Molly Mahood has written a wholly original survey of the small supporting roles which abound in Shakespeare's plays. The practice of doubling enabled Elizabethan dramatists to surround their principal characters with a host of lesser Lords, Soldiers, Messengers and Servants. Professor Mahood explores the different purposes served by such minimal characters, from clearing the stage to epitomising the overall effect of a comedy or tragedy. Each of the subsequent chapters is devoted to the entire corpus of minimal roles in a single play, ranging from the early Richard III to The Tempest.