Shakespeare's Characters: A Players Press Guide : Who's Who of Shakespeare

"Meeting Shakespeare's characters is like strolling through a small but populous town, being introduced to every single inhabitant: over a thousand people, from countesses to constables, gallants to gamekeepers, friars to whores...even the condemned man in his prison cell...get to shake our hands. The amazing thing about these people is that although they are all the product of one man's imagination, they are no more clones than are the people of a real-life town...it is because we recognize (this) common humanity in his people, and because we identify with it, that his plays still live..."
An alphabetical guide to every one of the named characters in Shakespeare's plays. Ranging from a few identifying lines to full essays, over 1000 characters are listed. Shakespeare's own words are used to show both what characters are like and what their function is in the dramatic action.

A comprehensive and invaluable guide for anyone approaching the plays for the first time, and for those who already love Shakespeare.

Kenneth McLeish studied at Worcester College, Oxford, where he obtained degrees in Classics and Music. Having been a schoolmaster, an actor, director and playwright (for theatre and television), he took up freelance writing and broadcasting in 1975. His voice was often to be heard on BBC Radios 3 and 4. He has reviewed regularly for the "The Literary Review", "Country Life" and "The Listener" and has written more than forty books including "The Penguin Companion to the Arts in the 20th Century", "The First Oxford Companion to Music", "The Theatre of Aristophanes" and "Children of the Gods".