Shakespearean Characters - F

F

  • Fabian is a servant to Olivia, and one of the conspirators against Malvolio, in Twelfth Night.
  • A Fairy flirts with Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  • Sir John Falstaff (fict, but see Sir John Oldcastle and Sir John Fastolfe) is a central character of Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the Henry plays, he is "bad angel" to prince Hal, and is eventually rejected by him. He is the lecherous gull of the title characters in Merry Wives. His death is reported in Henry V, although he is not a character in that play. He is perhaps the most famous supporting role in all of Shakespeare.
  • Fang is a constable in Henry IV, part 2.
  • Sir John Fastolfe (hist) is a coward, stripped of his garter in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • A Father who has killed his son at the Battle of Towton appears in Henry VI, Part 3. See also Son.
  • Faulconbridge:
    • Lady Faulconbridge (fict) confesses to her son, the Bastard, that Richard the Lionheart, and not her husband, was his true father, in King John.
    • Philip (the Bastard) Faulconbridge (fict) is a central character in King John, the bravest and most articulate of John's supporters.
    • Robert Faulconbridge (fict) is the legitimate brother of the bastard in King John. He inherits his father's property.
  • Feeble is pressed into military service by Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • Ferdinand:
    • Ferdinand is the only son of Alonzo (King of Naples) in The Tempest. Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, and his love is tested by Prospero.
    • See also King of Navarre, whose first name is Ferdinand.
  • Fenton is a suitor to Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
  • Feste is the clown and musician in Twelfth Night: a foil for Malvolio.
  • For Fidele see Imogen, who calls herself Fidele when disguised as a boy.
  • For "First...", see entries under the rest of the character's designation (e.g. Murderer for First Murderer, Player for First Player, etc.).
  • Three Fishermen befriend the shipwrecked Pericles, at Pentapolis, in Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
  • Lord Fitzwalter (hist) is among those who challenges Aumerle in Richard II.
  • Flaminius is a servant of Timon, sent - unsuccessfully - to seek money for his master from Lucullus, in Timon of Athens.
  • Flavius:
    • Flavius is the loyal steward to Timon in Timon of Athens, who tries - and fails - to prevent his master's collapse into poverty.
    • Flavius and Marullus are tribunes of the people, dismayed by the enthusiasm of the commoners for the return of Caesar, in the opening scene of Julius Caesar.
  • Fleance is the son of Banquo in Macbeth. He escapes when his father is murdered.
  • 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.
  • Florizel is the son of Polixines, and therefore prince of Bohemia, in The Winter's Tale. He elopes with Perdita when his father prevents their marriage.
  • The Fool is a recurring (though not continuous) character throughout the canon (see: Shakespearian fool):
    • The Fool serves as a foil for the King in King Lear.
    • A Fool appears briefly in Timon of Athens.
    • See also Feste, Touchstone.
    • See also Clown.
  • Fluellen (fict) is a Welsh captain in Henry V.
  • Francis Flute is a bellows-mender in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays Thisbe in Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • Ford:
    • Master Ford is a central character in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He suspects his wife of infidelity with Sir John Falstaff. He tests Falstaff in disguise, calling himself Master Brook.
    • Mistress Ford, wife of Master Ford, is a title character of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She pretends to accept Falstaff's overtures of love to her.
  • A Forester, a minor character, accompanies the Princess and her ladies in waiting on a shooting expedition in Love's Labour's Lost.
  • Fortinbras is a prince of Norway in Hamlet. He is a peripheral figure throughout the play, but arrives to take over the throne of Denmark after the death of the Danish royal family in the final act.
  • France:
    • The Constable of France (hist) leads the French forces in Henry V.
    • The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France (hist) leads the French forces, with Joan, in Henry VI, Part 1.
    • King of France:
      • The King of France (fict) is the husband of Cordelia in King Lear.
      • The King of France is cured by Helena, and in recompense he agrees to order Bertram to marry her, in All's Well That Ends Well.
      • The King of France (hist) is Henry V's enemy in Henry V.
      • King Lewis XI of France (hist), insulted by Edward IV's marriage to Lady Grey, allies himself with Warwick and Margaret in Henry VI, Part 3.
      • King Philip of France (hist) allies himself with Constance in support of Arthur's claim, but later makes peace with John in King John.
    • The Princess of France leads a diplomatic mission to Navarre and becomes romantically entangled with the King, in Love's Labour's Lost.
    • The Queen of France (hist) appears in the last act of Henry V.
  • Francis:
    • Francis is a confused drawer in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.
    • Francis Flute is a bellows-mender in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He plays Thisbe in Pyramus and Thisbe.
    • Friar Francis presides at the aborted marriage ceremony for Hero and Claudio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
  • Francisca is a nun, senior to Isabella, in Measure for Measure.
  • Francisco:
    • Francisco is a soldier on watch at Elsinore, who appears briefly in the opening moments of Hamlet.
    • Francisco is a lord, a follower of Alonso, in The Tempest.
  • For Frank see Master Ford, whose first name is Frank.
  • Duke Frederick is the villain (the usurper of Duke Senior) in As You Like It.
  • A Frenchman, a Dutchman and a Spaniard are guests of Philario, in Cymbeline.
  • Friar (title):
    • Friar Francis presides at the aborted marriage ceremony for Hero and Claudio, in Much Ado About Nothing.
    • Friar John is a minor character, who is unable to deliver a crucial letter from Friar Laurence to Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet.
    • Friar Laurence is confessor and confidante to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. He instigates the unsuccessful plot involving the potion drunk by Juliet.
    • Friar Peter assists Isabella and Mariana in the final act of Measure for Measure.
    • Friar Thomas leads an order of friars, and assists Vincentio to disguise himself as a friar, in Measure for Measure.
    • For The Friar or Friar Lodowick in Measure for Measure, see Vincentio.
  • Two Friends of the Jailer bring him news of his pardon, in The Two Noble Kinsmen.
  • For Friz, see Countrywomen.
  • Froth is a foolish gentleman, among those arrested and brought before Angelo by Elbow, in Measure for Measure.

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