Shakespeare's Mutes and What They Tell Us

AbstractBoth named and unnamed characters appear in Shakespeare's plays. The names may be seen as one of two general means of reference. If we focus on the act of reference, we see that names of characters and the types of reference sometimes change. These changes generally reflect changes in authorial intention and artistic concept, and can be seen more frequently in the cases of minor than of major characters. The mute characters comprise a small group with simple dramatic functions.