Ghost character

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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.

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.

[edit] 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 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 fight 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. He appears in the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film.
Mercer, Timon of Athens, a guest at 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.