Shakespearean Characters - C

C

  • Jack Cade (hist) leads a proletarian rebellion in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Cadwal (real name Arviragus) is the second son of the king in Cymbeline, stolen away in infancy by Morgan, and brought up as Morgan's child.
  • Caesar:
    • Julius Caesar (hist) is the title character of Julius Caesar, an Emperor of Rome who is stabbed in the Capitol, on the Ides of March.
    • Octavius Caesar (hist) is one of the Triumvirs, the three rulers of Rome after Caesar's death, in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Caius:
    • Caius, Sempronius and Valentine are minor characters, kinsmen and supporters of Titus, in Titus Andronicus.
    • Caius Cassius (hist) is a central character in Julius Caesar. He incites the conspiracy against Caesar, and recruits Brutus to the conspirators' ranks.
    • Caius Ligarius (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
    • Caius Lucius is the Roman ambassador in Cymbeline, and the leader of the Roman forces.
    • Caius Martius Coriolanus (hist) is the central character of Coriolanus, who earns the tile "Coriolanus" in recognition of his skill at smiting Volscians in Coriolai.
    • Doctor Caius (hist-ish) is a French doctor in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He challenges Parson Hugh to a duel.
    • See also the Earl of Kent, who calls himself Caius in his disguise as a servant of King Lear.
  • Calchas, Cressida's father, has defected to the Greeks, and negotiates his daughter's exchange for a Trojan prisoner in Troilus and Cressida.
  • Caliban, son of the witch Sycorax, is a deformed slave to Prospero in The Tempest.
  • Calphurnia (hist) is the wife of Caesar, whose dream predicts her husband's death, in Julius Caesar.
  • For Cambio see Lucentio, who calls himself Cambio in his disguise as a schoolmaster.
  • The Earl of Cambridge (hist) is one of the three conspirators against the king's life (with Scroop and Grey) in Henry V.
  • Camillo is a follower of Leontes, ordered to kill Polixines, but who instead warns Polixines of his danger and becomes his companion, in The Winter's Tale.
  • Cardinal Campeius (hist) is the papal legate at the trial of Katherine, in Henry VIII.
  • Canidius (hist) is a follower of Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Canterbury:
    • The Archbishop of Canterbury (hist) is an important character in the first act of Henry V. He expounds Henry's claim to the French throne.
    • Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (hist) is a major character in the last act of Henry VIII: hauled before the privy council by his enemies and threatened with imprisonment, but protected by the king.
    • See also Cardinal Bourchier, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time dramatised in Richard III.
  • Caphis is the servant of a Senator in Timon of Athens, sent to collect a debt due from Timon.
  • For Capilet see the Widow in All's Well That Ends Well, whose surname is Capilet.
  • Captain:
    • A Captain survives the shipwreck at the start of Twelfth Night with Viola, and helps her with her disguise.
    • A Captain of the Welsh army brings Richard the bad news that his army, believing him dead, has deserted him, in Richard II.
    • A Captain brings Duncan news of Macbeth and Banquo's victories, in the first act of Macbeth.
    • A Captain attending on Edgar delivers Lear and Cordelia to be hanged in King Lear.
    • A Captain of the Norwegian army explains Fortinbras' mission against the Poles, in Hamlet.
    • A Captain in Antony's army is a minor speaking role in Antony and Cleopatra.
    • An English Captain witnesses the retreat of the cowardly Fastolfe, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • An English Captain accompanies Lucy on his mission to obtain assistance from the English Lords, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • A French Captain on the walls of Bordeaux defies Talbot, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • A Roman Captain in Cymbeline attends on Lucius.
    • Two British Captains in Cymbeline arrest Posthumus, thinking him an enemy.
    • Several characters hold (or purport to hold) the rank of captain, including Fluellen, Gower, Jamy, Macmorris and Pistol.
    • Several characters are sea captains, including Antonio in Twelfth Night. See also Master.
  • Capulet:
    • Capulet is Juliet's father in Romeo and Juliet.
    • Lady Capulet is Juliet's mother in Romeo and Juliet.
    • Old Capulet is a minor character - a kinsman of Capulet - in the party scene of Romeo and Juliet.
    • See also Juliet and Tybalt.
    • Lord Caputius (hist) is an ambassador from the Holy Roman Emperor in Henry VIII.
  • Cardinal:
    • Cardinal Bourchier (hist) delivers the little Duke of York from sanctuary, and into the hands of Richard and Buckingham, in Richard III.
    • Cardinal Campeius (hist) is the papal legate at the trial of Katherine, in Henry VIII.
    • Cardinal Pandulph (hist) is the Papal legate in King John. He incites the Dauphin against John, but later tries to placate him.
    • Cardinal Wolsey (hist) orchestrates the fall from grace of Buckingham and Katherine, but himself falls from grace and dies, in Henry VIII.
    • See also the Bishop of Winchester, who becomes a Cardinal in the course of Henry VI, Part 1.
  • The Bishop of Carlisle (hist) supports Richard in Richard II.
  • A carpenter and a cobbler are among the crowd of commoners gathered to welcome Caesar home enthusiastically in the opening scene of Julius Caesar.
  • Casca (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar, in Julius Caesar. He has an important role in the early parts of the play, reporting offstage events.
  • Cassandra (myth) is a prophetess in Troilus and Cressida.
  • Michael Cassio is a lieutenant in Othello. Iago persuades Othello that Cassio is having an affair with Othello's wife, Desdemona.
  • Caius Cassius (hist) is a central character in Julius Caesar. He incites the conspiracy against Caesar, and recruits Brutus to the conspirators' ranks.
  • Catesby (hist) is a double agent - seemingly loyal to Lord Hastings but actually reporting to Buckingham and Richard - in Richard III.
  • For Catherine see Katherine.
  • Cathness is a thane in Macbeth.
  • Simon Catling, Hugh Rebeck and James Soundpost are minor characters, musicians, in Romeo and Juliet.
  • Young Cato is a soldier of Brutus' and Cassius' party, in Julius Caesar.
  • Celia is Rosalind's companion and cousin, and is daughter to Duke Frederick in As You Like It.
  • Ceres (myth) is presented by a masquer in The Tempest.
  • Cerimon is a lord of Ephesus in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He opens the chest in which Thaisa had been buried at sea and, being skilled in medicine, he realises that she is not dead and nurses her back to health.
  • For Cesario see Viola, who calls herself Cesario in her male disguise, and her brother Sebastian who is sometimes called Cesario, being mistaken for his sister.
  • The Lord Chamberlain, in Henry VIII (hist & hist) is a conflation of two historical Lords Chamberlain, one of them Lord Sandys, who is also a character in the play.
  • The Lord Chancellor (hist) - historically Sir Thomas More, although not identified as such in the play - is among the Privy Counsellors who accuse Cranmer in Henry VIII.
  • Charles:
    • Charles is a wrestler, defeated by Orlando, in As You Like It.
    • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Charmian (hist) is the main attendant to Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and dies by snakebite.
  • Emmanuel the Clerk of Chatham (fict) is murdered by Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Chatillion is an ambassador from France to England in King John.
  • The Lord Chief Justice (hist) is a dramatic foil to Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Chiron and Demetrius, are two sons of Tamora in Titus Andronicus. They rape and mutilate Lavinia, and are eventually killed and cooked by Titus, who serves them to Tamora to eat.
  • Chorus:
    • The Chorus speaks the opening prologue in Romeo and Juliet, and a further prologue at the beginning of the second act.
    • The Chorus (fict) is the second most major character, after the king himself, in Henry V. He speaks a lengthy prologue to each of the five acts, and an epilogue.
    • See also John Gower, Rosalind, Rumour and Time, each of whom act as a chorus in their play.
    • See also Prologue.
  • Christopher:
    • Christopher Sly is a drunken tinker in the induction to The Taming of the Shrew. He is gulled into believing he is a lord.
    • Christopher Urswick (hist) is a minor character: a priest acting as messenger for Lord Stanley, in Richard III.
  • Cicero, a senator, hears Casca's account of strange portents, in Julius Caesar.
  • Metellus Cimber (hist) is one of the conspirators in Julius Caesar.
  • Cinna:
    • Cinna (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
    • Cinna is a poet, mistaken for the conspirator Cinna in Julius Caesar. Realising they have the wrong man, the mob "kill him for his bad verses".
  • Citizen:
    • A citizen of Antium briefly meets the disguised Coriolanus, and directs him to Aufidius' house.
    • A mob of citizens, seven of them speaking roles, appear both in opposition and in support of the title character in several scenes of Coriolanus. Speaking as one, the mob's speech prefix is Plebeians.
    • Three citizens debate the succession of Edward V, in Richard III.
    • See also Plebeians.
  • Clarence:
    • George, Duke of Clarence (hist) is the younger brother of Edward and the elder brother of Richard in Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III. He is often known as "perjured Clarence", having broken his oath to Warwick and fighting instead for his brother's faction. He is eventually drowned in a butt of malmesy wine.
    • Thomas, Duke of Clarence (hist) is Hal's younger brother, who appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.
  • Claudio:
    • Claudio is a friend to Benedick and a follower of Don Pedro, in Much Ado About Nothing. He falls in love with Hero but is persuaded, wrongly, that she has been unfaithful.
    • Claudio, brother to Isabella, is sentenced to death for fornication in Measure for Measure.
  • Claudius:
    • Claudius and Varro are guards in Brutus' tent, in Julius Caesar. They do not see Caesar's ghost.
    • King Claudius (myth) is the uncle and stepfather of the title character in Hamlet. He has murdered his brother Old Hamlet, has taken over his crown, and has married his queen, Gertrude.
  • Cleomines is a courtier to Leontes, who, with Dion delivers the oracle from Delphos in The Winter's Tale.
  • Cleon is governor of Tarsus in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Pericles brings food to save Cleon's starving people, and later trusts his new-born daughter into Cleon's care.
  • Cleopatra (hist) is the lover of Antony in Antony and Cleopatra. She commits suicide using a poisonous asp.
  • Emmanuel the Clerk of Chatham (fict) is murdured by Jack Cade's rebels in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Clifford:
    • Clifford (sometimes called Young Clifford) (hist) is a staunch Lancastrian, and is the Yorkists most hated enemy — as the killer of Rutland — in Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3.
    • Old Clifford (hist), father of Clifford, is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 2.
  • Clitus is a soldier, a follower of Brutus, in Julius Caesar. He refuses to aid Brutus' suicide.
  • Cloten, son of the Queen and stepson to the king in Cymbeline, vainly loves Imogen, and eventually resolves to rape her.
  • Clown:
    • The Clown is the good-natured son of the Old Shepherd, gulled by Autolycus, in The Winter's Tale.
    • The Clown appears briefly to make fun of the musicians, and later to banter with Desdemona, in Othello.
    • The Clown delivers some pigeons, and letters from Titus Andronicus, to Saturninus. He is hanged for his pains.
    • The Clown delivers a poisonous asp to Cleopatra in a basket of figs, in Antony and Cleopatra.
    • The Clown, also identified as "Pompey" is a servant to Mistress Overdone in Measure for Measure.
    • For the two clowns in Hamlet see "Gravedigger".
    • For "Clown" in All's Well That Ends Well, see Lavatch.
    • See also Touchstone, who is simply called "Clown" until he reaches the Forest of Arden.
    • Numerous characters are clowns, or are comic characters originally played by the clowns in Shakespeare's company.
    • See also Fool and Shakespearian fool.
  • A cobbler and a carpenter are among the crowd of commoners gathered to welcome Caesar home enthusiastically in the opening scene of Julius Caesar.
  • Cobweb is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  • Sir John Coleville is a rebel captured by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Cominius and Titus Lartius are leaders of the Roman forces against the Volscians, in Coriolanus.
  • Conrade is a villain, a servant of Don John, in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • "Three or four" Conspirators, three of them speaking roles, conspire with Aufidius, in Coriolanus.
  • The Constable of France (hist) leads the French forces in Henry V.
  • Constance (hist) is Arthur's mother in King John: a fierce advocate for her son's right to the English throne.
  • Corambis is an alternative name for Polonius in Hamlet. He is so named in The First Quarto of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1603); occasionally referred to as the "bad quarto".
  • Cordelia (myth) is the goodly youngest daughter in King Lear. She marries the King of France. At the end of the play she is hanged on Edmund's instructions.
  • Corin is a kindly shepherd in As You Like It.
  • Caius Martius Coriolanus (hist) is the central character of Coriolanus, who earns the tile "Coriolanus" in recognition of his skill at smiting Volscians in Coriolai.
  • Cornelius:
    • Cornelius and Voltemand are two ambassadors from Claudius to the Norwegian court, in Hamlet.
    • Cornelius, a doctor in Cymbeline, provides a fake poison to the Queen, which is later used on Imogen. He also reports the Queen's last words.
  • The Duke of Cornwall is Regan's husband, who puts out Gloucester's eyes, in King Lear.
  • For Corporal, see Bardolph and Nym, who hold that rank.
  • Costard is a clown and country bumkin from Love's Labour's Lost.
  • Count (title):
    • A number of characters have the title Count, including Claudio (from Much Ado About Nothing) and Paris.
  • Countess (title):
    • The Countess of Auvergne tries to entrap Talbot in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Countess of Rousillon is Bertram's mother, and Helena's protector, in All's Well That Ends Well.
    • See also Olivia.
  • A number of countrymen, together with Gerald, provide Maying entertainment in The Two Noble Kinsmen. Four of them are speaking roles. Three of them are called Arcas, Rycas and Sennois. They may, or may not, include Timothy and the Bavian.
  • Five countrywomen (called Barbary, Friz, Luce, Maudlin and Nell) dance at the Maying entertainment in The Two Noble Kinsmen.
  • Alexander Court (fict) is a soldier in the English army in Henry V.
  • Courtesan:
    • A courtesan dines with Antipholus of Ephesus, who finds himself locked out of his own home, in The Comedy of Errors.
    • Several characters are courtesans, or are accused of being courtesans, most notably Cressida from Troilus and Cressida.
  • Crab is Launce's dog, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
  • Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (hist) is a major character in the last act of Henry VIII: hauled before the privy council by his enemies and threatened with imprisonment, but protected by the king.
  • Cressida is one of the titular characters in Troilus and Cressida. The Trojan prince Troilus falls in love with this young daughter of a Trojan defector.
  • A crier to the court, and a scribe to the court, are minor roles - but they usually have dramatic impact - in the trial scene of Henry VIII.
  • Thomas Cromwell (hist) is secretary to Wolsey, and later to the Privy Council, in Henry VIII.
  • Cupid (myth) reads the prologue to a masque in Timon of Athens.
  • Curan is minor character, a follower of the Earl of Gloucester, in King Lear.
  • Curio is an attendant on Orsino in Twelfth Night.
  • Curtis is a servant of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
  • Cymbeline (hist), the title character of Cymbeline, is king of the Britons, and father to Imogen, Guiderus and Arviragus.

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