Shakespeare Final Terminology

Bardolph - A commoner from London who serves in the war with Henry, and a friend of Pistol and Nim. Bardolph is a former friend of King Henry from his wild youth. A thief and a coward, Bardolph is hanged in France for looting from the conquered towns in violation of the king’s order

Catherine - The daughter of the king of France. Catherine is eventually married off to King Henry in order to cement the peace between England and France. She speaks little English.

Elizabeth Tudor – The virgin queen, Reigned from 1558-1603; highly sexualized; high education, meticulous, secretly crush on Robert Dudley Earl Leicster

Henry V - The young, recently crowned king of England. Henry is brilliant, focused, fearless, and committed to the responsibilities of kingship. These responsibilities often force him to place his personal feelings second to the needs of the crown. Henry is a brilliant orator who uses his skill to justify his claims and to motivate his troops. Once Henry has resolved to conquer France, he pursues his goal relentlessly to the end. – Flat character compared to others

Henry Wriosthesley – 3rd Earl of Southhampton; speculated love of Shakespeare; Venus & Adonis and Rape of Lucrece dedicated to him

James I – James IV of Scotland; King of England after Elizabeth I, also her cousin; Macbeth was written for him

Machiavelli – political philosopher; immoral, evil character; wrote The Prince; tough discipline system; Italian

Ancient Pistol - A commoner from London who serves in the war with Henry, and a friend of Nim and Bardolph. Pistol speaks with a blustery and melodramatic poetic diction; he is married to the hostess of the Boar’s Head Tavern in London.

The Dauphin - The son of the king of France and heir to the throne (until Henry takes this privilege from him). The Dauphin is a headstrong and overconfident young man, more inclined to mock the English than to make preparations to fight them. He also mocks Henry, making frequent mention of the king’s irresponsible youth

Dorset & Gray- Elizabeth's sons from her first marriage. Dorset is able to leave London on time, while Gray is killed by Richard III.

*Lady Anne- King Henry's father in law and the widow of Edward, who just so happened to by killed by Richard III. Richard III takes Lady Anne for his own liking and then ends up killing her, too (Surprise, surprise).

Stanley- Earl of Derby, supports Richmond's ideas to kill Richard III. Crowns Richmond as King Henry of England after Richard's defeat

Richmond- Victor in the killing of Richard III. Becomes King Henry of England, Elizabeth I's grandfather.

Theseus- (Midsummer) Duke of Athens, represents power and order in the Athenian society, engaged to Hippolyta.

Hippolyta- Amazonian Queen, engaged to Theseus.

Hermia- Daughter of Egeus, has always loved Lysander. Is never put under a spell in the play.

Lysander- Originally was in love with Hermia, but was placed under a spell and fell in love (temporarily) with Helena. Upon other magic, the spell is broken and Lysander marries Hermia, his original love

Demetrius- Originally loves Helena. Under Puck and Oberon's tricks, he falls in love with Hermia, whom he fist lays eyes on, and is thought highly of by her father, Egeus. He comes to his sober senses however, and relizes his true love is for Helena

Helena: In love with Demetrious, best friend to Hermia. Helena is described as having long legs with which to run away and being tall, light, with blonde hair. She is very persistent in what she wants, hence her running after Demetrious even after he threatens to rape her. Helena tells Demetrious of Hermia and Lysanders plan to escape into the forest so setting up the scene where Demetrious goes after Hermia and Helena goes after Demetrious

Oberon: King of the fairies, husband to Titania, friends with robin goodfellow and supposed lover of Hippolyta as well. Oberon is very dominant, he wants to be obeyed, he is romantic and wishes to help the forlorn Athenian lovers, but when his plans go awry he is all for a little sport before fixing what went wrong. Oberon is responsible for putting the potion into Titanias eyes that make her fall in love with an ass, and for the mixed up Athenian lovers in the forest, Hermia, Demetrious, Lysander, and Helena. But he is also responsible for fixing the problem and making sure there is a happy ending.

Titania: Queen of the fairies. Stubborn, made a fool out of by her husband Oberon. She is wife to Oberon, lover to bottom, and ruler of her fairy helpers or maids. She exiles herself from Oberon’s bed because he wants the indian prince from her, she longs for a sense of maternity and that is why she will not give up the boy. Oberon then puts a potion into her eyes and she falls in love with Bottom who has the head of an ass, but after Oberon takes the spell off her eyes she realizes her foolishness and gives the Indian prince to Oberon and all ends well.

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet sees a ghost, who claims to be his dead father and wants him to seek revenge. Hamlet plots to get his uncle to confess to his deeds, and then cannot kill him once he confesses. Hamlet is angry at his mother for marrying Claudius. It is never clear if Hamlet is crazy or just faking it. Hamlet kill Polonius, who is Ophelia's father.

Gertrude: Hamlet's mother, who married his uncle after his uncle murdered his father.

Ophelia: The girl Hamlet is in love with but rejects. She is used by her father to deceive Hamlet, and then she kills herself.

Claudius: Hamlet's uncle. Claudius killed Hamlet's father and married Gertrude. Claudius is a usurper to the throne of Denmark.

Fortinbras: Prince of Norway, son of King Fortinbras who was killed by Hamlet’s father. Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark to revenge his father’s death.

Laertes: Son of Polonius, brother of Ophelia. Leaves for France early in the play. Warns Ophelia about Hamlet. Returns to Denmark to revenge his father’s death. Claudius informs him that Hamlet killed Polonius and they devise a plan to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword and drink during a fencing duel. The swords become switched, and Laertes and Hamlet reconcile and forgive each other as they lay dying.

Horatio: Hamlet’s most trusted friend, and the only character Hamlet somewhat reveals his plans to. Horatio attempts to finish the poisoned drink that was intended for Hamlet, but Hamlet tells him that he must live in order to help make things right again, and to tell Hamlet’s story.

• Antonio
• 1)Prospero’s brother
• 2)Power hungry, clever, manipulative, charismatic, vindictive, deep seated grudge
• 3)Antonio and Alonso usurped Prospero’s position as king and left him to die on a deserted island. Antonio tries to persuade Sebastian to kill Alonso while he is sleeping to take his place as King.

Antonio – from The Tempest; Prospero’s brother. Antonio quickly demonstrates that he is power-hungry and foolish. In Act II, scene i, he persuades Sebastian to kill the sleeping Alonso. He then goes along with Sebastian’s absurd story about fending off lions when Gonzalo wakes up and catches Antonio and Sebastian with their swords drawn.

• Ferdinand
• 1)Prince, heir to throne, Alonso’s son, Miranda’s love
• 2)Noble, obedient, determined, innocent, oblivious/naive
• 3)He falls head over heels in love with Miranda the first time he sees her and he is willing to do whatever it takes to allow Prospero to allow him to marry her.

Ferdinand - Son and heir of Alonso. Ferdinand seems in some ways to be as pure and naïve as Miranda. He falls in love with her upon first sight and happily submits to servitude in order to win her father’s approval.

• Gonzalo
• 1)An old lord who serves whoever is in power and helped Prospero to escape.
• 2)Seemed like the only good guy, loyal, good counselor, wise, understands loyalty in regards to the throne, desires Utopian government, against corruption
• 3)Gonzalo manages to give Prospero his books when he is deserted on the island which allows him to survive using magic. Catches Antonio and Sebastian in the middle of their foolish plot to kill Alonso while he’s sleeping. Gonzalo’s speeches give important insight on the events as they happen, giving sensible advise and being the level headed character

Gonzalo - An old, honest lord; helped Prospero and Miranda to escape after Antonio usurped Prospero’s title. Gonzalo’s speeches provide an important commentary on the events of the play, as he remarks on the beauty of the island when the stranded party first lands, then on the desperation of Alonso after the magic banquet, and on the miracle of the reconciliation in Act V, scene i

Adrian: A lord of the Italian peninsula, shipwrecked with Alonso's party. He remains optimistic after the wreck, serves as a foil to Antonio and Sebastian's cynicism

Caliban: Son of Sycorax, inhabited the island before the arrival of Prospero and Miranda. According to the two arrivals was treated well until he attempted to rape Miranda. Helped the two survive upon their arrival. Latches onto Trinculo and Stephano as a means to escape the servitude Prospero has subjected him to. Treated in literary circles as a stand-in for the historical "other" that is made subject to European colonizers.

• Miranda-
• 1) The daughter of Prospero, brought to the island as a child, therefore she has never had any contact with men other than her father & Caliban.
• 2) She is intelligent, compassionate, and loyal to Prospero
• 3) Her main role in the play is that she falls in love with Ferdinand, who is the son and heir of Alonso, who helped Antonio get Prospero off the throne. Prospero is happy for their relationship.

• Ariel-
• 1) Prospero’s spirit helper. Prospero’s servant until he is released. Rescued by Prospero, which is why he is his servant.
• 2) Ariel is mischievous and loyal to Prospero, hoping to get his freedom.
• 3) Performs every task that Prospero needs accomplished.

• Lady Macbeth is
• 1) The wife of Macbeth.
• 2) Ruthless, manipulative, and lusts for power.
• 3)She convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan and seize the crown, then becomes overwhelmed by her guilt, goes insane, and dies.

• Macbeth is:
• 1) The Scottish thane of Glamis (later Cawdor)
• 2) Easily manipulated, torn between his desire for power and morals (indecisive, always looking for re-assurance).
• 3)Kills his way to becoming King of Scottland and staying in power. Motivated by the three wicked witches and his wife.

Macduff - Nobleman who is hostile towards Macbeth, leads the crusade against Macbeth to put Malcolm on the throne. Is the one to kill Macbeth as he was not "born of woman" and was ripped from her mother's womb.

Malcolm - Son the murdered King Duncan, at the start appears to be weak and uncertain of his own power, but with the help of Macduff assumes the throne, signalling the end of Macbeth's reign of terror and a resotration of order to Scotland

Duncan is king of Scotland who Macbeth murders in order to obtain the throne. Duncan is know for being a benevolent ruler and his death represents a loss of order and harmony in Scotland.

The humors- Bile (yellow and black), phlegm, and blood. There was a belief that these parts of the human body had to be balanced for someone to be considered healthy. If you were sick it was because of one of the humors was out of balance.

Fluellen- From Henry V. Captain from Whales in Henry V's Army.

Macmorris- From Henry V. Captain from Ireland in Henry V's army.

Jamy- From Henry V. Captain from Scotland in Henry V's army.

Hostess- From Henry V. The keeper of the boys head Tavern in London, she is also called Mistress Quick and we are told of her death in Act 5 scene 1 of Henry V.