Character Study – Page 3 – Interesting Literature

An Interesting Character Study: Bertram from All’s Well That Ends Well

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Bertram, who becomes Count of Roussillon at the beginning of All’s Well That Ends Well upon the death of his father, is young, and has all of the arrogance that youth can bestow, especially on someone as privileged as he is. The young count might be compared to a number of Shakespeare’s earlier young and naïve male characters, such as Claudio from Much Ado about Nothing (who spurns his beloved, Hero, at the altar because he’s been led to believe she’s been unfaithful).

An Interesting Character Study: Helena from All’s Well That Ends Well

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Helena, the heroine of All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare’s ‘loveliest character’ while the Victorian actress Ellen Terry called her ‘despicable’ and a ‘doormat’. Perhaps the former judgment of Helena’s character is a little over-charitable; perhaps the latter is too harsh. Helena is unscrupulous in her single-minded determination to get what she wants (Bertram, for some mysterious reason).

An Interesting Character Study: Caliban

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Caliban is a childlike and in many ways childish native of the enchanted island where Prospero lives with his daughter, Miranda. The offspring of the witch Sycorax, Caliban was formerly treated generously by Prospero, who arrived on Caliban’s island twelve years earlier, teaching him to speak Prospero’s own language and even giving Caliban wine to drink. However, when Caliban proved himself irresponsible and a threat to Miranda, Prospero confined Caliban to one part of the island.

An Interesting Character Study: Prospero from The Tempest

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The character of Prospero is one that many notable actors over the centuries have taken on, ever since Richard Burbage – the lead actor in Shakespeare’s company, who had also been his first Hamlet and first Richard III – took to the stage in 1611 and (probably) played the role of Prospero in the play’s earliest productions. Some of the most noteworthy Prosperos have included Patrick Stewart, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Michael Hordern, and even (in a slightly different version of the character) Helen Mirren. What makes Prospero, one of Shakespeare’s last great theatrical characters, such a celebrated role?

An Interesting Character Study: Lady Macbeth

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Lady Macbeth is widely regarded as one of the most villainous female characters in all of English literature, and perhaps Shakespeare’s most cold-hearted female character. Not only does she urge her husband to murder their King for no other reason than heartless ambition, she also states that she would dash out her own baby’s brains rather than lose her courage for such a regicidal act.