Villains abound in popular culture. In literature, theatre, film, and television, audiences have encountered innumerable characters that they love to hate. Driven by a desire to understand what makes evildoers so compelling. I turn to the creator of some of the greatest archetypal villains—William Shakespeare. In a study of four Shakespearean villians—Aaron (Titus Andronicus), Edmund (King Lear), Richard (Richard III), and Iago (Othello)—I identify traits that set these characters apart from other malefactors in Shakespeare’s works. I look specifically at how these four characters separate themselves from their own world to create a guileful bond with audience: a bond that significantly contributes to their perceived effectiveness as villains.
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