Ghost character
Encyclopedia
In playwriting, a ghost character is a character who is mentioned as appearing on stage but neither says nor does anything but enter, and possibly exit. They are generally interpreted as editing mistakes, indicative of unresolved revisions to the text. If the character was intended to appear but say nothing, it is assumed this function would be clearly identified in the play.
The term is most often used in discussion of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, which are assumed to have existed in several revisions, only one of which is usually published. It is most associated with the works of William Shakespeare
and is often thought to be evidence that the published version of the play is taken from his foul papers
.
What the presence of such a character means often varies by play and by commentator. Some commentators claim that the ghost character in Timon of Athens
, for example, proves the play's weakness and unfinished nature, though such an argument is rarely used for other ghost characters.
Other plays of the period include ghost characters, such as John Webster
's The White Devil
, in which "little Jacques the Moor", "Christophero", "Guid-antonio", and "Farneseis" are mentioned entering, but have no lines.
The term is most often used in discussion of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, which are assumed to have existed in several revisions, only one of which is usually published. It is most associated with the works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and is often thought to be evidence that the published version of the play is taken from his foul papers
Foul papers
Foul papers is a term that refers to an author's working drafts, most often applied in the study of the plays of Shakespeare and other dramatists of English Renaissance drama. Once the composition of a play was finished, a transcript or "fair copy" of the foul papers was prepared, by the author or...
.
What the presence of such a character means often varies by play and by commentator. Some commentators claim that the ghost character in Timon of Athens
Timon of Athens
The Life of Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon , generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works...
, for example, proves the play's weakness and unfinished nature, though such an argument is rarely used for other ghost characters.
Other plays of the period include ghost characters, such as John Webster
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
's The White Devil
The White Devil
The White Devil is a revenge tragedy from 1612 by English playwright John Webster . A notorious failure when it premiered, Webster complained the play was acted in the dead of winter before an unreceptive audience. The play's complexity, sophistication and satire made it a poor fit with the...
, in which "little Jacques the Moor", "Christophero", "Guid-antonio", and "Farneseis" are mentioned entering, but have no lines.
List of Shakespeare's ghost characters
- Violenta, All's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
, a character who enters with the Widow in Act III, scene 5, possibly another daughter of the Widow and sister to Diana. - Lamprius, Antony and CleopatraAntony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
, Act I, Scene 2. Some editors assume this is the name of the SoothsayerFortune-tellingFortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
, but the Soothsayer is implied to be Egyptian in Act II, Scene 3. Lampryas is named in PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
as his own grandfather, from whom he got an anecdote about Antony, which is the likely source. - Rannius, Antony and Cleopatra, also in Act I, scene 2
- Lucillius, Antony and Cleopatra, an attendant of EnobarbusGnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC)Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a general and politician of ancient Rome in the 1st century BC.-Life:Ahenobarbus was captured with his father, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, at Corfinium in 49 BC, and was present at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, but did not take any further part in the war...
in Act I, Scene 2. - Beaumont, Henry VHenry V (play)Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
. He is one of the casualties in the Battle of AgincourtBattle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, noted in Act III, scene 5 and listed as a casualty in Act IV, scene 8. He is in the stage direction at the beginning of Act IV, scene 2, suggesting Shakespeare wanted to develop the character further, but never did. - Innogen, Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, the wife of Leonato in Act I, scene 1 and Act II, scene 1. - Petruchio, Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, companion of TybaltTybaltTybalt is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is Lady Capulet's nephew, Juliet's hot-tempered cousin and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox, a point of...
at the fight in Act III, scene 1, also mentioned as attending the Capulet's banquet in Act I, scene 5. Some editions, such as the Oxford/Norton, give him the line "Away, Tybalt", which other editors render as a stage direction. He appears in the 1996 Baz LuhrmannBaz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
film, played by Carlos Martín Manzo Otálora. - Mercer, Timon of Athens, a guest at Timon's banquet in Act I, scene 1, presumably seeking Timon's patronage. The Norton/Oxford edition adds a stage direction for him to cross stage and exit.