Shakespeare's most minor characters : their roles and functions : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

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Authors
Collins, Matthew S.
Advisor
Liston, William T.
Issue Date
1994
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (B.?.)
Department
Honors College
Other Identifiers
Abstract

So much has been said about Hamlet the play and Hamlet the Dane that, even for those who are only casually acquainted with the play, a character such as Horatio has practically become as familiar a name as that of the tragic Prince of Denmark himself. Concerning Horatio, Alex Newall has perhaps pointed out the obvious when he writes, "... although Horatio is a minor character, that does not mean that he has minor significance" (Charney 153). The same claim may-and should-be extended to a different class of Shakespeare's minor characters who are usually less memorable than Horatio, yet who are, from the perspective of Shakespearean scholarship, of no less importance to the drama.Frequently, these characters are not given names per se. Often they are identified by the social positions they occupy within the world of the play: Servant, Messenger, Officer, Soldier, and Shipmaster, to name just a few. My thesis, however, is not concerned exclusively with this class of "nameless" characters. Similarly minor characters-Osric in Hamlet and Agrippa in Antony and Cleopatra, for example-are formally named but function in some of the same ways as servants, messengers, and the others. Therefore, this thesis explores the functions, and thus the importance, of this special class of minor characters as a whole, a class hereafter referred to as "bit characters."Following some introductory remarks, my thesis begins with a general commentary on Shakespeare's characters, for the purpose of defining the ones pertinent to the discussion. The last four sections then focus on the specific ways in which bit characters function in Shakespeare's drama.