Hamlet Characters Analysis
Horatio - He is Hamlet's friend and a scholar. He is the first among the main characters to discover the existence of the Ghost, and one of the only characters to survive after the death of Hamlet and the other members of the Danish Royal family.
Claudius - He is the newly crowned King of Denmark, who usurped the royal throne by murdering his brother, and stole it from the rightful heir, Prince Hamlet. Claudius is the main antagonist of the play and is depicted as a devious politician who cares little for his subjects and is consumed with fear about the threats to his power. Claudius makes several attempts to rid himself of Hamlet, but either by luck or design, Hamlet manages to evade them all. Claudius is finally killed at the end of the play at the hands of a dying Hamlet.
Gertrude - She is the widow of the old King Hamlet and the mother of Prince Hamlet. The prince struggles to come to terms with his mother's marriage to the new King so soon after the death of his father. Gertrude is a complicated character whose motivations are not always made clear. Although Gertrude betrays Hamlet's murder of Polonius to Claudius, she does not tell him about Hamlet's feigned madness. Gertrude is killed as she drinks from the poisoned cup that Claudius had intended for Hamlet.
Polonius - He is a trusted advisor of the King of Denmark, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Claudius closely relies on Polonius in trying to discover a solution to the problem of Hamlet's lunacy.
Laertes - He is Polonius's son and functions as the primary foil to Hamlet's character. He is quick to act after learning of his father's murder, unlike Hamlet who is ever battling indecisiveness. Laertes ends up being manipulated by Claudius in his scheme for safely riding the kingdom of Hamlet. He dies after Hamlet manages to stab him with the point of the poisoned rapier during their duel.
Ophelia - She is Polonius's daughter and Hamlet's love interest. She is instructed to break off her relationship with Hamlet at the command of her father and the advice of her brother. Hamlet treats her very poorly, as he later denies feeling any love for her and then cracks sexual jokes at her during the play. Ophelia is driven mad by the death of her father and she later dies by drowning in a brook.
Hamlet - He is the protagonist of the play, and is dealing with a severely changed family situation at the beginning of the play. Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, who charges him to pursue revenge against Claudius for having murdered the old King. Hamlet struggles to come to terms with performing the violent act until he has absolutely nothing to lose in attacking Claudius.
