Worse Things Happen at Sea

Archetypes

The Big Lunk: Ludovico A romantic hero type, but lacking something, so not entirely heroic — can be indecisive, unintelligent, easily misled. He is always a young man. In Shakespeare, he is represented in characters such as Romeo, Hamlet, Troilus, Claudio (Much Ado About Nothing), Orsino (Twelfth Night), Orlando (As You Like It), Lysander and Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Ferdinand (The Tempest) and Leonatus (Cymbeline).
The Innocent Babe: Vesta The babe is often a tragic character, a victim of malignancy, whether this causes — or, in comedy, seems to cause — death. She is young — often very young — and is personified in Shakespeare in Ophelia (Hamlet), Desdemona (Othello), Imogen (Cymbeline), Hero (Much Ado About Nothing), Cordelia (King Lear).
The Flawed Ruler: Quorndon Generally found in tragedy, this powerful man with a flaw which causes — or nearly causes, in comedy — his downfall. He is usually an older character. Examples: Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Prospero (The Tempest), Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Cymbeline, Brutus (Julius Caesar).
The Bright Young Thing: Felicity This is a girl who takes matters into her own hands to get what she wants — Bright Young Things are generally those who bring about the resolution of comedies. They are (obviously) young, though often older than the babes. Bright Young Things include: Helena (All’s Well That Ends Well), Portia (Merchant of Venice), Viola and Olivia (Twelfth Night), Rosalind (As You Like It), Kate (The Taming of the Shrew), Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Miranda (The Tempest).
The Malign Influence: Hugo de Malmanche A character who causes trouble out of hatred, jealousy or temper. He actively wishes others ill and works towards that. He can be any age. Some Malign Influences are Iago (Othello), Don John (Much Ado About Nothing), Cloten (Cymbeline), Claudius (Hamlet), Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet), Cassius (Julius Caesar).
The Sidekick/The Clever Servant: Claude The first or servant of either the Big Lunk, the Innocent Babe or the Bright Young Thing who helps them sort out their problems. They are often older, but are not necessarily so. Examples include Benvolio and Friar Lawrence (Romeo and Juliet), Maria (Twelfth Night), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Diana Capilet (All’s Well That Ends Well), Celia (As You Like It), Odysseus (Troilus and Cressida).
The Imp of Mischief: Zephyr A misleading character, often supernatural, who misleads and deceives people, makes fun of them, sets cats among pigeons for amusement, but is not actively malign. Age is irrelevant, and may be male or female. Examples: Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Ariel (The Tempest), Parolles (All’s Well That Ends Well), Sir Toby (Twelfth Night), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet).
The Mistreated Villain: Adolphus A character who does bad things, but only because he has been driven to them by the way he has been treated. Age irrelevant, but often older and long-suffering. Examples: Caliban (The Tempest), Shylock (The Merchant of Venice).
The Powerful Woman: Venetia Often seen as malign, this is a woman who has real power over the fate of other people as well as herself. She is generally mature. Some powerful women from Shakespeare are: Lady Macbeth, Goneril and Regan (King Lear), Cleopatra, Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Cymbeline’s Queen.
The Figure of Fun: Bartholemew This character is pretty much there to be laughed at. He often pretends to have more intelligence than he has, and generally gets his pomposity punctured. Age irrelevant. Some examples are: Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing), Malvolio (Twelfth Night), Polonius (Hamlet), Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
The Wise Fool: Nanny Sage “Fool” in this context is a positional thing, rather than an intellectual one. Often quite sharp and shrew, the wise fool is a character who is allowed to tell unpalatable truths to rulers without being punished, by virtue of their position. Examples: Lear’s Fool, Jacques (As You Like It), Lavatch (All’s Well That Ends Well).
The Comic Relief: Jane A servant/friend who helps the lead(s) but is generally not too intelligent — doesn’t pretend to be bright and while they are made gentle fun of, they don’t suffer for it. Some examples include Nurse (Romeo and Juliet), Sir Andrew (Twelfth Night), Verges (Much Ado About Nothing).
Tragedy’s Minion: Margaret A character who is manipulated by the Malign Influence into acting in his favour, though is generally innocent in themselves of any malign intent. For instance: Margaret (Much Ado About Nothing), Emelia (Othello).
The Narrator/Chorus: The Doctor A character who fills in the story, and may influence it significantly, but more in passing than by intent. Example: Prince in Romeo and Juliet.