Hamlet Characters

Hamlet

Back to Menu Main CharacterSon of Gertrude and the dead king (The Ghost) which makes him the prince and next in lineBest friend is HoratioIs in love with Ophelia, but will not be able to marry her because of her social rankThe ghost will only appear to himSwears revenge on his uncle for the murder of his father and will do anything to get itMurders Polonius by accident thinking it was ClaudiusIs fatally wounded by Laertes with a poisoned sword during a duel, but is able to kill Laertes and Claudius before his death fulfilling his revenge Names Fortinbras as the next king before his death at the end of the playTry again! Laertes is killed at the beginning of the end of the play. He couldnt be the one to carry on the story because he is dead.

Back to Quiz Claudius

Back to Menu Brother of the dead king (The Ghost) and now rules over the country Marries Gertrude at the beginning of the play Found to be the kings murderer so he could get the throne and GertrudeDoes occasionally show guilt for his crimesTries to get Hamlet declared insane and sent away from the palace when he learns that Hamlet knows hes the murdererTries to poison Hamlet with a drink, but Gertrude drinks it instead on accident and diesKilled at the end by Hamlet

Gertrude

Back to Menu Was married to the dead king (The Ghost), but is now the wife of Claudius Hamlets mother and cares deeply for himHamlet suspects her of having a hand in the kings murder, but discovers shes innocent towards the end Despite not being apart of the murder it is made clear she may have had relations with Claudius before handIs killed during the duel at the end of the play by accidentally drinking poison that was meant for Hamlet Polonius

Back to Menu The Lord Chamberlain of Claudiuss courtThe father of Ophelia and Laertes Is known for spying on the other characters from time to time for Claudius Was spying on Gertrude and Hamlet when Hamlet mistook him for Claudius and killed him

Horatio

Back to Menu The best friend of Hamlet and is extremely loyal to him Helps Hamlet throughout the play to discover if the king is truly guilty He is the only character to survive the playRemains alive to carry out Hamlets order of making Fortinbras king and to tell the story of what happened to the royal family Ophelia

Back to Menu The daughter of Polonius and sister of LaertesThe love interest of Hamlet and wishes to marry him After the murder of her father, she begins to lose her mind and eventually go crazyDue to her mental state and grief, she drowns herself in a pond by the castle Fortinbras

Back to Menu The young Prince of Norway, whose father the king was killed by Hamlets father Now he wishes to attack Denmark to avenge his fathers honor, making him another foil for Prince Hamlet.He is a great leader and its because of this that Hamlet names him king before his death at the endHe takes the throne and gives Hamlet a proper burial