Tough question, but I may have to decide on either Marcus and Bassianus from Titus Andronicus, being the most chilling and gruesome of the Shakespeare plays, or Lady Macbeth from the obvious.
Tough question, but I may have to decide on either Marcus and Bassianus from Titus Andronicus, being the most chilling and gruesome of the Shakespeare plays, or Lady Macbeth from the obvious.
I might agree with Lady Macbeth too...Originally Posted by mono
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Not an out and out villian, I admit. But he does some villanous deeds: He kills his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and then drives Ophelia mad. It has been suggested that he was incestous with his mother etc.. Ok, so his dad was killed by his usurping uncle.
Othello is also a villain by most people's real world standards.
Or maybe I just couldn't think of a good one (fully bad one) that hadn't been mentioned!
*grins*
That is a legitimate and acceptable reason...
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Iago. He is the template for all bad guys that followed, including today's hollywood bad guys. Lying, cheating, stabbing, inciting hate and greed, inuendo and rivalry baitiing little frak that he was. But the reason he was the most evil in my opinoin is because he enjoyed the havoc he created, and he liked to watch the results of his misdeeds take fruit. He got his jollies creating anguish in others. He was a bad, bad, boy...........
Hands down, Richard III. He reeks of plotting villany.
"I'll marry her, but not for long"(sorry if I misquoted)
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. / And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
I think Iago is the best. He has soo many motives, pure jealousy for one, he thinks Othello is dumb, he is mad because he thinks his wife is a whore. I also find it strange the love he has for Othello and he only wants to harm him once he finds out Othello is married and he seems to get angrier everytime he sees Othello and Desdemona together... interesting.
Slow down everyone, you're moving too fast.
-Jack Johnson
I'd have to say I think Aaron and Tamora from Titus Andronicus are the best... except for perhaps Edmund from Lear, who I enjoy for... other... reasons.
Aaron of Titus Andronicus certainly qualifies as a villain with "no redeeming qualities." I particularly like him because he does not make excuses for his conduct, and curses a day he has not done some notorious deed.
Richard III
One of the Key factors in the widespread and continuing popularity of Richard III lies in Shakespeare's presentation of the character of Richard himself. Through the figure of Richard, Shakespeare gives us a fully developed character that he presents through a kind of psychological study.
On a superficial level there are clearly elements of the traditional 'Machiavellian Villain' about Richard but there is a good deal more to him than this. His character contains many facets and the overall effect that these produce can often provoke ambiguous, sometimes even sympathetic responses in the audience. It is this ambiguity that is at the heart of the fascination that has drawn the attention of so many audiences for so long.
As I have said, there can be little doubt that he has elements of the 'Machiavel' about him and he presents, at best, an amoral figure. He clearly believes that the ends justify the means and he is certainly prepared to stop at nothing in order to achieve his ends. Like the traditional 'Machiavel' he is, at the start of the play, an outsider to the order and structure of the state and relies on the power of his own wit and intelligence to bring about his advancement. He is self-centred, ruthless and vindictive and there is nothing that he would not do to gain power.
It offers little in the way of mitigation that, for the most part, his victims are in themselves guilty of various crimes. We can see Richard's determination to play the role of villain very early in the play. As he tells us himself –
"I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days ...
I am subtle, false and treacherous."
(Li. 30.32)
However, villain though he undoubtedly is, Richard is also a character of enormous vitality, intelligence and wit. His opening soliloquy, in addition to revealing his penchant for evil doing, also reveals his ability to use language in a witty and ironic way, as he mocks the idea of courtly love and focuses on his own 'deformity'. We can also see here a man who feels himself outside the normal social bounds of the world in which he operates.
Throughout the play the audience is frequently entertained to flashes of his sardonic wit and black humour which draws the audience to him almost against their will. His tendency to share his villainous acts and intentions with us, the audience, through his frequent soliloquies allows him to build up a kind of confidential relationship with us. As he cheerfully informs us of the next terrible step in his plan we are at once horrified but also strangely fascinated. Once in his confidence it is as though we become somehow implicated in the web of deceit and violence that he creates but we are powerless to do any other than watch his plans unfold.
Part of the sense of being 'in on’ Richard's plans with him allows us to appreciate his abilities as an actor, for our 'inside knowledge' allows us to see his real skill and subtlety at work. For example, while planning his brother's death he woos the Lady Anne in order to pursue "another secret close intent." When he is successful here we can only look on with a kind of detached mixture of wonder and horror as he shares another 'secret' with us in telling us that –
"I'll have her, but I will not keep her long."
(I. ii. 229)
Again we see his skills as an actor come to the fore in the council scene (III. iv). He begins, ominously, we recognise, full of smiles and *bonhomie' as he greets Hastings, Buckingham and the other lords. We, the audience can see that there is no true friendship here, Richard is simply acting his part. Equally though, when a few lines later he returns to furiously accuse Hastings of conspiring against him, this is just as much a part of his act to enable him to achieve his goal - in this case, the rapid despatch of Hastings.
In addition to his skills as an actor, his wit, his intelligence and his ability to create a rapport with his audience, he also possesses other attractive qualities. He certainly shows courage and military prowess. He leads his army from the front and to the very last he is a fearless leader of his men, urging them on:
"Fight, gentlemen of England! Fight, bold yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood!"
(V. iii. 339-341)
He fights with tremendous courage against all the odds, refusing to withdraw from the field of battle even when it seems certain that all is lost:
"The King enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger.
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death."
(V. iv. 2-5)
In the end he dies true to the principles that have always governed his action and he shows no signs of repentance. His development throughout the play and his ultimate demise have many features in common with the 'tragic hero' figure. As the audience we can deplore his many evil actions but we cannot help admiring his attractive and entertaining features. It is this ambiguity in our response to him as both a villain and a hero that ultimately makes him such a fascinating character.
Iago
Richard III
I know they've been mentioned, but really, who can argue? They're the greatest villans of all time.
I haven't read the entire thread, but has anyone included Regan and Goneril from King Lear? Probably the best of the female villains.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
Iago... one of my really favourite characters
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And Thou shalt not, writ over the door:
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore. - "The Garden of Love", William Blake.
Mine has got to be Lady Macbeth or Tamora. Yeah, call me a feminist, but I think that they were some of the more substantial villians that shakespeare wrote.
Hello Magadona, welcome.
I havent read Richard III yet. But right now I'd say my favorite is Lady Macbeth.
Irish poets, learn your trade!
-Yeats
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