/Katherine:
  • Katharine (hist) is the French princess who marries Henry V.
  • Katharine is a lady attending on the Princess of France, in Love's Labour's Lost. She becomes emotionally attached to Dumaine.
  • Katherine (sometimes "Kate" or "Katerina Minola") is the "shrew" from the title of The Taming of the Shrew, who is "tamed" by Petruchio.
• Kate Keepdown is a whore in Measure for Measure.
• Keeper:
  • A keeper (fict) gives Piers of Exton access to the imprisoned Richard in Richard II.
  • Two keepers (fict) arrest the fugitive Henry in Henry VI, Part 3.
• The Earl of Kent is a follower of King Lear who evades banishment by disguising himself as a servant, and calling himself Caius.
• King (title):
  • First Player or Player King leads the company which visits Elsinore in Hamlet. He reads an excerpt as Priam, and plays the king in The Mousetrap.
  • King Claudius is the uncle and stepfather of Hamlet. He has murdered his brother Old Hamlet, has taken over his crown, and has married his queen, Gertrude.
  • King of France:
    • The King of France (myth) is the husband of Cordelia in King Lear.
    • The King of France is cured by Helena, and in recompense he agrees to order Bertram to marry her, in All's Well That Ends Well.
    • The King of France (hist) is Henry V's enemy.
    • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • King Lewis XI of France (hist), insulted by Edward IV's marriage to Lady Grey, allies himself with Warwick and Margaret in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • King Edward:
    • Edward later King Edward IV (hist) is the eldest son of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, part 2 and Henry VI, part 3 - in which he becomes king. He dies in Richard III.
    • Prince Edward of York later King Edward V (hist) is the eldest son of Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth. He appears in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the elder of the two princes in the tower in Richard III.
  • King Henry:
    • Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV (hist) leads a revolt against King Richard in Richard II. He is the title character of Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 which chart the rebellions against him by the Percy faction, and his difficult relationship with his eldest son, Hal.
    • Hal, later King Henry V (sometimes called The Prince of Wales, Prince Henry or just Harry) (hist) is a central character in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 and is the title character of Henry V. He has a closer relationship with Falstaff than with his father (Henry IV), but he eventually ascends the throne, rejects Falstaff, and leads the English to victory at Agincourt.
    • King Henry VI (hist), the title character of Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3, is a weak and ineffectual king, and the plays chart the rebellions against him, leading to his overthrow and murder.
    • The Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII (hist) leads the rebellion against the cruel rule of Richard III, and eventually succeeds him as king.
  • King Lear is the central character of the play which bears his name. He divides his kingdom among his two elder daughters, is rejected by them, runs mad, and dies.
  • The King of Navarre and his three noble companions, Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville, vow to study and fast for three years, at the outset of Love's Labour's Lost.
  • King Richard:
    • King Richard II (hist) is the title character of Richard II: a king who is deposed and eventually murdered.
    • Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III (hist), brave but evil, is the third son of Richard, Duke of York (1). He is a fairly minor character in Henry VI, Part 2, is more prominent in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the title character - and murderer of many other characters - in Richard III.
  • A number of characters are kings, including Leontes, Oberon and Polixines.
• Knight:
  • A hundred knights, three of whom are speaking parts, and most of whom will inevitably be spoken of but never seen in performance, are followers of Lear in King Lear.
  • Many characters are knights: see "Sir", below, which in England is the title of a knight.

L

Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.

• Lady (title):
  • Lady Anne (hist) is the widow of Prince Edward, wooed by Richard over the corpse of her late father-in-law (Henry VI) in Richard III.
  • Lady Bona is King Lewis's sister-in-law, whose hopes to marry Edward are thwarted, in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Lady Capulet is Juliet's mother in Romeo and Juliet.
  • For Lady Grey see Queen Elizabeth.
  • Lady Macbeth, wife to Macbeth, is a central character who conspires with her husband to murder Duncan. She later goes mad and dies, possibly through suicide.
  • Lady Macduff, wife to Macduff, is murdered, with her children, on the orders of Macbeth.
  • Lady Montague is Romeo's mother in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Lady Mortimer, daughter of Glendower and wife of Edmund Mortimer (1), sings in Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Lady Northumberland (hist) is the Earl of Northumberland's wife, who dissuades him from joining the rebels at Gaultree Forest in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Lady Percy (hist) (sometimes called Kate) is Hotspur's wife, later his widow, in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Two ladies attend on Queen Isabel, in Richard II.
• Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia in Hamlet. He fights with Hamlet in the famous fencing scene in the final act.
• Lancaster:
  • John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hist), uncle to King Richard and father to Bolingbroke, dies in Richard II, having delivered his famous "This sceptred isle..." speech.
  • Prince John of Lancaster (hist), the younger brother of Hal, would be a fairly minor character in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, were it not for his central, unscrupulous, role in the Gaultree Forest episode of Henry IV, Part 2. He is also the Duke of Bedford who is Regent of France in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • See also Bolingbroke (Henry IV), Henry V, Henry VI, Queen Margaret, Prince Edward and Lady Anne, all of whom are either "Duke of Lancaster" or "of the House of Lancaster".
• Launce is a clownish servant of Proteus, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He and his dog, Crab, have a tendency to steal the show.
• Launcelot Gobbo is a clown in The Merchant of Venice, a servant to Shylock, and later to Lorenzo.
• Lavinia is the daughter of Titus Andronicus. She is raped by Chiron and Demetrius, her tongue is cut out and her hands cut off.
• Friar Laurence is confessor and confidante to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. He instigates the unsuccessful plot involving the potion drunk by Juliet.
• For Lawrence see Laurence.
• King Lear is the central character of the play which bears his name. He divides his kingdom among his two elder daughters, is rejected by them, runs mad, and dies.
• Monsieur LeBeau is a courtier in As You Like It.
• Monsieur LeFer is a Fench soldier. Pistol hopes to ransom him in Henry V.
• Lennox is a thane in Macbeth.
• Leonardo is Bassanio's servant in The Merchant of Venice.
• Leonato is the governor of Messina, and the father of Hero, in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Leontes is the king of Sicilia in The Winter's Tale. He wrongly suspects his wife, Hermione, of infidelity.
• Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (hist) is one of the Triumvers - the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
• King Lewis XI of France (hist), insulted by Edward IV's marriage to Lady Grey, allies himself with Warwick and Margaret in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Lieutenant:
  • A Lieutenant (fict) hands over the Duke of Suffolk to Walter Whitmore, and therefore to his death, in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • A Lieutenant of the Tower of London appears, as Henry's jailer in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • See also Brackenbury, who is Lieutenant of the Tower of London in Richard III.
  • Numerous characters hold (or purport to hold) the rank of Lieutenant, including Michael Cassio and Bardolph.
• Caius Ligarius (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
• For Lion see Snug.
• For Litio see Hortensio, who calls himself Litio in his disguise as a music master.
• For Friar Lodowick in Measure for Measure see Vincentio.
• The Lord Mayor of London (hist) is fooled by Richard and Buckingham, and supports Richard's succession, in Richard III.
• Longaville, with Berowne and Dumaine, is one of the three companions of The King of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Lord (title):
  • A Lord initiates the practical joke on Christopher Sly in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
  • A Lord, a minor role, helps with the preparations for the fencing in Hamlet.
  • A Lord, a minor role, attends on the Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • A Lord conspires with Lennox in Macbeth.
  • A Lord speaks four words ("It is, my lord") in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Two Lords, together with Amiens, report Jaques' encounter with the deer in As You Like It.
  • Two Lords are followers of Duke Frederick in As You Like It.
  • Lord Bardolph (hist) is a nobleman, one of the Percy faction, in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Lord Berkeley (hist) acts as messenger from York to Bolingbroke, in Richard II.
  • The Lord Chief Justice (hist) is a dramatic foil to Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Lord Fitzwalter (hist) is among those who challenges Aumerle in Richard II.
  • Lord Hastings:
    • Lord Hastings (hist) is a rebel leader in Henry IV, Part 2.
    • Lord Hastings (hist) is the prime minister, beheaded on Richard's orders in Richard III.
  • Lord Lovell (hist) is a henchman of Richard in Richard III).
  • The Lord Mayor of London (hist) is fooled by Richard and Buckingham, and supports Richard's succession, in Richard III.
  • Lord Mowbray (hist) is a rebel leader in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • For Lord Rivers see Earl Rivers.
  • Lord Ross (hist) is a supporter of Bolingbroke in Richard II.
  • Lord Saye (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade, killed by the rebels, in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Lord Scales (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Lord Scroop (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Cambridge and Grey) in Henry V.
  • "Lord" is a common designation for supernumiary characters at the royal and ducal courts.
• Lorenzo is a Christian in The Merchant of Venice who elopes with Shylock's daughter, Jessica.
• Lord Lovell (hist) is a henchman of Richard in Richard III.
• Luce is a tarty servant to Adriana in The Comedy of Errors.
• Lucentio falls in love with Bianca, and disguises himself as a Latin master in order to woo her. They marry at the end of the play.
• Lucetta is Julia's maid in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Luciana in The Comedy of Errors is shocked to be importuned by her brother-in-law's twin, who she believes to be her sister's husband.
• For Lucianus, see Third Player.
• Lucio, a friend of Claudio, frequently slanders the duke in Measure for Measure, and is eventually forced to marry Kate Keepdown.
• Sir William Lucy (fict) is a soldier and messenger for the English in France in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Lysander loves Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. For a period in the middle of the play, under the influence of love in idleness, he rejects her and loves Helena.

M

Miranda with Prospero by William Maw Egley

• Macbeth:
  • Macbeth (hist) is the central character of the play which bears his name. Influenced by the prophecies of three witches, he murders Duncan to take his place as king of Scotland.
  • Lady Macbeth (hist), wife to Macbeth, is a central character who conspires with her husband to murder Duncan. She later goes mad and dies, possibly through suicide.
• Macduff:
  • Macduff is the Thane of Fife in Macbeth. Not being "born of woman", he fights on Malcolm's side at the end of the play, and kills Macbeth.
  • Lady Macduff, wife to Macduff, is murdered, with her children, on the orders of Macbeth.
  • Macduff's Son is murdered on Macbeth's orders.
• Macmorris (fict) is an Irish captain in Henry V. He is said to be Shakespeare's only Irish character.
• Malcolm (hist) is the eldest son of Duncan in Macbeth.
• Malvolio is steward to, and secretly in love with, Olivia in Twelfth Night. He is gulled by Maria, Sir Toby Belch, Feste, Fabian and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and is imprisoned as a madman.
• Mamillius is the young son of Leontes and Hermione whose death is reported in the trial scene of The Winter's Tale.
• Man:
  • An Old Man is Gloucester's tenant, who helps with his escape, in King Lear.
  • An Old Man reports the supernatural happenings on the night of Duncan's murder to Ross, in Macbeth.
  • Man is occasionally a designation for supernumiary characters.
• Marcade, a French messenger brings the Princess of France the news that her father, the king, has died, in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Marcellus and Barnardo are soldiers who invite Horatio to see the ghost of Old Hamlet, in Hamlet.
• Caius Marcius Coriolanus is the central character of Coriolanus, who earns the tile "Coriolanus" in recognition of his skill at smiting Volscians in Coriolai.
• Marcus:
  • Marcus Andronicus is the brother of Titus Andronicus.
  • Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (hist) is one of the Triumvers - the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Marcus Brutus (hist) (usually just Brutus) is a central character of Julius Caesar, who conspires against Caesar's life and stabs him.
  • See also Mark, especially in the context of the Roman plays, where the two are often interchangeable. Mark Antony, for example, was historically "Marcus Antonius".
• Margaret:
  • Margaret is a maid, and an unknowing accomplice in the plot against Hero, in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Queen Margaret (hist) is the only truly epic character in Shakespeare. She appears as a naive girl in Henry VI, Part 1 and as an embittered old woman in Richard III. She is a central character of the two intervening plays, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3, in which she is the wife of Henry VI, and a leader of his armies. In her most notable scene she supervises the murder/execution of Richard Duke of York.
• Maria:
  • Maria is a maid to Olivia, and the instigator of the plot against Malvolio, in Twelfth Night.
  • Maria is a lady attending on the Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost. She becomes romantically entangled with Longaville.
• Mariana is the jilted fiancee of Angelo, who sleeps with him in the "bed trick" in Measure for Measure.
• Marina is the virtuous daughter of Pericles. Sold into a brothel, she converts her customers from their lives of debauchery.
• Mark:
  • Mark Antony (hist) (Often just Antony, and sometimes Marcus Antonius) turns the mob against Caesar's killers and becomes a Triumver in Julius Caesar. His romance with Cleopatra drives the action of Antony and Cleopatra.
  • See also Marcus
• Marquess:
  • The Marquess of Montague (hist) is a follower of Warwick (his brother) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • For Marquess of Suffolk see Duke of Suffolk. William De La Pole held both titles during the period dramatised by Shakespeare.
• Sir Oliver Martext is a foolish priest in As You Like It.
• Master:
  • A Master (fict) ransomes a gentleman in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Master Ford is a central character in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He suspects his wife of infidelity with Sir John Falstaff. He tests Falstaff in disguise, calling himself Master Brook.
  • Master Page is the husband of Mistress Page and the father of Anne and William in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He plans to have Anne married to Slender.
• A Mate (fict) ransomes a gentleman in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Matthew Gough (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Mayor:
  • The Lord Mayor of London (hist) is fooled by Richard and Buckingham, and supports Richard's succession, in Richard III).
  • The Mayor of St. Albans appears briefly in the "Simpcox" episode in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • The Mayor of York (hist) reluctantly supports the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Menteth is a thane in Macbeth.
• Merchant:
  • Three merchants, one of whom is named Balthasar, add to the confusion in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Many characters are merchants, most notably Antonio, the title character of The Merchant of Venice.
• Mercutio is the witty friend of Romeo, and kinsman to the Prince, in Romeo and Juliet. He is killed by Tybalt.
• Messenger:
  • A messenger reports the escape of Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus to Adriana, in The Comedy of Errors.
  • A messenger brings a letter from Angelo to the Provost, ordering Claudio's death that night, in Measure for Measure.
  • Four messengers bring (mostly) bad news to Richard, in Richard III.
  • Several messengers appear in Much Ado About Nothing: one of them is an important figure in the opening scene.
  • Three messengers, two to Albany and the other to Cordelia, appear in King Lear.
  • Two messengers to Claudius in Hamlet (or possibly one messenger appearing twice) bring news of Laertes' rebellious approach, and Hamlet's letter delivered by the sailors.
• Metellus Cimber (hist) is one of the conspirators in Julius Caesar.
• Michael:
  • Michael (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Michael Cassio is a lieutenant in Othello. Iago persuades Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Othello's wife, Desdemona.
  • Michael Williams (fict) (notably played by Michael Williams in Kenneth Branagh's film version) is a soldier who challenges the disguised Henry V to a duel.
  • Sir Michael is a minor character, a follower of the Archbishop of York, in Henry IV, Part 1.
• The Duke of Milan is patron to both Valentine and Proteus, and is the father of Silvia, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Baptista Minola is the father of Katherine and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Miranda is the 15 year old daughter of Prospero in The Tempest. She falls in love with Ferdinand.
• Mistress (title):
  • Mistress Ford, wife of Master Ford, is a title character of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She pretends to accept Falstaff's overtures of love to her.
  • Mistress Overdone is a brothel keeper in Measure for Measure.
  • Mistress Page, wife of Master Page, is a title character in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She conspires with Mistress Ford to punish Falstaff's lechery. She plans to have Anne married to Doctor Caius.
  • Mistress Quickly (fict) is an important character in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She is noted for her lewd malapropisms. She is an innkeeper's wife (later his widow) in the Henry plays. She has a different personality, and a different relationship to other characters, in Merry Wives, where she is a servant to Doctor Caius.
• For Monmouth see Hal, who is sometimes called Monmouth or Harry Monmouth, after his place of birth.
• Monsieur:
  • Monsieur LeBeau is a courtier in As You Like It.
  • Monsieur LeFer is a Fench soldier. Pistol hopes to ransom him in Henry V.
• Montague:
  • The Marquess of Montague (hist) is a follower of Warwick (his brother) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Montague is Romeo's father, an enemy of Capulet, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Lady Montague is Romeo's mother in Romeo and Juliet.
  • See also Romeo and Benvolio.
• Sir John Montgomery (historically Thomas Montgomery) is a minor Yorkist character in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Montjoy (fict) is the French herald in Henry V.
• For Moonshine see Robin Starveling.
• Mopsa and Dorcas are shepherdesses, usually portrayed as rather tarty, in The Winter's Tale.
• The Prince of Morocco is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
• Mortimer:
  • Edmund Mortimer (1) (hist) is a claimant to the English throne, and a leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Edmund Mortimer (2) (hist) explains the Yorkist claim to the crown to Richard Duke of York (1), in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Lady Mortimer, daughter of Glendower and wife of Edmund Mortimer (1), sings in Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Sir Hugh Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir John Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • See also Jack Cade, who falsely claims to be one John Mortimer, a claimant to the throne.
• Morton (fict) is a messenger to the Earl of Northumberland in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Mote is page to Don Armado in Love's Labour's Lost.
• Moth is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Mouldy is nearly pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Mowbray:
  • Lord Mowbray is a rebel leader in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (hist) is Bolingbroke's enemy, exiled by Richard, in Richard II.
• Murderer:
  • Three murderers kill Banquo, although his son Fleance escapes them, in Macbeth.
  • Two murderers report having killed Duke Humphrey in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Two murderers kill Clarence on Richard's orders in Richard III.
• Mustardseed is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

N

• Narissa is Portia's maid in The Merchant of Venice. She marries Gratiano. She diguises herself as a page when Portia disguises herself as a lawyer.
• Nathaniel:
  • Nathaniel is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
  • Nathaniel is a parson in Love's Labour's Lost. He is a comic character, and a friend of Holefernes. He appears as Alexander the Conqueror in the pageant of the Nine Worthies.
• The King of Navarre and his three noble companions, Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville, vow to study and fast for three years, at the outset of Love's Labour's Lost.
• Ned:
  • Ned Poins (fict) is a highwayman, and a close companion of Hal, in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
  • See also Edward.
  • See also Boy.
• Nell:
  • See Mistress Quickly, whose first name is Nell.
  • A "Nell" is unflatteringly described by Doromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors: she may be one and the same person as the character Luce, mis-named.
• Nicholas/Nick:
  • Nicholas is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
  • Nick (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Nick Bottom is a weaver, one of the mechanicals, in A Midsummer Night's Dream. While rehearsing a play, Puck changes Bottom's head for an ass's head. Titania falls in love with him. He plays Pyramus in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• A Nobleman (fict) brings news of Henry's arrest to the Yorkist leaders in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Norfolk:
  • The Duke of Norfolk (hist) is a supporter of the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III.
  • Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (hist) is Bolingbroke's enemy, exiled by Richard, in Richard II.
• Northumberland:
  • The Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, (hist) is an important character in Richard II, where he is Bolingbroke's chief ally, and in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, in which he leads the rebellion against his former ally, who is now king.
  • The Earl of Northumberland (hist) fights for the Lancastrians in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Lady Northumberland (hist) is the Earl of Northumberland's wife, who dissuades him from joining the rebels at Gaultree Forest in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • See also Seyward in Macbeth.
• The Nurse is a bawdy comic character, and a confidante of Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet.
• Nym (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and a companion of Pistol and Bardolph in Henry V.

O

Millais' famous portrait of Ophelia

• Oberon (myth) is king of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Octavius Caesar (hist) is one of the Triumvers - the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
• Officer:
  • An officer arrests Antipholus of Ephesus for debt in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Two officers in Orsino's service arrest Antonio in Twelfth Night.
  • Two officers, of whom only Second Officer is a speaking role, appear in the last act of King Lear.
• Old:
  • Old Capulet is a minor character - a kinsman of Capulet - in the party scene of Romeo and Juliet.
  • Old Clifford (hist), father of Clifford, is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Old Gobbo, the blind old father of Launcelot Gobbo, is a clown in The Merchant of Venice.
  • Old Hamlet is the father of Hamlet. His ghost appears to exhort Hamlet to revenge Old Hamlet's murder by Claudius.
  • An Old Man is Gloucester's tenant, who helps with his escape, in King Lear.
  • An Old Man reports the supernatural happenings on the night of Duncan's murder to Ross, in Macbeth.
  • Old Shepherd is the kindly father of the Clown in The Winter's Tale, who adopts the abandoned Perdita as his daughter.
• Oliver:
  • Oliver begins As You Like It as a villain: the cruel older brother to Orlando. He later repents, and marries Celia.
  • Sir Oliver Martext is a foolish priest in As You Like It.
• Olivia is a countess, loved by Orsino but in love with Cesario (the male persona of Viola) in Twelfth Night.
• Ophelia is a former lover of Hamlet, who is rejected by him, and who goes mad following her father's death at Hamlet's hands. She eventually drowns herself.
• Orlando is the male romantic lead in As You Like It.
• The Duke of Orleans (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
• Orsino is the Duke of Illyria, loved by Viola but in love with Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
• Osrick is a courtier, treated with contempt by Hamlet.
• Oswald is a servant of Gonerill, most noted for getting into fights and losing them.
• Othello is the title character of Othello. A moorish general in the Venitian army, he is persuaded by Iago that his wife Desdemona is having an affair with Michael Cassio.
• Some Outlaws, three of which are speaking roles, initially try to rob Valentine, but decide to invite him to be their leader, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Mistress Overdone is a brothel keeper in Measure for Measure.
• Owen Glendower (hist), a warrior and magician who tries the patience of Hotspur, leads the Welsh forces in the rebellion in Henry IV, Part 1.
• The Earl of Oxford (hist) is a staunch Lancastrian, supporting Henry in Henry VI, Part 3, and Richmond in Richard III.

P

Perdita by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys

• Page:
  • A page (fict) procures the services of Tyrrell for King Richard in Richard III.
  • A page pretends to be Christopher Sly's lady, in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
  • A page to Paris witnesses the start of the conflict between Romeo and Paris, and summons watchmen to the scene, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Two pages encounter Touchstone, and sing It Was A Lover And His Lass, in As You Like It.
  • Anne Page is the daughter of Master and Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She loves Fenton, but her father wishes her to marry Slender and her mother wishes her to marry Caius.
  • Master Page is the husband of Mistress Page and the father of Anne and William in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He plans to have Anne married to Slender.
  • Mistress Page, wife of Master Page, is a title character in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She conspires with Mistress Ford to punish Falstaff's lechery. She plans to have Anne married to Doctor Caius.
  • William Page is a minor youthful comic character, the son of Master and Mistress Page, and the younger brother of Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
  • See also The Boy, who is sometimes "the page" or "Falstaff's page".
• Panthino is a servant of Antonio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Paris is a suitor to Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. He is killed by Romeo.
• Parolles is a cowardly braggart soldier, a companion of Bertram, in All's Well That Ends Well.
• Parson Hugh is a Welsh priest in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is challenged to a duel by Caius. He plays a fairy in the final act.
• Paulina, strong-willed and good-hearted, is an important foil to Leontes in The Winter's Tale. In the last act, she reveals the statue of Hermione.
• Peaseblossom is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• The Pedant disguises himself as Vincentio (Lucentio's father) in The Taming of the Shrew, to act as father to Tranio, who has disguised himself as Lucentio.
• Don Pedro is the prince of Arragon in Much Ado About Nothing.
• The Earl of Pembroke (hist) is a non-speaking Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Percy:
  • The Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, (hist) is an important character in Richard II, where he is Bolingbroke's chief ally, and in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, in which he leads the rebellion against his former ally, who is now king.
  • Hotspur or Harry Percy (hist), brave and chivalrous but hot-headed and sometimes comical, is an important foil to Hal, and leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Lady Percy (hist) (sometimes called Kate) is Hotspur's wife, later his widow, in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
  • See also Lady Northumberland.
• Perdita is the infant daughter of Leontes, abandoned in Bohemia, in The Winter's Tale. She grows up to marry Florizel and is reconciled to her father.
• Pericles is the central character of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. In an unfortunate series of adventures, he loses his wife and his daughter, but is eventually reunited with them.
• Peter:
  • Friar Peter assists Isabella and Mariana in the final act of Measure for Measure.
  • Peter is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
  • Peter is a clownish servant of Capulet who attends on the nurse in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Peter Quince is a carpenter in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays the prologue to Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • Peter Thump (fict) fights a duel with his master Thomas Horner in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Peto (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
• Petruchio is the central male character in The Taming of the Shrew, who "tames" the title character, Katherine.
• Philostrate is master of the revels to Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Phebe is a sheperdess, loved by Silvius but who falls in love with the disguised Rosalind, in As You Like It.
• Philip is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Sir Piers of Exton (fict) murders the deposed King Richard in Richard II.
• Pinch is a conjuror in The Comedy of Errors.
• Pistol (fict) is a follower of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is married to Mistress Quickly, and is a soldier in conflict with Fluellen, in Henry V.
• Player:
  • First Player or Player King leads the company which visits Elsinore in Hamlet. He reads an excerpt as Priam, and plays the king in The Mousetrap.
  • Second Player or Player Queen, in Hamlet, plays the queen in The Mousetrap.
  • Third Player, in Hamlet, plays Lucianus in The Mousetrap.
  • Fourth Player, in Hamlet, reads the prologue to The Mousetrap.
  • A Player appears in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
  • A number of characters are players, including, in a sense, the whole cast (except for those in the induction) of The Taming of the Shrew.
• Ned Poins (fict) is a highwayman, and a close companion of Hal, in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
• The Duke of Suffolk (William de la Pole) (hist) is a manipulative character, loved by Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
• Polixines is the King of Bohemia in The Winter's Tale. Leontes wrongly believes that Polixines and Hermione are having an affair.
• Polonius is a chief adviser in the court of King Claudius in Hamlet, and is the father of Ophelia and Laertes. He is killed by Hamlet, who stabs him through an arras while he is eavesdropping on a conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude.
• For Poor Tom see Edgar.
• Pompey is a bawdy servant to Mistress Overdone in Measure for Measure.
• The Porter is a clown in Macbeth.
• Portia:
  • Portia is the central female character in The Merchant of Venice. She disguises herself as a lawyer in an attempt to thwart Shylock's attempt on Antionio's life.
  • Portia (hist) is the wife of Brutus in Julius Caesar.
• Posthumus is the exiled husband of Imogen, in Cymbeline. Persuaded she has been unfaithful, he orders her death.
• For Potpan, see Servingmen.
• For Priam, see Player King.
• Priest:
  • A Priest converses briefly with Lord Hastings in Richard III.
  • A Priest presides over Ophelia's burial in Hamlet.
  • A Priest solemnises the marriage of Olivia and Sebastian in Twelfth Night.
• Prince (title):
  • Escalus, Prince of Verona tries to keep the peace between Montague and Capulet, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Prince Edward:
    • Prince Edward (hist) is the son of Henry VI, who joins his mother Queen Margaret as a leader of the Lancastrian forces in Henry VI, Part 3. He is killed by the three Yorks (Edward, George and Richard).
    • Prince Edward of York later King Edward V (hist) is the eldest son of Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth. He appears in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the elder of the two princes in the tower in Richard III.
  • Prince John of Lancaster (hist), the younger brother of Hal, would be a fairly minor character in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, were it not for his central, unscrupulous, role in the Gaultree Forest episode of Henry IV, Part 2. He is also the Duke of Bedford who is Regent of France in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Prince of Arragon is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
  • The Prince of Morocco is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
  • For Prince of Wales see Hal, Prince Edward, Prince Edward of York.
  • Numerous characters are princes, either because they are rulers of principalities (for example Don Pedro and Pericles), or by descent from a king.
• Princess:
  • The Princess of France leads a diplomatic mission to Navarre and becomes romantically entangled with the King, in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • Several characters are princesses in the sense of being descendants of kings, including Katherine in Henry V, Queen Margaret (until she becomes queen), Imogen, Perdita, Gonerill, Regan and Cordelia. Others are described as princesses by virtue of being descendants of ruling dukes, including Rosalind, Celia, Silvia and Miranda. Others are princesses by descent from a ruling prince, for example Marina.
• Prospero is the central character of The Tempest, the wronged Duke of Milan, set adrift with his daughter Miranda, twelve years before the play begins. He has become a sorcerer and is lord of the enchanted island.
• Prologue:
  • see Peter Quince.
  • see Fourth Player.
  • see also Chorus.
• Proteus is one of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Originally in love with Julia, he proves unfaithful: coveting Silvia and eventually attempting to rape her.
• A Provost appears in Measure for Measure.
• Joan la Pucelle (hist), better known to history as Joan of Arc, leads the Dauphin's forces against Talbot and the English in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Puck (myth) is a mischievous (male) fairy, a servant of Oberon, in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Hastings Pursuivant is a minor character who meets his namesake, Lord Hastings, in Richard III.
• For Puzel see Joan la Pucelle.
• For Pyramus, see Nick Bottom.

Q

• Queen (title):
  • Second Player or Player Queen, in Hamlet, plays the queen in The Mousetrap.
  • Queen Elizabeth (hist) is a suitor to, and then queen to, Edward IV in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III. She is a major character in the later play, and a foil to Richard.
  • The Queen of France (hist) appears in the last act of Henry V.
  • Queen Gertrude is Hamlet's mother. She has married Claudius.
  • Queen Isabel (hist) is Richard II's queen, exiled upon his deposition.
  • Queen Margaret (hist) is the only truly epic character in Shakespeare. She appears as a naive girl in Henry VI, Part 1 and as an embittered old woman in Richard III. She is a central character of the two intervening plays, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3, in which she is the wife of Henry VI, and a leader of his armies. In her most notable scene she supervises the murder/execution of Richard Duke of York.
  • Numerous characters are, or become, queens including Cordelia, Hermione, Lady Anne, Lady Macbeth and Titania
• Mistress Quickly (fict) is an important character in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She is noted for her lewd malapropisms and double entendres. She is an innkeeper's wife (later his widow) in the Henry plays. She has a different personality, and a different relationship to other characters, in Merry Wives, where she is a servant to Doctor Caius.
• Peter Quince is a carpenter in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays the prologue to Pyramus and Thisbe.

R

File:AsYouLikeIt.jpg

Elisabeth Bergner as Rosalind with Laurence Olivier as Orlando in the 1936 film version of As You Like It.

• Ragozine is a prisoner of the state of Vienna in Measure for Measure. He is executed, and his head is sent to Angelo in place of Claudio's.
• Rambures (fict?) is a French lord in Henry V.
• Sir Richard Ratcliffe (hist) is a confidante of Richard in Richard III.
• Hugh Rebeck, Simon Catling and James Soundpost are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
• Regan is the cruel second daughter of King Lear. She is married to the Duke of Cornwall.
• Reignier (hist) is the impoverished king of Naples and Jerusalem, and father to Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Reynaldo is a minor character, an agent of Polonius, in Hamlet.
• Richard:
  • King Richard II (hist) is the title character of Richard II: a king who is deposed and eventually murdered.
  • Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III (hist), brave but evil, is the third son of Richard, Duke of York (1). He is a fairly minor character in Henry VI, Part 2, is more prominent in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the title character - and murderer of many other characters - in Richard III.
  • Richard, Duke of York (1) (hist) is a central character in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3. He is the Yorkist claimant to the throne of England, in opposition to Henry VI, and he is eventually killed on the orders of Queen Margaret.
  • Richard, Duke of York (2) (hist) is the younger of the two princes in the tower, murdered on the orders of Richard in Richard III.
  • Sir Richard Ratcliffe (hist) is a confidante of Richard in Richard III.
  • Sir Richard Vernon is a follower of the rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
• The Earl of Richmond, later King Henry VII (hist) leads the rebellion against the cruel rule of Richard III, and eventually succeeds him as king.
• Earl Rivers (hist), is the brother to Queen Elizabeth in Richard III. He is arrested and executed on the orders of Richard and Buckingham.
• Robin:
  • Robin Starveling is a tailor in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays "Moonshine" in Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • See The Boy (who is called Robin in The Merry Wives of Windsor).
  • See Puck (who is also called Robin Goodfellow).
• Roderigo is a gentleman suitor to Desdemona in Othello. He is gulled by Iago throughout the play, and eventually Iago murders him.
• Romeo is a title character in Romeo and Juliet. The son of Montague, he falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of his father's enemy Capulet, with tragic results.
• Rosalind is the central character of As You Like It. She spends the bulk of the play in exile in the Forest of Arden disguised as a boy called Ganymede.
• Rosaline
  • Rosaline is lady attending on the Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost. She becomes romantically entangled with Berowne.
  • See also Rosalind, who is sometimes addressed as Rosaline.
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two former friends of Hamlet, invited to the Danish court to spy on him. They eventually accompany Hamlet towards England, but he escapes while they continue with the journey, to their deaths.
• Ross
  • Lord Ross (hist) is a supporter of Bolingbroke in Richard II.
  • Ross is a thane in Macbeth.
• Rousillon:
  • The Countess of Rousillon is Bertram's mother, and Helena's protector, in All's Well That Ends Well.
  • See also Bertram, who is Count of Rousillon.
• John Rugby is a servant to Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Rumour is the prologue to Henry IV, Part 2.
• Rutland (hist) is the youngest son of Richard Duke of York (1), killed in battle while still a boy, by Clifford, in Henry VI, part 3. (TRIVIA: historically Rutland was not the youngest of the four York brothers depicted in the plays. Shakespeare made him so using dramatic licence.)

S

File:Shylockandjessica.jpeg

"Shylock and Jessica" by Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-1879)

• Sailors:
  • Several sailors, one of whom is a speaking role, deliver letters from Hamlet to Horatio.
  • Numerous characters are sailors (and see also Master, Boatswain, Captain). Also "sailors" is a common designation for supernumiary characters.
• Salerio: A friend of Solanio, Antonio, Bassanio, and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice.
• Salisbury:
  • The Earl of Salisbury (1) (hist) remains loyal to King Richard in Richard II.
  • The Earl of Salisbury (2) (hist) fights for the king in Henry V. He is killed by the Master Gunner's Boy in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Earl of Salisbury (3) (hist) supports the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Sampson and Gregory, two men of the Capulet household, open the main action of Romeo and Juliet with their aggressive and lecherous banter.
• Saturninus becomes emperor of Rome, and marries Tamora, in Titus Andronicus.
• Lord Saye (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade, killed by the rebels, in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Lord Scales (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
• A Scottish Doctor witnesses Lady Macbeth sleepwalking in Macbeth.
• A scrivener (fict) explains the hypocrisy of Lord Hastings' indictment, in Richard III.
• Scroop:
  • Lord Scroop (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Cambridge and Grey) in Henry V.
  • Scroop (hist) supports Richard in Richard II.
  • See also Archbishop of York.
• Sebastian:
  • Sebastian is the twin brother of Viola in Twelfth Night. He is often mistaken for her male persona, Cesario, and Olivia marries him under that misaprehension.
  • Sebastian is the brother of Alonzo in The Tempest. He conspires with Antonio to murder Alonzo and Gonzalo.
• For "Second...", see entries under the rest of the character's designation (e.g. Murderer for Second Murderer, Player for Second Player, etc.).
• Duke Senior is the father of Rosalind. He is the true duke, and has been usurped by his brother, Duke Frederick at the start of As You Like It.
• Servant:
  • A servant (who Shakespeare may have intended to be one and the same character as "Peter") needs the help of Romeo and Benvolio to read the guest list for Capulet's party.
  • A servant to Olivia is a minor character in Twelfth Night.
  • Two servants (fict) of Piers of Exton are sounding-boards for his plan to murder Richard, in Richard II.
  • Three unnamed servants appear in King Lear, including one who dies killing the cruel Duke of Cornwall.
  • Numerous characters in the plays are servants. Also, "servant" is a common designation for supernumiary characters.
• Servingman:
  • A Servingman (fict) to the Duke of York brings news of the Duchess of Gloucester's death in Richard II.
  • Four servingmen (two of them called "Anthony" and "Potpan") are minor speaking roles in the build-up to Capulet's party in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Several Servingmen of the Lord, three of whom are speaking roles, attend the hung-over Christopher Sly, trying to fool him into believing he is a lord, in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew.
  • Numerous characters in the plays are servingmen. Also, "servingman" is a common designation for supernumiary characters.
• A Sexton supervises Dogberry's inept examination of Conrade and Borachio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Seyton is a servant to Macbeth.
• Seyward:
  • Seyward is the Earl of Northumberland in Macbeth.
  • Young Seyward is the son of the Earl of Northumberland in Macbeth.
• Shadow is pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Justice Shallow (fict) is an elderly landowner in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Shepherd:
  • Old Shepherd is the kindly father of the Clown in The Winter's Tale, who adopts the abandoned Perdita as his daughter.
  • A number of characters are shepherds or shepherdesses, including Corin, Dorcas, Mopsa and Silvius.
• Sherriff:
  • A Sheriff holds Eleanor in custody in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • A Sherriff of Wiltshire (fict) denies the condemned Buckingham access to King Richard, in Richard III.
• Shylock is a central character in The Merchant of Venice - a Jewish money-lender who claims a pound of Antonio's flesh.
• Justice Silence (fict) is an elderly friend of Justice Shallow in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Silvia is the faithful lover of Valentine, and the victim of an attempted rape by Proteus, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Silvius is a shepherd, in love with Phebe, in As You Like It.
• Simon Catling, Hugh Rebeck and James Soundpost are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
• Simpcox (fict) claims to have been cured of blindness in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Simpcox's Wife is the wife of Simpcox in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Simple is a servant to Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Sir (title):
  • Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a foolish knight, and suitor to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
  • Sir Eglamour assists Silvia's escape from her father's palace, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
  • Sir Hugh Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir Humphrey Stafford (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Sir James Blunt is a supporter of Richmond in Richard III.
  • Sir James Tyrrell (hist) is employed by Richard III to murder the princes in the tower.
  • Sir John Blunt is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Sir John Coleville is a rebel captured by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Sir John Falstaff (fict, but see Sir John Oldcastle and Sir John Fastolfe) is a central character of Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the Henry plays, he is "bad angel" to prince Hal, and is eventually rejected by him. He is the lecherous gull of the title characters in Merry Wives. His death is reported in Henry V, although he is not a character in that play. He is (with Hamlet) one of the two most significant roles in Shakespeare.
  • Sir John Fastolfe (hist) is a coward, stripped of his garter in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir John Montgomery (historically Thomas Montgomery) is a minor Yorkist character in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir John Mortimer (hist) is an uncle of Richard Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir John Stanley supervises Eleanor's penance in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Sir John Talbot (hist) is the leader of the English forces in France, and therefore the chief enemy of Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir Michael is a minor character, a follower of the Archbishop of York, in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Sir Oliver Martext is a foolish priest in As You Like It.
  • Sir Piers of Exton (fict) murders the deposed King Richard in Richard II.
  • Sir Richard Ratcliffe (hist) is a confidante of Richard in Richard III.
  • Sir Richard Vernon is a follower of the rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Sir Thomas Erpingham (hist) is an officer in Henry V's army.
  • Sir Thomas Grey (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Cambridge and Scroop) in Henry V.
  • Sir Thomas Vaughan (hist) is executed, alongside Rivers and Grey, in Richard III.
  • Sir Toby Belch is a drunken knight, and kinsman to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
  • For Sir Topas see Feste.
  • Sir Walter Blunt is a soldier and messenger to the king in Henry IV, Part 1. He is killed by Douglas while wearing the king's armour.
  • Sir Walter Herbert is a follower of Richmond in Richard III.
  • Sir William Lucy (fict) is a soldier and messenger for the English in France in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir William Stanley (hist), the historical brother of Lord Stanley from Richard III, is a minor character of the Yorkist faction in Henry VI, Part 3.
• For Weird Sisters, see Witches.
• Slender is a foolish suitor to Anne, and a kinsman of Shallow, in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Christopher Sly is a drunken tinker in the induction toThe Taming of the Shrew. He is gulled into believing he is a lord.
• Smith the Weaver (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Snare is a constable in Henry IV, part 2.
• Tom Snout is a tinker in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays "Wall" in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• Snug is a joiner in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays the lion in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• Solanio Friend and counterpart of Salerio in The Merchant of Venice.
• Solinus is the Duke of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors.
• Duke of Somerset:
  • The Duke of Somerset (1) (hist) is a follower of King Henry in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Duke of Somerset (2) (hist) appears among the Lancastrian faction in Henry VI, Part 2. His head is carried onstage by Richard (later Richard III) in the opening scene of Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Duke of Somerset (3) (hist and hist) is a conflation by Shakespeare of two historical Dukes of Somerset. He supports both factions at different stages of Henry VI, Part 3.
• Somerville (fict) is a follower of Warwick in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Son:
  • Macduff's Son is murdered on Macbeth's orders.
  • A Son who has killed his father at the Battle of Towton appears in Henry VI, Part 3. See also Father.
• A Soothsayer wisely warns Caesar to beware the Ides of March, in Julius Caesar.
• James Soundpost, Simon Catling and Hugh Rebeck are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
• Southwell, with Hume, Jourdain and Bolingbroke, are the supernatural conspitators with Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Speed is the slow-witted servant of Valentine, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• The Mayor of St. Albans appears briefly in the "Simpcox" episode in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Robin Starveling is a tailor in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays "Moonshine" in Pyramus and Thisbe.
• Stafford:
  • Lord Stafford (hist) is a non-speaking Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Sir Humphrey Stafford (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Stafford's Brother (hist) is an enemy of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Stanley:
  • Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby (hist) is a military leader who ultimately reveals his loyalty to the Richmond faction, in spite of his son being a hostage to Richard, in Richard III.
  • Sir John Stanley supervises Eleanor's penance in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Sir William Stanley (hist), the historical brother of Lord Stanley from Richard III, is a minor character of the Yorkist faction in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Stephano:
  • Stephano is a drunken butler in The Tempest. He conspires with Caliban and Trinculo to kill Prospero and become king of the island.
  • Stephano is a servant of Portia, in The Merchant of Venice.
• The Duke of Suffolk (William de la Pole) (hist) is a manipulative character, loved by Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Earl of Surrey is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Syracuse:
  • Antipholus of Syracuse, twin of Antipholus of Ephesus - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Dromio of Syracuse, servant to Antipholus of Syracuse and twin of Dromio of Ephesus - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.

T

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Julie Taymor's film Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins as Titus Andronicus and Jessica Lange as Tamora.

• A Tailor is verbally abused by Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Talbot:
  • John Talbot is the son of Sir John Talbot. They die together bravely in battle in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir John Talbot (hist) is the leader of the English forces in France, and therefore the chief enemy of Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Tamora is the evil queen of the Goths who marries Saturninus in Titus Andronicus.
• Doll Tearsheet (fict) is a whore, who is emotionally involved with Falstaff, and is later arrested for murder in Henry IV, Part 2.
• For Thane see Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, Lennox, Ross, Menteth, Angus and Cathness, all from Macbeth.
• Theseus (myth) is the Duke of Athens in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• For "Third...", see entries under the rest of the character's designation (e.g. Murderer for Third Murderer, Player for Third Player, etc.).
• Thomas:
  • Friar Thomas leads an order of friars, and assists Vincentio to disguise himself as a friar, in Measure for Measure.
  • Sir Thomas Erpingham (hist) is an officer in Henry V's army.
  • Sir Thomas Grey (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Cambridge and Scroop) in Henry V.
  • Sir Thomas Vaughan (hist) is executed, alongside Rivers and Grey, in Richard III.
  • Thomas, Duke of Clarence (hist) is Hal's younger brother, who appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
  • Thomas Horner (fict) fights a duel with his apprentice Peter Thump in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (hist) is Bolingbroke's enemy, exiled by Richard, in Richard II.
  • See also Tom.
• For Sir Topas see Feste.
• For Thisbe see Francis Flute.
• Peter Thump (fict) fights a duel with his master Thomas Horner in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Thurio is a cowardly suitor to Silvia (and therefore a rival of Valentine) in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
• Time, personified, acts as a chorus in The Winter's Tale, bridging the sixteen year gap between the third and fourth acts.
• Timon is the central character of Timon of Athens.
• Titania (myth) is queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Under the influence of love in idleness, she falls in love with Bottom (with his ass's head).
• Titus Andronicus is the central character of Titus Andronicus.
• Sir Toby Belch is a drunken knight, and kinsman to Olivia, in Twelfth Night.
• Tom:
  • Tom Snout is a tinker in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays "Wall" in Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • For Poor Tom see Edgar.
  • See also Thomas.
• Touchstone is a clown in As You Like It.
• Tranio is a servant to Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew. He disguises himself as Lucentio, to enable Lucentio carry through his disguise.
• Travers (fict) is a messenger to the Earl of Northumberland in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Trebonius (hist) is one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar.
• Tressell and Berkeley (fict) are the two gentlemen accompanying Lady Anne, and Henry VI's coffin, in Richard III.
• Trinculo is a clown, a friend to Stephano, in The Tempest.
• Troilus is a young Trojan prince who falls in love with Cressida during the Trojan War in Troilus and Cressida.
• Tubal is a wealthy Jew, a friend to Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice.
• Tullus Aufidius, leader of the Volscians, is the arch-enemy, and briefly the ally, of Coriolanus.
• A Tutor (fict) fails to save the life of his pupil, Rutland, in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Tybalt, cousin to Juliet, is a fiery-tempered character, nicknamed "prince of cats" in Romeo and Juliet. He kills Mercutio, and is killed by Romeo.
• Sir James Tyrrell (hist) is employed by Richard III to murder the princes in the tower.

U

• Ursula is a maid in Much Ado About Nothing.

V

• Valentine:
  • Valentine is one of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He falls in love with Silvia, becomes exiled, and leads a band of robbers.
  • Valentine is an attendant on Orsino in Twelfth Night.
• Sir Thomas Vaughan (hist) is executed, alongside Rivers and Grey, in Richard III.
• Vaux is a minor character of the Lancastrian party in Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Duke of Venice tries the case between Shylock and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice.
• Verges, accompanied by Dogberry, is a clownish officer of the watch in Much Ado About Nothing.
• Vernon:
  • Sir Richard Vernon is a follower of the rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Vernon (fict) is a supporter of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 1.
• Escalus, Prince of Verona tries to keep the peace between Montague and Capulet, in Romeo and Juliet.
• For Duke of Vienna see Vincentio in Measure for Measure.
• Vincentio:
  • Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, is a central character in Measure for Measure. Disguised as Friar Lodowick, he intrigues to achieve justice for Isabella and other virtuous characters.
  • Vincentio is the father of Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew.
  • See also The Pedant, who falsely claims to be Vincentio in The Taming of the Shrew.
• A vintner (who may be the husband of Mistress Quickly) appears briefly in Henry IV, Part 1.
• Viola is the central character of Twelfth Night. She disguises herself as a boy and calls herself Cesario. She loves Orsino. Olivia falls in love with Cesario.
• Voltemand and Cornelius are two ambassadors from Claudius to the Norwegian court, in Hamlet.
• Volumnia is Coriolanus' mother. She persuades him not to attack Rome, leading to his destruction.

W

• For Wall see Tom Snout.
• Walter:
  • Sir Walter Blunt is a soldier and messenger to the king in Henry IV, Part 1. He is killed by Douglas while wearing the king's armour.
  • Sir Walter Herbert is a follower of Richmond in Richard III.
  • Walter Whitmore (fict) kills Suffolk in Henry VI, Part 2.
• Wart is pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
• Earl of Warwick:
  • The Earl of Warwick (1) (hist) is a supporter of King Henry in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • The Earl of Warwick (2) (hist) is an important player in the Wars of the Roses, firstly for the Yorkist party, and then for the Lancastrians. He appears in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3.
• Watchmen:
  • Three watchmen guard King Edward IV's tent, in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Several watchmen, two of which are speaking roles, serve under Dogberry and Verges, and apprehend Conrade and Borachio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Several watchmen, three of which are speaking roles, discover the carnage at Capulet's tomb, at the end of Romeo and Juliet.
• Smith the Weaver (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
• For Weird Sisters, see Witches.
• The Abbott of Westminster (fict) supports Richard and the Bishop of Carlisle in Richard II.
• Earl of Westmoreland:
  • The Earl of Westmoreland (1) (hist) is one of the leaders of the royal forces in Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
  • The Earl of Westmoreland (2) (hist) fights for King Henry in Henry VI, Part 3.
• Walter Whitmore (fict) kills Suffolk in Henry VI, Part 2.
• The Widow marries Hortensio, and appears in the final act of The Taming of the Shrew.
• Wife:
  • For Wife of Macduff, see Lady Macduff.
  • For the merry wives of Windsor, see Mistress Ford and Mistress Page.
• Will is a drawer in Henry IV, Part 2.
• William:
  • The Duke of Suffolk (William de la Pole) (hist) is a manipulative character, loved by Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Sir William Lucy (fict) is a soldier and messenger for the English in France in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Sir William Stanley (hist), the historical brother of Lord Stanley from Richard III, is a minor character of the Yorkist faction in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • William is a foolish youth, a suitor to Audrey, in As You Like It.
  • William Page is a minor youthful comic character, the son of Master and Mistress Page, and the younger brother of Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
• Michael Williams (fict) (notably played by Michael Williams in Kenneth Branagh's film version) is a soldier who challenges the disguised Henry V to a duel.
• Willoughby (hist) is a supporter of Bolingbroke in Richard II.
• A Sherriff of Wiltshire (fict) denies the condemned Buckingham access to King Richard, in Richard III.
• The Bishop of Winchester (hist) (later "the Cardinal") is the chief enemy of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
• Three Witches initiate Macbeth's lust for the crown of Scotland.
• Woodville:
  • Woodville (hist) is Lieutenant of the Tower of London in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • See also Queen Elizabeth, Rivers, Dorset and Grey, all of whom are of the Woodville clan.
• The Earl of Worcester (hist) is the brother of the Earl of Northumberland, and a leader of the rebel forces, in Henry IV, Part 1.

Y

The Two Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower, 1483 by Sir John Everett Millais, 1878.

• York:
  • Archbishop of York:
    • The Archbishop of York (1) (hist) is one of the rebel leaders in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
    • The Archbishop of York (2) (hist) assists Queen Elizabeth and the little Duke of York to obtain sanctuary in Richard III.
  • Duchess of York:
    • The Duchess of York (1) (hist) is a (partly comic) character in Richard II, who must plead for the life of her son, Aumerle.
    • The Duchess of York (2) (hist) is the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3. She outlives him to mourn the death of two of their sons in Richard III.
  • Duke of York:
    • The Duke of York (1) (hist) is the uncle of both Richard and Bolingbroke, and the father of Aumerle, in Richard II.
    • The Duke of York (2) (hist) is a minor character, the leader of the "vaward" in Henry V. (TRIVIA: Historically this character is one and the same person as Aumerle.)
    • Richard, Duke of York (1) (hist) is a central character in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3. He is the Yorkist claimant to the throne of England, in opposition to Henry VI, and he is eventually killed on the orders of Queen Margaret.
    • Richard, Duke of York (2) (hist) is the younger of the two princes in the tower, murdered on the orders of Richard in Richard III.
  • The Mayor of York (hist) reluctantly supports the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • Prince Edward of York later King Edward V (hist) is the eldest son of Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth. He appears in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the elder of the two princes in the tower in Richard III.
  • See also Edmund Mortimer, Aumerle, Queen Elizabeth and Lady Anne, all of whom are "of the House of York" directly or through marriage.
• Young Seyward is the son of the Earl of Northumberland in Macbeth.