No certain life achieved by other's death.
King John (4.2.104-5)
Hamlet's Father (Hamlet)
Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, assassinated Hamlet's father by pouring the "juice of cursed hebenon" (1.5.63) in his ear while he slept in his orchard. Hebenon is a folk name for Henbane, the expressed juice of the fresh plant, Hyoscyamus niger. Other folk names for Henbane include Black Nightshade, Cassilago, Devil's Eye, and Jupiter's Bean. The death of Hamlet's father was inspired by a real event in 1538, when the Duke of Urbino was killed by a poisoned lotion rubbed into his ears by his barber.
Duke of Clarence (Richard III)
The pitiful Clarence is wrongfully arrested and jailed in the Tower by his brother, Richard. One night as he awakens from a terrifying nightmare, two henchmen sent by Richard burst into his cell. Clarence pleads for his life but one of the assassins stabs him. To ensure Clarence is dead, the first murderer drowns him in a "malmsey-butt", a cask of sweet wine also containing the severed heads of two hogs.
Richard II (Richard II)
King Richard II, usurped by Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, is taken to the Tower of London. Contemplating remarks made by Bolingbroke, a nobleman named Exton mistakenly believes that Bolingbroke desires Richard dead, and he takes his henchmen to Richard's cell and kills him.
Henry VI (3 Henry VI)
The pious but ineffectual Henry VI is stabbed to death in his Tower of London cell. His assassin is the villainous Richard, Duke of Gloucester, soon to become Richard III.
Coriolanus (Coriolanus)
A group of merciless conspirators, spurred on by the leader of the Volscians, Aufidius, surround and stab Coriolanus in the play's final scene.
Julius Caesar (Julius Caesar)
Conspirators fearing a return to tyranny close in on Caesar and stab him to death.
Duncan (Macbeth)
The noble King of Scotland is murdered in his sleep by Macbeth during his visit to Macbeth's castle, Dunsinane.
Aaron (Titus Andronicus)
Aaron, sentenced to death by the new emperor, Lucius, is to be buried up to his neck in the sand and starved to death.
