In a literary context, an antagonist (popularly called a villain) is the character opposing the protagonist. Antagonists are generally considered "evil" or troublesome in nature. Notable antagonists include:
- Iago, from Shakespeare's Othello
- Edmund, from Shakespeare's King Lear
- Monks, from Dickens' Oliver Twist
- Captain Hook, from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
Their foe, the protagonist