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Top 5 Shakespeare Characters

A Guide to the Best Shakespeare Characters

By , About.com Guide

Who's made it into our top 5 list of Shakespeare characters? Find out with our essential guide to the best Shakespeare characters.

1. Hamlet from 'Hamlet'

Shakespeare Characters: Jude Law as HamletPhoto © Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

Hamlet is arguably Shakespeare's most complex character. Explore Hamlet's emotional turmoil in our Hamlet character profile.

2. Macbeth from 'Macbeth'

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most intense and attractive villains. However, as this Macbeth character analysis reveals, he is a complex and multi-faceted character.

3. Romeo from 'Romeo and Juliet'

Romeo from Romeo and Juliet is literature's most famous lover. He’s a handsome man of about sixteen who falls easily in and out of love demonstrating his immaturity.

4. Lady Macbeth from 'Macbeth'

Lady Macbeth from Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most infamous female characters because she exerts a great deal of influence over the events of the play and is the main instigator in the plot to kill the king.

5. Benedick from 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Shakespeare Characters: Benedick from 'Much Ado About Nothing'Photo © Lee Jamieson
Young, funny and locked into a love-hate relationship with Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing's Benedick is one of Shakespeare's most hilarious characters.

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