Category Famous Characters from World Literature

Have you heard the story of a Venetian merchant named Antonio who has to pay a large sum of money to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender? Antonio and Shylock are from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. It is Portia’s intelligence that saves Antonio from the clutches of Shylock. Needless to say. Portia is the protagonist of the play.

Portia is the heiress of Belmont, known for her beauty, intelligence and quick wit. She is in love with Antonio’s friend, Bassano. Antonio borrows money from Shylock to help Bassanio woo Portia. Shylock lends the huge sum on one condition- that he could take a pound of Antonio’s flesh if he fails to repay the sum!

Hearing that Antonio’s ships have been lost, Shylock goes to court in an attempt to extract his dues. But Portia disguises herself as a young lawyer and argues that Shylock is entitled to take the flesh but not to spill a drop of blood. Her wit saves Antonio.

The play ends on a happy note with Antonio’s ships reappearing.

It is believed that Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1603. This play too is a tragedy that revolves around Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, and his treacherous ensign, lago. As some of you might already know, a Moor is a native of North Africa.

A general with great military feats, Othello was married to Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator Brabanzio. While on a mission in Cyprus, his ensign lago manipulates Othello to believe that Desdemona was cheating on him. A vengeful Othello kills his wife only to realise later that he was manipulated. A heartbroken Othello then kills himself. Jealousy leads to his tragic downfall.

Othello is portrayed in the play as a plainspoken, honest man. He is brave and celebrated which becomes the source of lago’s intense hatred for him- lago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains. Othello’s status as an outsider leaves him vulnerable to the plots of lago.

Romeo is believed to be the ideal lover and his name became the synonym of the passionate male lover in various languages.

Romeo, the son of Lord Montague is smitten by the beauty of Juliet Capulet, and both of them instantly fall in love. Unfortunately, Juliet belongs to a rival family and her marriage is already arranged by her father. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, Friar Lawrence gets Romeo and Juliet married secretly, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt and Romeo’s banishment.

Lovesick and desperate, Juliet fakes her death to reunite with Romeo, following the advice of the Friar. However, the message fails to reach Romeo and he takes his life in her tomb believing that Juliet died. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s lifeless body near her and kills herself. These tragic events put an end to the feud between the families.

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Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. The main character Macbeth is a brave Scottish general. A trio of witches he once meets foretells that one day; Macbeth will become the King of Scotland.

Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan, the Scottish king and takes the throne for himself. His ambition however does him no good. Wracked with guilt and paranoia, he commits more and more crimes to protect himself and his throne, soon becoming a tyrannical leader.

The ambition behind his rise becomes the reason for his tragic fall too; his kingdom is swept by a civil war that pushes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to realms of madness and eventually death.

Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters; she is a powerful presence in the play though her role diminishes towards the end.

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AII of you might have heard the phrase, ‘you too Brutus?’ But did you know that Shakespeare wrote this line for his famous play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar? It is one among several plays written by Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history, such as Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra.

The play is based on the translation of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, originally written in French. It chronicles the events that happen after Caesar’s return to Rome. Cassius forms a conspiracy among Roman republicans against Caesar, fearing his ambition. He persuades a reluctant Brutus, Caesar’s trusted friend, to join them.

Though Caesar possessed great leadership skills, he had many flaws as well. He believed that he was as eternal as the North Star. It was because of this baseless belief that he ignored bad omens and threats against his life. As a result, he was slain in the Senate on the Ides of March.

His friend Mark Antony gives a stirring funeral speech that inspires the crowd to turn against the conspirators. Octavius, Caesar’s great-nephew, forms a triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. In the turn of events, Brutus and his friend Cassius are eventually defeated at the Battle of Philippi, where they kill themselves to avoid further dishonor.

Shakespeare is famous for creating scores of characters that have stood the test of time including Prince Hamlet, one of the greatest characters ever created. Prince Hamlet is the hero of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

This play is widely recognized as one of the most powerful plays in the history of English literature.

Prince Hamlet is the son of King Hamlet who is killed in the beginning of the play by his brother Claudius. The play begins with the ascension of Claudius to the throne after a hasty marriage to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. His father’s ghost appears in Hamlet’s dream asking him to avenge his death by killing Claudius, the murderer. Hamlet’s indecisiveness ends tragically resulting in his death.

Hamlet is a thoughtful young man whose indecisiveness and confusions often end in impulsive acts. His actions indirectly lead to the death of many including his mother Gertrude- who is poisoned by Claudius- and his love Ophelia. Hamlet was written between 1599 and 1601. Frailty, thy name is woman’, and ‘To be or not to be’ are some of the famous lines from this drama.

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