How do we construct an image of the characters we read about? Drawing together theories from linguistics, social cognition and literary stylistics, this is the first book-length study to focus on the role of language and characterisation in the dialogue of play texts. Containing numerous examples from Shakespeare's plays, the book also considers a wide range of other genres, including, prose fiction, verse, films, advertisements, jokes and newspapers. Language and Characterisation is as practical as it is theoretical and equips readers with analytical frameworks to reveal and explain both the cognitive and the linguistic sides of characterisation.