Key Characters in Hamlet

Why This Matters

Shakespeare's Hamlet isn't just a revenge tragedy—it's a masterclass in how characters function as thematic vehicles. You're being tested on your ability to see how each figure embodies specific ideas: the paralysis of overthinking, the corruption of political power, the destruction of innocence, and the moral weight of action versus inaction. Understanding character relationships reveals Shakespeare's deeper arguments about human nature, loyalty, and the consequences of moral compromise.

Don't just memorize who dies and when. Know what each character represents and how they contrast with or mirror one another. Exam questions—especially essay prompts—will ask you to analyze how Shakespeare uses character pairs (Hamlet/Laertes, Hamlet/Fortinbras) to develop themes. The characters who seem minor often carry major thematic weight, so pay attention to function, not just stage time.

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The Revenge Seekers

Three characters pursue vengeance for a murdered father, but their approaches reveal Shakespeare's complex meditation on justice, action, and moral consequence.

Hamlet

• The philosophical avenger—his famous delay stems from intellectual paralysis, not cowardice, as he questions the morality and consequences of revenge
• Feigned madness becomes a tool for investigation but blurs into genuine psychological disturbance, raising questions about performance versus reality
• Tragic flaw centers on overthinking—his soliloquies reveal a mind that analyzes action to the point of inaction, making him Shakespeare's most introspective protagonist

Laertes

• The impulsive foil to Hamlet—upon learning of Polonius's death, he storms the castle immediately, demanding justice without philosophical hesitation
• Easily manipulated by Claudius due to his emotional volatility, agreeing to poison both sword and drink in the final duel
• Redemption through confession—his dying acknowledgment of Claudius's treachery provides the moral clarity Hamlet needs to finally act

Fortinbras

• The man of action—willing to risk thousands of lives for a worthless patch of land, representing decisive leadership that Hamlet admires but cannot emulate
• Structural bookend to the play, appearing at the beginning as a distant threat and at the end as Denmark's new ruler
• Restores political order—his arrival signals the end of Denmark's corruption and the cyclical nature of power, though at tremendous human cost

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The Corrupt Court

These characters embody the "something rotten in the state of Denmark"—political manipulation, moral compromise, and the poisonous effects of unchecked ambition.

Claudius

• The archetypal usurper—murders his brother, marries his widow, and seizes the throne, representing political ambition unconstrained by morality
• Complex villain capable of genuine guilt, as revealed in his failed prayer scene where he acknowledges he cannot repent while keeping "those effects for which I did the murder"
• Master manipulator who weaponizes others (Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes) to eliminate threats, showing how corruption spreads through a political system

Gertrude

• Moral ambiguity personified—Shakespeare never clarifies whether she knew about the murder, leaving her complicity deliberately uncertain
• "Frailty, thy name is woman"—Hamlet's accusation reflects his disgust at her hasty remarriage, though her motivations remain opaque throughout
• Protective mother whose final act—drinking the poisoned cup—may be deliberate sacrifice or tragic accident, a textual ambiguity ripe for essay analysis

Polonius

• Comic yet dangerous meddler—his long-winded advice and constant spying make him both ridiculous and representative of court surveillance culture
• Ironic death behind the arras fulfills his own warning that "by indirections find directions out," as his spying leads directly to his murder
• Catalyst for catastrophe—his death triggers Ophelia's madness, Laertes's revenge, and Hamlet's exile, making this secondary character pivotal to the plot's escalation

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The Innocent Casualties

Shakespeare uses these characters to show how political corruption destroys those who lack power to protect themselves—the collateral damage of the revenge plot.

Ophelia

• Weaponized innocence—her father and brother control her interactions with Hamlet, making her a pawn in court surveillance before she becomes its victim
• Madness as truth-telling—her songs and flower symbolism in Act 4 express truths about sexuality, death, and betrayal that she couldn't speak while sane
• Ambiguous death (accident or suicide?) reflects her loss of agency; even her end is reported secondhand, denying her a death scene of her own

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

• Interchangeable betrayers—Shakespeare deliberately blurs their individual identities, emphasizing how court politics erases personal loyalty
• Unwitting instruments summoned to spy on their friend, they represent how political systems corrupt ordinary relationships
• Executed without confession—Hamlet's rewriting of their death warrant shows his own moral compromise, as he sends former friends to death "not shriving time allowed"

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The Truth-Tellers

These characters provide moral grounding and narrative information, functioning as voices of reason or revelation in a world of deception.

The Ghost of King Hamlet

• Plot catalyst and moral problem—his command to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" initiates the action but raises questions about whether ghosts can be trusted
• Ambiguous supernatural status—is he truly King Hamlet's spirit, a demon in disguise, or Hamlet's projection? The play never fully resolves this
• Selective morality—demands vengeance against Claudius but instructs Hamlet to "leave her to heaven," creating the play's central ethical tension about justice versus mercy

Horatio

• The rational witness—his skepticism about the ghost ("'tis but our fantasy") establishes him as the play's voice of reason and Enlightenment values
• Loyal unto death—his attempt to drink the remaining poison shows absolute fidelity, contrasting sharply with the betrayals surrounding Hamlet
• Survivor and storyteller—his charge to "report me and my cause aright" makes him the guardian of truth, ensuring Hamlet's story outlives the tragedy

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two characters serve as foils to Hamlet's indecision, and how does each one's approach to revenge illuminate Hamlet's tragic flaw?

2. How does Shakespeare use Ophelia's madness to comment on themes that her sane self couldn't express? What do her songs and flowers symbolize?

3. Compare Claudius's guilt (in the prayer scene) with Gertrude's ambiguity—why does Shakespeare make one villain's interiority clear while leaving the other character's knowledge uncertain?

4. If an essay prompt asks about loyalty and betrayal in Hamlet, which character pairing would provide the strongest contrast, and what would your thesis argue?

5. What is the dramatic function of Fortinbras appearing at the play's end? How does his presence comment on the cycle of violence and political succession?