In playwriting, a ghost character is a character that is mentioned as appearing on stage but neither says nor does anything but enter, and possibly exit. They are generally seen as editing mistakes. If the character was intended to appear and say nothing, it is assumed the playwright would have said so. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...

The term is most often used in the plays of William Shakespeare and is often thought to be evidence that a play is taken from his foul papers. what the presence of such a character means often varies by play and by commentator. Some commentators claim that the ghost character in Timon of Athens, for example, proves the play's weakness and unfinished nature, though such an argument is rarely used for other ghost characters. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare written around 1607. ...

List of Shakespeare's ghost characters

• Violenta, All's Well That Ends Well, a character who enters with the Widow in Act III, scene 5, possibly another daughter of the Widow and sister to Diana.
• Lamprius, Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene 2. Some editors assume this is the name of the Soothsayer, but the Soothsayer is implied to be Egyptian in Act II, Scene 3. Lampryas is identified by Plutarch as his own grandfather's name, which is the likely source.
• Rannius, Antony and Cleopatra, also in Act I, scene 2
• Lucillius, Antony and Cleopatra, an attendant of Enobarbus in Act I, Scene 2.
• Beaumont, Henry V. He is one of the casualties in the Battle of Agincourt, noted in Act III, scene 5 and listed as a casualty in in Act IV, scene 8. He is in the stage direction at the beginning of Act IV, scene 2, suggesting Shakespeare wanted to develop the character further, but never did.
• Innogen, Much Ado About Nothing, the wife of Leonato in Act I, scene 1 and Act II, scene 1.
• Petruchio, Romeo and Juliet, companion of Tybalt at the banquet in Act III, scene 1, also mentioned as attending the Capulet's banquet in Act I, scene 5. Some editions, such as the Oxford/Norton, give him the line "Away, Tybalt", which other editors render as a stage direction.
• Mercer, Timon of Athens, a guest a Timon's banquet in Act I, scene 1, presumably seeking Timon's patronage. The Norton/Oxford edition adds a stage direction for him to cross stage and exit.

Alls Well That Ends Well is a comedy by William Shakespeare, and is often considered one of his problem plays, so-called because they cannot be easily classified as tragedy or comedy. ... Antony and Cleopatra is a historical tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1607 or 1608 and printed in the First Folio, 1623. ... For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... William Shakespeare. ... Combatants Kingdom of England Kingdom of France Commanders Henry V of England Charles dAlbret Strength 5,900 troops: 900 men-at-arms 5,000 archers (Longbowmen) 36,000 troops: 11,200 mounted men-at-arms 18,000 dismounted men-at-arms 6,800 crossbowmen (few archers) Casualties 100-250Casualties... Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

• Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. New York: Bantam Doubleday, 1990.