So indulge me in this...I know all of you still have some soft spot for the classics. My favorite is Lady Macbeth. Basically, her character made me realize this: Men rule the world. Women rule over the men. I also love her line: "Who would have thought the old man would have so much blood in him?"
Puck. From a play that I'm more familiar with, I'd say . . . ouch, this is tough . . . Richard III. I don't think that Shakespeare created characters that would be acceptable today, but he did manage to create some brilliant scripting.
Puck! I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream performed by the RSC in London with my Drama class and the way the actor played Puck (or rather the way the director portrayed him) made be fall in love with the character ^^
Tough one there. I like Banquo, I guess because I think he's my kind of guy: showing up to haunt the feast is just the sort of thing I would do But my favorite is probably Mercutio, because of his vivid expression of such a great range of emotion, which I envy. I was raised in the "If you can't say anything good..," school, and suspect that I would find myself saying something like - "Um, guys, I know you're in the middle of a feud, and I'd hate to throw you off your rhythm or anything, but would you mind sending for a surgeon when you get a spare moment? I'd sure appreciate it." - when (as demonstated) one ought to be roaring, with the last strength of one's freely ebbing blood - "A Curse On Both Your Houses!!!" - Evelyn
i have only ever read The Tempest, and my favourite charector out of it is Prospero. he seems quite nice even though he is mean to begin with, lol. actually, my signature is a quote of his from the play, lol. Heather
Yes. Well, maybe not. Iago can be (sort of) seen as a wronged man who just wants to get his due, but he gets kind of carried away, and things get out of hand... And, morals and ethics aside, he may well be the smartest guy in Shakespeare -some of us can't help but admire that - Evelyn
for me there are so many I like, I have no favourites, but I will name a few that I really do like. ~LADY MACBETH: in MACBETH ~AEGON: in THE COMEDT OF ERRORS ~JULIET, ROMEO, MERCUTIO: in ROMEO AND JULIET ~HAMLETT: in HAMLETT, PRINCE OF DENMARK ~PUCK: in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM They are just a few that I can remember of hand, but I really do not have a favourite Shakespearean character. They all have such strong points about them and all so unique in their own way...I will leave it at that before I start rambling ~Torana
Aaron. In addition to his well-chosen name, he's a proto-Iago with my absolute favourite Shakespearean quote.
Ah! My two favourites have already been selected! Lady Macbeth and Iago. Lady Macbeth had such an interesting personality, to me. I did an entire analysis on her character for extra credit in an English class... By the way, did you know her first name was GRUACH? God, if I had a name like that, I'd be a murderer too. Love her speech which includes the phrase 'Unsex me here!' And I like Iago because he... well. He's such an interesting man, isnt he? I like the evil one's better, and he was indeed a smart man. For all his misdeeds, he was certainly a genius. He says the things many only wish they could have said.
It's the exception to the golden rule of Gaelic words - it becomes worse when you know how to pronounce it
I AGREE I AGREE I AGREE!!!! It's a hard choice between Iago and Ophelia; they are absolutely FANTASTIC for two different reasons. I also really like Maria from Twelfth Night. And Richard the III. And Hamlet. And Mercutio. But Iago and Ophelia are definitely my top two. No doubt about it.
I don't know if I can pick just one favorite. Shakespeare wrote so many different kinds of characters just as he wrote different genres of plays. But, as I like character who are neither black nor white...and I want to pick from a play no one has mentioned... I will go with my favorite hero/villain combo Tamara and Titus from "Titus Andronicus." What I like is that they are basically the male and female equivalent of each other. They both are steadfast in their loyalties to family (nevermind Titus killing two of his son's for dishonoring the family in front of the the king), and hell bent on revenge on the other out of family loyalty (though it is pretty personal by the end). What I also like is that they both have reason for seeking justice/revenge and both are willing to do horrible things to accomplish that. By the end, you can't tell which one is the hero.
Lady Macbeth was a ruthless fiend. She really did govern her husband... Her cold and calculated cruelty remined me of Goneril and Regan from King Lear, but unlike them, she had that strange madness at the end that sort of redeemed her as a woman...she was too ambitious for her own good. Tut tut at Macbeth for completely discarding her. Goneril and Regan were interesting too. They seemed to inherit a lot of their bad qualities from their own father. Yes, he's the tragic hero and all, but people are all too quick to dismiss G & R as absolute evils when the majority of the problems in the play come from the negligence of the 'daddies' (Lear & Gloucester). My favourite character is Ophelia. God I love that woman.
I think I may alone in liking soft characters. I like Viola from Twelfth Night, because she is vibrant, witty, and feminine. I also like Helena from A Midsummer Night's Dream, because she is so single-mindedly loving that she is easy to relate to, to pity, and to want to slap some sense into.
