The most memorable characters in literature are often those who remain indelible for their villainous acts, making them timeless scoundrels of literature!
Shakespeare has shaped villainous characters that resonate through time. In creating a dark and dangerous character, turn to some of his notable characters to consider why you loathe them enough to remember their ruthless antics with lucidity.
Are you writing a thriller?
How far will you go? How evil will your characters be? What atrocities will they commit? Will they be politicians? Leaders of some institution, a religious organisation perhaps. Is there a peculiarity other than the evil nature of this character? What positions of power do they occupy or are they aspiring to claim power? Who will they prey on – successful people, kind individuals or the weak and vulnerable? What do they want from life? Will they learn a lesson? Will they become kind and compassionate – perhaps by some ingenious stroke of luck, fate?
Remember Iago?
‘The Moor is of a free and open nature.’
Artful manipulator, toying with the insecurities of Othello, the magnificent military man in a white world, loved by the beautiful Desdemona, his prized possession – Iago’s manipulation leads to a brutal and bloody end. The characterisation of Iago is powerfully portrayed to make the audience despise him.
And what about the evil sisters and the wicked and dissatisfied bastard?
Goneril and Regan in King Lear are the evil sisters, corrupt daughters of the king who manipulate the need in their father when he divides his kingdom based on how much his daughters love him.
‘Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter; Dearer than eyesight, space…’
Edmund, the illegitimate son of Gloucester, half-brother of Edgar is out to be acknowledged, to claim that which he was denied. He, too, manipulates Gloucester, in his bitterness against the world, to turn his father against his son Edgar, his half-brother.
‘A credulous father and a brother noble,…
‘My father compounded with my mother under the Dragon’s tail, and my nativity was under Ursa major, so that follows, I am rough and lecherous,’
Two fathers so terribly wronged by their children. Look at daily media reports on domestic violence, incest, and murder at the hands of family members.
And then the desire for the crown and the position of first Lady?
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, not to mention the conniving witches – ruthless and bloody endings in the quest for power and position.
Lady Macbeth’s power of persuasion is evident in her manipulation of her husband,
‘That I may pour my spirits in thine ear’
Local politics? International politics? Domestic politics? Timeless indeed!
A friend turning on a friend- is this the ‘fault in our stars’ or peer pressure?
Julius Caesar – Brutus, noble friend to Caesar is at first two-thirds sold by the conspirators and then they have him all.
‘I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar.’
He, too, plants a knife-wielding blow, mortally wounding his once respected friend.
Shakespeare created characters that are timeless representations of human foibles and the plight of the human condition.
In creating your villainous characters, think about what loathsome qualities will make them timeless, the bard certainly got it right. And there are many more examples, what about Hamlet? Mother and uncle behaving badly!
Here’s a memorable line on villainous, scoundrels from The Tempest. Ariel quotes Ferdinand to Prospero,
‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here!’
Who are the notorious scoundrels in literature that are timeless for you?
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