Shakespearean Characters - D

D

  • Dardanius is a soldier, a follower of Brutus, in Julius Caesar. He refuses to aid Brutus' suicide.
  • Daughter:
    • The Daughter of Antiochus is a famed beauty, engaged in a secret incestuous relationship with her father, in Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
    • The Jailer's Daughter develops an obsessive love for Palamon, and releases him from prison, in The Two Noble Kinsmen. She descends into madness.
  • Dauphin (sometimes Dolphin in older texts):
    • The Dauphin (hist) is Henry's chief enemy in Henry V.
    • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • See also Lewis.
  • Davy (fict) is justice Shallow's servant in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • DeBoys:
    • Jaques DeBoys is a brother to Oliver and Orlando in As You Like It.
    • See also Oliver and Orlando from As You Like It, whose surname is also DeBoys.
  • Decius Brutus (hist) is one of the conspirators against Caesar in Julius Caesar.
  • For Decretas, see Dercetus.
  • Deiphobus (myth), a brother of Hector and Troilus, is a minor character (with the one line, "It is the Lord Aeneas") in Troilus and Cressida.
  • Demetrius:
    • Demetrius is in love with Hermia at the start of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Later, he loves and marries Helena.
    • Demetrius and Chiron, 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.
    • Demetrius and Philo, Romans following Antony, regret his infatuation with Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Dennis is a minor character - a servant to Oliver - in As You Like It.
  • Sir Anthony Denny (hist) is a minor character in Henry VIII, who brings Cranmer to the King.
  • Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby (hist) is a military leader who ultimately reveals his loyalty to the Richmond faction, in spite of his son being a hostage to Richard, in Richard III.
  • Dercetus (hist) is a follower of Antony in Antony and Cleopatra. He informs Caesar of Antony's death.
  • Desdemona is the protagonist's wife in Othello. He strangles her, in the mistaken belief that she is unfaithful.
  • Diana:
    • Diana is desired by Bertram, and pretends to agree to have sex with him. Instead, under cover of darkness, she exchanges places with Helena, who becomes pregnant with Bertram's child, in All's Well That Ends Well.
    • Diana (myth) the goddess of chastity, appears to Perciles in a vision, in Pericles, Prince of Tyre She tells him to visit her temple at Ephesus, leading to his reconciliation with Thaisa there.
  • Dick:
    • Dick the Butcher (fict) is a follower of Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2.
    • See also Richard.
  • Diomedes:
    • Diomedes is a follower of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra. He informs Antony that Cleopatra is alive, and informs Cleopatra that Antony is dying.
    • Diomedes (myth) is one of the Greek leaders in Troilus and Cressida.
    • Diomedes' Servant is sent with a message to Cressida, in Troilus and Cressida.
  • Dion is a courtier to Leontes, who, with Cleomines delivers the oracle from Delphos in The Winter's Tale.
  • Dionyza, the wife of Cleon of Tarsus, is entrusted with the upbringing of Marina, in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. However, she comes to see Marina as a rival to her own daughter, and orders Leonine to kill Marina.
  • Doctor (title):
    • A Doctor in Cordelia's train tends the mad Lear in King Lear.
    • A Doctor suggests that the wooer can cure the Jailer's Daughter's madness by having sex with her while pretending to be Palamon, in The Two Noble Kinsmen.
    • Doctor Butts (hist) is the king's physician in Henry VIII. He alerts the king to Cranmer's humiliation in refused admittance to the council chamber.
    • Doctor Caius (hist-ish) is a French doctor in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He challenges Parson Hugh to a duel.
    • An English Doctor is a minor character in Macbeth.
    • A Scottish Doctor witnesses Lady Macbeth sleepwalking in Macbeth.
    • See also Pinch in The Comedy of Errors, who is sometimes referred to as "Doctor Pinch".
  • Dogberry, accompanied by Verges, is a clownish officer of the watch in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Dolabella (hist) is a follower of Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra. He tells Cleopatra that Caesar intends to lead her, in triumph, through Rome.
  • Doll Tearsheet (fict) is a whore, who is emotionally involved with Falstaff, and is later arrested for murder in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • For Dolphin see Dauphin.
  • For Domitus see Enobarbus.
  • Don (title):
    • Don John is the bastard brother of Don Pedro, and is the chief villain in Much Ado About Nothing.
    • Don Pedro is the prince of Arragon in Much Ado About Nothing.
    • Don Adriano de Armado is an arrogant Spanish braggart in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • Donalbain (hist) is the second son of Duncan in Macbeth.
  • A Door Keeper (fict) bars the entrance of Cranmer to the council chamber, in Henry VIII.
  • Dorcas and Mopsa are shepherdesses, usually portrayed as rather tarty, in The Winter's Tale.
  • Dorset (hist) and Grey (hist), are the two sons of Queen Elizabeth from her first marriage, who are arrested and executed on the orders of Buckingham and Richard in Richard III.
  • The Earl of Douglas leads the Scottish rebel forces in Henry IV, Part 1.
  • Dromio:
    • Dromio of Ephesus, servant to Antipholus of Ephesus and twin of Dromio of Syracuse - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
    • Dromio of Syracuse, servant to Antipholus of Syracuse and twin of Dromio of Ephesus - with whom he is often confused, is a central character in The Comedy of Errors.
  • Duchess (title):
    • Duchess of Gloucester:
      • The Duchess of Gloucester (hist) is the widow of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. His murder (before the play opens) drives much of the action of Richard II.
      • Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester (hist) is the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 2, in which she dabbles in witchcraft with disastrous results.
    • Duchess of York:
      • The Duchess of York (1) (unnamed) character in Richard II, a composite of Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York, died 1392, the mother of Aumerle, and Joan Holland, who bore no children
      • The Duchess of York (2) (hist) is the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1) in Henry VI, Part 3. She outlives him to mourn the death of two of their sons in Richard III.
  • Duke (title):
    • The Duke of Albany is Goneril's husband in King Lear.
    • The Duke of Alençon (hist) is one of the French leaders in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • The Duke of Arragon is an unsuccessful suitor to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.
    • For Duke of Austria see Limoges.
    • For Duke of Bedford see Prince John of Lancaster.
    • The Duke of Berry (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
    • The Duke of Bourbon (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
    • The Duke of Britain (hist) is a French leader in Henry V.
    • Duke of Buckingham:
      • The Duke of Buckingham (1) (hist) is a Lancastrian in Henry VI, Part 2. His death is reported in Henry VI, Part 3.
      • The Duke of Buckingham (2) (hist) is a Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3, and is a co-conspirator with Richard - although he is eventually rejected, then murdered on Richard's orders - in Richard III.
      • The Duke of Buckingham (3) (hist), an enemy of Wolsey, falls from grace and is executed by Henry in Henry VIII.
    • Duke of Burgundy:
      • The Duke of Burgundy (1) (hist) brokers the peace treaty between the kings of France and England in the last act of Henry V.
      • The Duke of Burgundy (2) (hist) fights firstly in alliance with the English, and later in alliance with the French, in Henry VI, Part 1.
      • The Duke of Burgundy (3) refuses to marry Cordelia without a dowry, in King Lear.
    • Duke of 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.
    • The Duke of Cornwall is Regan's husband, who puts out Gloucester's eyes, in King Lear.
    • Duke of Exeter:
      • The Duke of Exeter (1) (hist) is an uncle of Henry V. He acts as emissary to the French King in Henry V. He has a more choric role in Henry VI, Part 1.
      • The Duke of Exeter (2) (hist) is a Lancastrian leader in Henry VI, Part 3.
    • The Duke of Florence discusses the progress of the war with the two French Lords, the brothers Dumaine, in All's Well That Ends Well.
    • Duke Frederick is the villain (the usurper of Duke Senior) in As You Like It.
    • Duke of Gloucester:
      • Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (hist) appears as a brother of Hal in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. He is a much more important character as the protector in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2, in which he is murdered by his rivals.
      • Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III (hist), brave but evil, is the third son of Richard, Duke of York (1). He is a fairly minor character in Henry VI, Part 2, is more prominent in Henry VI, Part 3, and is the title character - and murderer of many other characters - in Richard III.
      • See also Earl of Gloucester.
    • Duke of Lancaster:
      • John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (hist), uncle to King Richard and father to Bolingbroke, dies in Richard II, having delivered his famous "This sceptred isle..." speech.
      • See also Bolingbroke, son to John of Gaunt, who claims the dukedom of Lancaster on his father's death.
    • Duke of Milan
      • The Duke of Milan is patron to both Valentine and Proteus, and is the father of Silvia, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
      • See also Prospero and Antonio from The Tempest, who are dukes of Milan.
    • Duke of Norfolk:
      • The Duke of Norfolk (hist) is a supporter of the Yorkists in Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III.
      • The Duke of Norfolk (hist & hist) is an associate of Buckingham in Henry VIII.
      • Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (hist) is Bolingbroke's enemy, exiled by Richard, in Richard II.
    • The Duke of Orleans (hist) fights on the French side in Henry V.
    • Duke Senior is the father of Rosalind. He is the true duke, and has been usurped by his brother, Duke Frederick, at the start of As You Like It.
    • Duke of Somerset:
      • The Duke of Somerset (1) (hist) is a follower of King Henry in Henry VI, Part 1.
      • The Duke of Somerset (2) (hist) appears among the Lancastrian faction in Henry VI, Part 2. His head is carried onstage by Richard (later Richard III) in the opening scene of Henry VI, Part 3.
      • The Duke of Somerset (3) (hist and hist) is a conflation by Shakespeare of two historical Dukes of Somerset. He supports both factions at different stages of Henry VI, Part 3.
    • Duke of Suffolk:
      • The Duke of Suffolk (hist) is a courtier, cynical about the King's relationship with Anne Bullen, in Henry VIII.
      • The Duke of Suffolk (William de la Pole) (hist) is a manipulative character, loved by Queen Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
    • The Duke of Surrey (hist) accuses Aumerle of plotting Woodstock's death in Richard II.
    • Duke of Venice:
      • The Duke of Venice tries the case between Shylock and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice.
      • The Duke of Venice hears Brabantio's complaint against Othello in Othello.
    • For Duke of Vienna see Vincentio in Measure for Measure.
    • Duke of York:
      • The Duke of York (1) (hist) is the uncle of both Richard and Bolingbroke in Richard II.
      • The Duke of York (2) (hist) is a minor character, the leader of the "vaward" in Henry V. (Historically this character is the same person as Aumerle.)
      • Richard, Duke of York (1) (hist) is a central character in Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3. He is the Yorkist claimant to the throne of England, in opposition to Henry VI, and he is eventually killed on the orders of Queen Margaret.
      • Richard, Duke of York (2) (hist) is the younger of the two princes in the tower, murdered on the orders of Richard in Richard III.
    • For The Duke in Measure for Measure, see Vincentio.
    • Numerous characters are Dukes, including Antonio (from The Tempest), Orsino, Prospero, Solinus, Theseus and Vincentio (from Measure for Measure).
  • Dull is a constable in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • Dumaine:
    • Dumaine, with Berowne and Longaville, is one of the three companions of The King of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost.
    • See also the two Lords in All's Well That Ends Well, who are described as the brothers Dumaine.
  • Duncan (hist) is the king of Scotland, murdered in Macbeth.
  • A Dutchman, a Frenchman and a Spaniard are guests of Philario, in Cymbeline.

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