An Analysis of the Characters in Hamlet

An Analysis of the Characters in Hamlet

Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been considered by many critics as

one of the best plays in English literature. It has also been

considered as one of the best tragedies among the many Shakespeare

wrote. It is a story which revolves around this person called Hamlet,

prince of Denmark. It is set in the Elizabethan times in the 16th

century. It is a tragedy because it results in the deaths of many

characters either accidentally or purposefully or forcefully. They all

revolve around Hamlet’s actions and thoughts and the deaths, either

directly or indirectly are a consequence of his actions. Each

character in Hamlet is important and deserves a great deal of

attention. The aim of this piece of work aims to give a description of

the main characters in Hamlet and some of the roles and functions they

had to play. It also hopes to give the reader an understanding of the

play by trying to explain the roles of the characters. As Shakespeare

himself said “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women

merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man

in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages

The characters that we will be looking at are – The Ghost, Claudius,

Polonius, Gertrude, Laertes, Ophelia, Fortinbras, Rosencratz and

Guildernsten, Horatio and Hamlet.

1. The Ghost – The Ghost is the ghost of the late king Hamlet, the

present Hamlet’s father. It is a very important character and is

mentioned in the beginning itself. It sets the basis of the whole

story. This ghost makes a majestic appearance in Denmark which is

noticed by two soldiers. This is how the st...

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...ay. When she sees that Hamlet

is mad, her description of a noble soul gone mad in Act3, Scene1 “O

what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!....” is very beautiful.

7. Fortinbras – Fortinbras is the king of Norway. He and his father

share the same name. Fortinbras sr. was killed by Hamlet sr. in a

battle. For that, young Fortinbras seeks revenge. He makes lots of

preparations for war.

Fortinbras is not mentioned much. His role is to give an account of

the present situation on Denmark, a defence against his forthcoming

invasion. He also gives an account of the future of Denmark after

Hamlet’s death. Hamlet, almost dead, announces Fortinbras as the king

of Denmark. Fortinbras has a fine speech to say in the end “Let four

captains bear Hamlet….” by which he gives Hamlet, a mark of respect by

giving him a proper burial.