Shakespeare Characters
DirectionsName the Shakespeare characters who had at least 50 speeches across all works. Some alternate names accepted. Occasionally a generic name may be needed – i.e. ‘King of Scotland.’ Goal is most speeches, not characters.
Looking at what I assume is the original source, there’s a few inaccuracies, mostly with how they combine characters in multiple history plays together. The most obvious one has to do with Bardolph. Bardolph, the follower of Falstaff, appears in four plays – Henry IV, Parts 1-2, Henry V, and Merry Wives of Windsor. The Open Source Shakespeare listing of lines only counts Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V. Bardolph’s lines in Merry Wives are listed as for another character named Bardolph, and his lines in Henry IV Part 1 are combined with the lines for Lord Bardolph, a different character (a rebel lord) in Henry IV, Part 2.
There’s also just a plain misspelling of “Domitius Enobarus” when it should be “Domitius Enobarbus”
I’ll try to list out the other errors.
Okay, promised further corrections:
1. the Richard, Duke of York in Richard III is a different person from the one in the Henry VI plays. The former is the younger son of Edward IV, the latter Edward IV’s father.
2. The Duke of Gloucester in Henry V and the Henry VI plays is the same person as “Prince Humphrey” in Henry IV Part 2
3. The Duke of Buckingham in Henry VI Part 2 is a different person from the one in Richard III (a grandfather and grandson again)
4. The Duke of Somerset in Henry VI Part 3 is the son of the Somerset in the first two parts
5. The Lord Clifford of Henry VI Part 3 is the son of the one in Part 2, and the same person as the “Young Clifford” of Henry VI Part 2
6. The Earl of Warwick situation is confusing. The one in Henry IV-V is definitely a different person from the one in Henry VI Parts 2-3. But I’m not sure what the deal is with the one in Henry VI Part 1. In the actual history, the Earl of Warwick for most of the time covered in that play was the same one as the one in the earlier-set plays, but I’m not sure if the character is treated as being the same person as Warwick the Kingmaker in the latter parts of Henry VI (I’d guess yes, but I’m not sure)
7. Prince John in the Henry IV plays is the same person as the Duke of Bedford in Henry V and Henry VI Part 1.
I think those are all the issues that affect the list.
(I should clarify – Prince Humphrey in the Henry IV plays = Duke of Gloucester in Henry V and Henry VI Parts 1-2. Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI Part 3 is Richard III.)
Re: Buckingham, I see you have him just listed for Henry VI Part 2. But the main Buckingham appearance is in Richard III.
I think Richard Plantagenet is actually the Duke of York, not Gloucester? Richard III was Gloucester prior to becoming king, but he’s already in there.
believe you’re right – fixing.