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Oberon - A
Midsummer Nights Dream
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Oberon is
the King of the Fairies. There are two sides to his
personality. His kind side can be seen when he
sympathizes with the abused Helena and causes Demetrius
to fall in love with her.
He also brings blessings of peace and health to the
future families of the newly weds. However there is a
malicious side to Oberon, which is shown through his
spitefulness towards Titania.
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Mercutio
- Romeo and
Juliet
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Mercutio
is a witty sceptic and an anti-romantic character. He
mocks Romeo and his visions of love, as he believes that
love is a physical pursuit and nothing to do with
sentiment. Although Mercutio mocks Romeo he is a loyal
friend. When Tybalt challenges Romeo it amuses Mercutio
that his friend, now in love, won't respond to the
taunting. Yet he has a strong sense of honour and can't
understand why Romeo refuses to fight. |
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Mercutio,
however, is as quick tempered as Tybalt and they draw
swords. Mercutio is subsequently killed, though even as he
lays dying he can't resist a joke. Romeo is outraged by
Mercutio’s death, fights Tybalt and kills him. This is a
turning point in the play, tipping it from potential comedy
into tragedy.
Lady Macbeth
-
Macbeth
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Lady
Macbeth is Macbeth's wife. She is one of the most
powerful women that Shakespeare ever created. In the
play she lacks all humanity. With her burning desire to
be queen she lets nothing stand in her way. She
constantly taunts her husband branding him a coward
although the audience is aware of his bloody deeds on
the battlefield. Her hardened ruthlessness fails,
however, as the pace of events become too much for her.
She finally goes mad and kills herself.
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Lady Olivia
– The Twelfth Night
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Lady
Olivia is a beautiful and wealthy woman of Illyria. From
the beginning, Orsino tries to earn her love and when
Sir Andrew Aguecheek appears, he tries to court her as
well. Unfortunately for her suitors, the feeling is not
mutual and Olivia wishes to see no-one since she has
decided to mourn for her brother for seven years.
However, when Viola (disguised as Cesario) insists on
speaking to Olivia, Olivia falls in love with the
disguise. Cesario’s entrance into Olivia’s life allows
her to escape her sorrow but leads to all sorts of
complications. These are only resolved when Viola's twin
brother Sebastian arrives and (looking exactly the same
as Cesario), Olivia marries him. |
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Miranda -
The Tempest
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Miranda is
the daughter of Prospero, only three years old when she
and her father were exiled.
After 12 years she blossomed into a beautiful young
woman. Her innocence is extreme as she has never seen
another human being with the exception of her father,
and she is unaware of her beauty, not knowing any
females. |
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Her compassion
is evident in Act 1 when she is concerned for the passengers
caught up in the storm. Her tenderness is also shown when
she begs her father not to use his harsh magic to control
Ferdinand, the man she loves. She is a very obedient
daughter as proved by her dismay when she forgets herself
and reveals her name to Ferdinand, but she is a young woman
in love and when her father is busy she immediately looks
for Ferdinand to release him from his labours.
Miranda's goodness and virtue are in the end rewarded with
marriage to her prince.
Catherine
-
Henry V
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Catherine’s father hopes to marry her to a powerful
leader in order to win an important ally, and thus
Catherine has been moulded into the graceful and
charming woman that a powerful leader is likely to want.
As the English conquer more and more of France,
Catherine’s potential husband seems likely to be
English.
Catherine thus begins to study English—not because she
herself desires to speak the language (we are given
almost no insight into what Catherine herself might
desire), but because her father intends to marry her to
his enemy in order to end the war and preserve his power
in France. |
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