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Hamlet characters11/13/2022 ![]() ![]() There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow." Yet, at the same time, he is an existential thinker who accepts that he must deal with life on its own terms, that he must choose to meet it head on. He is dark and suicidal, a man who loathes himself and his fate. He is angry, dejected, depressed, and brooding he is manic, elated, enthusiastic, and energetic. He has no friends left, but Horatio loves him unconditionally. ![]() He is at once the consummate iconoclast, in self-imposed exile from Elsinore Society, while, at the same time, he is the adulated champion of Denmark - the people's hero. The paradox of Hamlet's nature draws people to the character. Therein lies the secret to the enduring love affair audiences have with him. Hamlet is so complete a character that, like an old friend or relative, our relationship to him changes each time we visit him, and he never ceases to surprise us. ![]() In understanding literary characters, just as in understanding real people, our perceptions depend on what we bring to the investigation. The conundrum that is Hamlet stems from the fact that every time we look at him, he is different. Hamlet's challenge to Guildenstern rings true for everyone who seeks to know him: "You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." None of us ever really does. Hamlet breathes with the multiple dimensions of a living human being, and everyone understands him in a personal way. No matter how many ways critics examine him, no absolute truth emerges. King: the role of king that Hamlet creates for the play with which Hamlet will test the conscience of Claudius Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: courtiers who keep tabs on Hamlet on behalf of the king and whose meddling, like Polonius', eventually cost them their livesġst Player: the actor who performs Aeneas' speech to Dido, involving Pyrrhus' slaughter of Priam, at Hamlet's behest Reynaldo: Polonius' servant who is commissioned by Polonius to snoop around and slander his own son for the purpose of provoking a report more favorable to his son than what would be warranted under normal circumstances Ophelia: Laertes' sister, Polonius' daughter, and Hamlet's love interest Laertes: Polonius' son, he is nonetheless highly regarded by Hamlet for his swordplay mastery and general excellence of bearing and reputation Polonius: Denmark's Lord Chamberlain, he is Claudius' stooge, a busybody, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia The Ghost: the spirit of Hamlet's murdered father which is in a state of unrest due to perishing without the sacrament and extreme unction Hamlet: a university student at Wittenberg, he is the son of the murdered king of Denmark, making him the one and only prince of Denmark Gertrude: the widowed queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, and the newly-wed wife to Claudius Horatio: Hamlet's friend and Wittenberg (university) schoolmate who has his doubts about Bernardo and Marcellus' claim that Elsinore is haunted by a ghost in the likeness of Prince Hamlet's deceased fatherĬlaudius: Hamlet's uncle who is the current king of Denmark on account of his marriage to Hamlet's mother, the widowed queen of DenmarkĬornelius and Voltemand: couriers sent to Norway by Claudius to dissuade Fortinbras from reclaiming lands in Denmark that his father had lost to Hamlet's father Marcellus: officer who tries in conjunction with Bernardo to convince ![]() Francisco: soldier on guard who is only too happy to be relievedīernardo: officer who relieves Francisco and who is an eyewitness of the Ghost ![]()
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