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Hamlet is the main character. He is the prince of Denmark who is charged with avenging his father. He constantly battles fate for control over his own life. He envies those around him, like Laertes for resolve and Horatio for wisdom. He is unable to follow through in his actions because he sabotages himself with thought. He eventually accepts his fate, after feeling manipulated for much of the play. Hamlet dies from being poisoned by Laertes’s sword.
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Ghost of Hamlet’s Father (also known as Old Hamlet) provides the call to action for Hamlet that sets the course of the play. He has two main appearances: the first advising Hamlet to kill Claudius and the second advising Hamlet to leave Gertrude’s judgement to God. When he first appears to Hamlet, he is dressed in warlike armor. Old Hamlet tells his son that he was murdered by Claudius, who poured poison in Old Hamlet’s ear. He tells Hamlet to avenge his death by killing the corrupt Claudius. Later, when Hamlet attacks Gertrude with brutal insults, Old Hamlet appears once more to calm his son down.
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Claudius is the new king of Denmark. Though he is Hamlet’s uncle, he marries his sister-in-law Gertrude. He a very gifted and charismatic politician. He masks his manipulation as him ensuring what’s best for the kingdom and taking his rightful place as king. A liar himself, he spies on people to detect deceit. He is slain by Hamlet.
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Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark. She is the source of Hamlet’s grief, disgust, and lamentation. Despite being recently widowed, she chooses to marry her former husband’s brother. Though she shows some concern for the men in her life, she is ultimately a pawn in Claudius’s plan for power. Gertrude’s voice is most her own when she delivers the message of Ophelia’s death. One of only two women in the entire play, Gertrude dies from an accidental poisoning.
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Polonius is Laertes and Ophelia’s father. His main concerns are status and appearance, as evident by the way he advises to his two children. Polonius wants Laertes to fit in with those highly ranked on his escapade to France. He also wants his daughter to remain innocent, pure, and docile. Polonius is not very eloquent, for he talks in circles when he attempts being succinct. He is also somewhat corrupt, for he spies on his own daughter alongside Claudius. Unfortunately, he is blind to the real danger surrounding him. This causes Polonius to die accidentally at the hands of Hamlet, who mistook him for Claudius.
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Laertes is Polonius's son and Ophelia's brother. He is a marginally hypocritical in the way he advises Ophelia of chastity, while he travels abroad to gallivant. He Hamlet's foil because he follows through in implementing his actions, while Hamlet often stifles himself in thought. Laertes kills Hamlet because he blames Hamlet for the death of his sister and father.
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Ophelia is Polonius's daughter, Laertes's sister, and Hamlet's former love interest. She is a hopeless romantic who represents the loss of innocence by her tragic heartbreak. She also represents the dangers of corruption with how she was used and manipulated by all of the men surrounding her. Her plight and distraught end in her death by drowning.
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Horatio is Hamlet’s closest friend in the novel. Horatio is the only one who knows of Hamlet’s feigned madness from speaking to the ghost of his father. He is trustworthy, for he never betrays his friend nor the truth of his friend’s whereabouts. He is also deemed wise in the way he makes his own individual decisions, rather than do things to simply please people. Horatio’s most notable moment is when he promises Hamlet that he will inform all of the truth. Horatio becomes Hamlet’s spokesperson for the Hamlet’s reasoning and true actions.
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Hamlet’s supposed friends from childhood. They are called by Claudius to spy on Hamlet. They are portrayed as foolish characters in the play who agree to whatever a royal person, whether Claudius or Hamlet, tells them. They die at the mischief of Hamlet, who rewrites a letter that gets the pair executed.
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The Players put on a speech about the fall of Troy and the deaths of Priam and Hecuba. Ironically, it is the players who seem to be genuine while the characters of Hamlet appear as actors. One particular player puts on a speech about Hecuba’s death that seems so genuinely passionate, it impresses as well as upsets Hamlet. He advises the players to put on a modified version of the play The Murder of Gonzago, which Hamlet titles “The Mousetrap”, to shock and guilt Claudius of his crime. By doing so, the players helped Hamlet confirm Claudius as his father’s killer.
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Fortinbras is the young Prince of Norway. His father was killed by Old Hamlet, and so he plans to attack Denmark to avenge his father. He represents a foil to Hamlet, for, like Laertes, he follows through in implementing his actions while Hamlet often stifles himself in thought. Fortinbras is only briefly mentioned in the beginning of the play, and he appears briefly at the end. Fortinbras closes the finale of the play with a short but fitting eulogy for Hamlet.