四大悲剧人物

Hamlet

The prince of Denmark, and a student at the University of Wittenberg. At the beginning of the

play, Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, has recently died, and his mother, Queen Gertrude, has

married the new king, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full

of hatred for his uncle and disgust at his mother for marrying him. When the ghost of

Hamlet’s father appears and claims to have been murdered by Claudius, Hamlet becomes

obsessed with avenging his father’s death but keeps thinking of reasons why he should wait

before killing Claudius—then chastizes himself for failing to act boldly.

Hamlet is a character of contradictions. He admires characters like Fortinbras and the

Player King, who behave passionately and even violently for no good reason, but is himself

thoughtful, reflective, and philosophical. At times Hamlet is indecisive and hesitant, but at

other times he is prone to rash and impulsive acts of violence.

Claudius

The king of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating,

ambitious politician, adept at manipulating others for his own ends and willing to execute,

assassinate, or murder to stay in power. He doesn’t understand Hamlet or Hamlet’s motives,

but he is quick to perceive Hamlet as a threat and take decisive action against him. Claudius

does occasionally show signs of remorse and human feeling—his affection for Gertrude, for

instance, seems sincere.

Othello

The play’s protagonist and hero. Othello is the highly respected general of the armies of

Venice, although he is not a native of Venice but rather a Moor, or North African. He is an

eloquent and powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status,

Othello is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and

his self-consciousness about being a racial and cultural outsider. He possesses a free and open

nature that his ensign Iago exploits to twist Othello’s love for his wife, Desdemona, into a

powerful and destructive jealousy.

Desdemona

The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married

before the play begins. While in some ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also

determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting

bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.

Iago

Othello’s ensign (a senior position also known as “ancient” or “standard-bearer”), a

twenty-eight-year-old military veteran from Venice. Iago is the villain of the play. Although

he is obsessive, relentless, bold, and ingenius in his efforts to manipulate and deceive the

other characters—particularly Othello—Iago’s motivations are notoriously murky. At various

points in the play, he claims to be motivated by different things: resentment that Othello

passed him over for a promotion in favor of Michael Cassio; jealousy because he heard a

rumor that Othello slept with Iago’s wife, Emilia; suspicion that Cassio slept with Emilia too.

Iago gives the impression that he’s tossing out plausible motivations as he thinks of them, and that we’ll never understand what really drives his villainy. He hates women and is obsessed

with other people’s sex lives.

King Lear

The aging king of Britain and the protagonist of the play. Lear is used to enjoying absolute

power and to being flattered, and he does not respond well to being contradicted or

challenged. At the beginning of the play, his values are notably hollow—he prefers his two

older daughters' obvious flattery over the actual devotion of Cordelia, and he wishes to

maintain the power of a king while unburdening himself of the responsibility. Nevertheless,

Lear inspires loyalty in subjects such as Gloucester, Kent, Cordelia, and Edgar, all of whom

risk their lives for him.

Cordelia

Lear’s youngest daughter, disowned by her father for refusing to flatter him. Cordelia is held

in extremely high regard by all of the good characters in the play—the king of France marries

her for her virtue alone, overlooking her lack of dowry. Cordelia remains loyal to Lear despite

his cruelty toward her, forgives him, and displays a mild and forbearing temperament even

toward her evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. Despite her obvious virtues, Cordelia’s reticence

makes her motivations difficult to read, as in her refusal to declare her love for her father at

the beginning of the play.

Macbeth

A Scottish general and the thane of Glamis. (“Thane” is a Scottish title of nobility, and Glamis

is a village in eastern Scotland.) Macbeth is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of three