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CHARACTERS

Hamlet The prince of Denmark, and a student at the University of Wittenberg. At the beginning of the play, Hamlets father, King Hamlet, has recently died, and his mother, ueen !ertrude, has married the ne" king, Hamlets uncle #laudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle and disgust at his mother for marrying him. When the ghost of Hamlets father appears and claims to have been murdered by #laudius, Hamlet becomes obsessed "ith avenging his fathers death but keeps thinking of reasons "hy he should "ait before killing #laudius$then chasti%es himself for failing to act boldly. Hamlet is a character of contradictions. He admires characters like &ortinbras and the 'layer King, "ho behave passionately and even violently for no good reason, but is himself thoughtful, reflective, and philosophical. At times Hamlet is indecisive and hesitant, but at other times he is prone to rash and impulsive acts of violence. Claudius The king of Denmark, Hamlets uncle. The villain of the play, #laudius is a calculating, ambitious politician, adept at manipulating others for his o"n ends and "illing to e(ecute, assassinate, or murder to stay in po"er. He doesnt understand Hamlet or Hamlets motives, but he is )uick to perceive Hamlet as a threat and take decisive action against him. #laudius does occasionally sho" signs of remorse and human feeling$his affection for !ertrude, for instance, seems sincere. Gertrude The )ueen of Denmark, Hamlets mother, recently married to #laudius. We never get to observe !ertrude on her o"n, so "e kno" much more about ho" Hamlet feels about her than about ho" she sees herself. *he seems clearly to love Hamlet, but Hamlet sees her as a "eak, even depraved, "oman motivated "holly by lust. Hamlet has such strong feelings about her se( life that he becomes momentarily distracted from his revenge )uest, urging her to"ard a life of chastity. Polonius The +ord #hamberlain of #laudiuss court, and the father of +aertes and ,phelia. 'olonius has good intentions, but he tends to be some"hat conniving and underhanded. He fre)uently leaps to the "rong conclusions, and his speeches are comically pompous and long-"inded. He is completely incapable of figuring out "hat Hamlet is up to. Horatio Hamlets close friend, "ho studied "ith the prince at the University of Wittenberg. Hamlet trusts Horatio above any of the other characters, valuing him for his even temper and e)uanimity$ )ualities that Hamlet seems to despise in himself. Horatio is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play. After Hamlets death, Horatio remains alive to tell Hamlets story. Ophelia 'oloniuss daughter, a beautiful young "oman "ith "hom Hamlet has been in love. A s"eet and innocent young girl, ,phelia dutifully strives to obey her father and her brother, +aertes, allo"ing 'olonius to use her in his scheme to spy on Hamlet. When her father dies, her sanity unravels, and in her madness she paints a scathing picture of young men as se(ually e(ploitative and unfaithful, and her mad speeches about flo"ers conceal implied condemnations of #laudius and !ertrude.

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