Guide to Hamlet

Hamlet Characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Horatio, Polonius and Laertes

Two families, one throne and a court where everyone is watching everyone

By Tori BooksUpdated November 20267 min readContains spoilers

William Shakespeare

Who's who and how each one ends

Prince Hamlet

Hamlet is a university student, clever, funny, bitter and grieving, called home for his father's funeral only to see his mother remarry within weeks. He is the most talkative character in Shakespeare, with more lines than any other, and much of what he says is to himself. He can be tender with Horatio, savage with Ophelia and wildly witty with everyone else. His delay in taking revenge has been argued about for four hundred years: is it doubt, conscience, depression or simply the habit of thinking too much?

King Claudius

Claudius murdered his brother to take his crown and his wife, then plays the smooth, sensible ruler. He is no cartoon villain. He handles a threat from Norway with skill, and in one scene alone he admits his guilt and wishes he could undo it, while knowing he will not give up what he gained. When Hamlet becomes dangerous he turns to plots: a letter ordering Hamlet's death, then the poisoned sword and cup.

Queen Gertrude

Gertrude is the hardest character to read, because the play never says what she knew. She married her husband's brother with what Hamlet sees as indecent speed, but there is no clear sign she knew about the murder. In the scene in her room Hamlet forces her to look at herself, and afterwards she seems to keep his secret. Her last act, drinking the cup Claudius poisoned for her son, may be accident or quiet defiance.

Polonius, Ophelia and Laertes

Polonius is the king's chief adviser, a long-winded old man who loves spying and giving advice, much of it sensible-sounding and none of it followed by himself. His spying gets him killed behind a curtain. His son Laertes is the young man Hamlet might have been: when his father is killed he does not hesitate for a moment, and that speed makes him easy for Claudius to use. His daughter Ophelia, caught between her father's orders and Hamlet's cruelty, is the play's most tragic figure.

Horatio

Horatio is Hamlet's friend from university and the one person he trusts completely. He is calm and honest, the first to see the ghost and the last to stand by Hamlet. When Hamlet is dying, Horatio wants to follow him, but Hamlet asks him to stay alive and tell the world what really happened. That makes him, in a sense, the narrator of the story we have just watched.

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Fortinbras and Yorick

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are school friends hired by the king to spy, so alike that they are almost one character. Hamlet sends them to their deaths with a forged letter, and Tom Stoppard later made them the heroes of their own comedy. Fortinbras, the Norwegian prince whose father was killed by Hamlet's father, is another son seeking revenge, and he ends up with the throne. Yorick is the dead court jester whose skull Hamlet holds in the graveyard, probably the most recognized image in all of theatre.

More about Hamlet

Books Like Hamlet

The PearlJohn SteinbeckThe Scarlet LetterNathaniel HawthorneRomeo and JulietWilliam ShakespeareA Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam ShakespeareWuthering HeightsEmily BrontëAll Quiet on the Western FrontErich Maria RemarqueMuch Ado About NothingWilliam ShakespeareAnimal FarmGeorge Orwell

This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.