Character Analysis of Hamlet: A Tragic Tale of Revenge and Betrayal
Son of King Hamlet, Hamlet is charged with avenging his father's murder by his uncle, Claudius, in Shakespeare's iconic play. As Hamlet spirals into madness and dark thoughts, he struggles with doubts, guilt, and revenge. Claudius, the cunning antagonist, hides his guilt while plotting against Hamlet. Gertrude, the conflicted widow, suffers a tragic fate. Polonius, the meddling advisor, meets a fatal end. Explore the intricate web of characters in this tale of love, betrayal, and tragedy.
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Hamlet: Characters Hamlet He is the son of King Hamlet and Gertrude. The ghost of King Hamlet charges him with the task of killing his uncle, Claudius, for killing him and usurping the throne of Denmark. He is a moody, theatrical, witty, brilliant young man, perpetually fascinated and tormented by doubts and introspection. He becomes almost suicidal and obsessed with revenge. He is slowly driven mad by his inability to act on this instruction. He decides to fake madness in order to fool his uncle and those loyal to him while he uncovers whether Claudius is guilty for his father s death. Worried about his own guilt, Hamlet also becomes hateful, despising his uncle, voicing anger at his mother, frustrated with his traitorous friends, and alienating Ophelia (whom he once courted). His anger borders on ruthlessness, and he is responsible for numerous deaths throughout the play, but he never loses his reflective and melancholy traits. The variety of his moods, from manic to somber, seems to cover much of the range of human possibility in his character.
Hamlet: Characters Claudius He is King Hamlet's brother, Hamlet's uncle, and Gertrude's newlywed husband. He murdered his brother in order to seize the throne and marry Gertrude, his sister-in-law. Claudius appears to be a rather dull man who is fond of the pleasures of the flesh, sex and drinking. He is also a shrewd strategist who poisoned his own brother in cold blood. He remains calculating and unloving throughout the play, driven by his ambition and lust. Only as the play goes on do we become certain that he is indeed guilty of murder and usurpation. Claudius is the only character aside from Hamlet to have a soliloquy in the play. When he is convinced that Hamlet has found him out, Claudius eventually schemes to have his nephew murdered. This plan ultimately leads to Claudius s death at Hamlet s hands at the end of the play. However, Claudius also has a positive side. When Hamlet has a traveling troupe put on a play for the court that emulates the murder of a king, Claudius reveals his sense of guilt. He also decides to have Ophelia buried with ceremony, rather than as a suicide. His love for Gertrude also seems sincere.
Hamlet: Characters Gertrude She is King Hamlet's widow and Claudius' wife. She seems unaware that Claudius killed her ex-husband. Gertrude loves Hamlet very much, while Hamlet has very mixed feelings about her because she has married the inferior Claudius after her first husband's death. Hamlet attributes this need for a husband to her lustiness. He also regards her with suspicion, wondering whether she had a hand in his father s murder. She is rather weak and unable to match wits in an argument, but her love for her son remains very strong. After the sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes, Gertrude drinks the poisoned goblet meant for Hamlet and dies.
Hamlet: Characters Polonius He is the father of Ophelia and Laertes and the chief adviser to the King of Denmark, also known as the Lord Chamberlain. Polonius is a pompous, arrogant, pedantic, interfering, suspicious, silly old man, a "rash, intruding fool," in Hamlet's words. He is forever fomenting intrigue and hiding behind tapestries to spy. He created the theory that Ophelia caused Hamlet to go mad by rejecting him. When Hamlet goes to his mother s bedchamber, attempting to confront her about his father s murder, he kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a tapestry and whom Hamlet mistakes for the king. Polonius' fall is fitting to his flaws.
Hamlet: Characters Horatio Horatio is Hamlet s best friend and confidant. They know each other from the University of Wittenberg, where they are both students. He is cautious, scholarly, and a good man, known for giving sound advice. Hamlet praises him as his soul's choice and declares that he loves Horatio because he is "not passion's slave" but is rather good- humored and philosophical through all of life's buffets. When Hamlet lies dying at the end of the play, Horatio considers suicide, but Hamlet convinces him to live on to tell the story.
Hamlet: Characters Ophelia Ophelia is Polonius s daughter and Hamlet s lover. She is obedient, agreeing not to see Hamlet anymore at her father's suggestion and spying on Hamlet when asked by Claudius. She believes that Hamlet loves her, despite his inconsistent courtship, and is devastated during a conversation in which he seems not to love her at all. When Hamlet kills her father, Ophelia goes mad and drowns in the river. Whether this is a suicide is left unclear. In general, Ophelia is controlled by the men in her life, moved around like a pawn in their scheme to discover Hamlet's distemper. Moreover, Ophelia is regularly mocked by Hamlet and lectured by her father and brother about her sexuality.
Hamlet: Characters Laertes He is Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother. Laertes lives primarily in Paris, France. We see him at the beginning of the play at the celebration of Claudius and Gertrude's wedding. He then goes to Paris, only to return in Act Four after his father's death at Hamlet's hands. He and Claudius conspire to kill Hamlet in the course of a duel between Laertes and the contemplative and frozen by emotions, Laertes is reactive and quick to action. When he hears of his father s death, Laertes is ready to raise a rebellion against Claudius, but his sister s madness allows Claudius to convince him Hamlet is at fault. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes will stop at nothing for revenge. At the end of the play, Hamlet kills Laertes; as he lays dying, Laertes admits to Claudius s plot to kill Hamlet. prince. Where Hamlet is
