Now that I have completed my project of reading all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays, I thought I would share a few posts summing some of my favorites from the experience, some not-so-favorites, some of what I learned, and some recommendations. I’m going to call this my “Best of the Bard” series. I hope you enjoy it!
For the first Best of the Bard post, I thought I would share my top favorite characters from all of Shakespeare’s work.
There are a myriad of characters to choose from within Shakespeare’s canon, which include some truly marvelous creations.
The 10 I have chosen are perhaps slightly changeable (I might come up with a slightly different list if I were to make this again in a few weeks), but most came to mind quite quickly and I think it’s a pretty solid list.
Please note that this is not a list of “nicest characters” or “characters that I would want to be friends with” or even “characters I admire.” Some of them are. But some are most definitely not. They are the characters that simply stood out the most to me and/or that I found the most interesting.
Without any further ado, here is my list of favorite Shakespearean characters (in no particular order):
Lady Macbeth has fascinated me ever since I was first introduced to the play at the age of 10 or so. I think that is in large part because she was and is unlike any other character I have ever come across. There’s a power in her that I can’t help but admire in spite of all her faults and horrendous actions. And then when we compare that to the last time we see her in the play, where she is utterly broken, it is nothing short of devastating and heartbreaking. It’s one of my favorite scenes of all time. She continues to fascinate me all these years later, and in some ways is the real star of Macbeth for me.
Rosalind is sheer joy and brilliance. I think any reader or audience of As You Like It can’t help but adore her from the word go all the way to the end of the play. She is witty, fearless, mischievous, defiant, passionate, and so many more lovely adjectives. I love her so much and she deserves all the praise that can be heaped onto any Shakespeare character. So many female characters, even in contemporary literature, are passive and simply react to events. One of the many things I love about Rosalind is that she moves things forward all on her own. She doesn’t wait to react to something that happens to her. She makes things happen, and she does it in good humor, with a smile, and staying an absolutely delight.
Celia/Aliena doesn’t seem to get much attention, but I find her to be one of Shakespeare’s most hilarious characters, with nearly infinite comic potential. She is absolutely hilarious, and is a perfect match for Rosalind’s wit and impulsiveness. Celia shows so much loyalty, which I love, even though it inconveniences her, and provides all of the support that Rosalind needs to fulfill her plans. She is also a delight, and a brilliant character to watch.
Jaques is one of those famous minor roles like Malvolio, Dogberry, the Fool in Lear, or the Porter in Macbeth. Most of those roles I don’t actually like very much, but Jaques is the exception. He is witty, he is intelligent, and he is incredibly funny without trying too hard or being a buffoon. Not to mention he has one of my favorite passages from the whole play: the seven stages of man speech. He is quite a cynical character, but I love him in spite of all that and I think he’s an incredible creation and addition in to a Dramatis Personae already filled with a stunningly brilliant array of characters.
Prince Hal/Henry V is fascinating to me, in part because he changes more than any other Shakespearean character I can think of. True, he does it over three plays, but I still think it’s pretty remarkable to watch. He is such a frat boy (pardon the stereotype, but it gets the point across) at the beginning, and we see him become an incredible king right before our eyes. That transformation is stunning and inspiring. It’s also a little heartbreaking, because there is such a strong sense of duty in what he knows he has to be, and it feels like he has to weed out all that he was before and become someone entirely new. I love him for that sacrifice. I love him because of his struggle with living up to his father’s expectations-something he feels he constantly fails at. I love him because he was able to finally set aside some of his worst instincts and become the king he knew he needed to be. I love him because of his courage and the way he inspires his people before the big battle in Henry V. I love him because he’s an illustration that we can all be more than we think.
Falstaff is one of Shakespeare’s most cherished characters, and for good reason-so much so, that Merry Wives of Windsor was (I think?) written so that he could again be featured. He is such a rascal, and not someone I would ever want to deal with in person, but he is a genius of a character. He looms larger than life, though not in a cartoonish way, and he is central to one of the most beautiful, brilliant scenes ever to grace the stage. His love for Hal is touching, even despite questionable motives and it makes me happy for Hal that he had someone like Falstaff in his life.
Beatrice is such a force of nature. I love how independent she is, how feisty and sarcastic, but Shakespeare avoids letting her fall into the stereotype of an Iron Maiden that so many “strong” female characters fall into now. She is so incredibly human and I love that. She is by far the best part about Much Ado About Nothing in my opinion (which is saying quite a bit, as I really like the play), and I think she’s brilliant.
Benedick gets his fair share of my love, too. He’s a bit of a…well…let’s just say the last syllable in his name is rather fitting. The Benedick at the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing, at least, would definitely be a big of a sexist pig if he was alive today. BUT despite all his faults, I think you can’t help but love him. His response when he “finds out” (a.k.a. is tricked into believing) that Beatrice is in love with him is freaking hilarious, but also kind of adorable, showing that, at least somewhere deep down, he’s not actually a sexist pig. I also think he deserves a shoutout for what he does after the fiasco at Hero and Claudio’s wedding.
Henry IV and Richard II are my final two favorite Shakespearean characters, and they are on my list for the same reason. I think they have some of the most beautiful lines and gorgeous language anywhere in Shakespeare’s canon. And for a writer as gifted as the Bard, that is saying a heck of a lot. They both use stunningly exquisite language that seriously gives me shivers and leaves me breathless. You don’t need to go any further than Richard II’s “for god’s sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings” speech or Henry IV’s “O gentle sleep, nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee…” soliloquy for evidence of that. Hoo. I’m getting shivers just thinking about it.
Honorable mention: Richard III is one of the most impressive characters Shakespeare ever created. The complexity of Richard’s character is astounding, as is the extent to which we care about him and understand him despite knowing how horrible he is. Having a villain as your lead is a tricky thing to pull off, and through Richard, Shakespeare pull it off magnificently. It was very, very hard not to put Macbeth on this list as the honorable mention, but in the end, I think Richard is the better creation, although Macbeth has better lines. As I’m writing this, I feel like Macbeth definitely deserves a place on this list, but I should stop now, or I’m just going to keep adding to it.
