HAMLET

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HAMLET

• Character Introduction

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Prince Hamlet of Denmark

• Protagonist of the tragedy
• Son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet
• His mother has recently married his uncle,
  Claudius
• Hamlet is brooding and thoughtful he is not
  happy with his mothers marriage

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Queen Gertrude

• Hamlets mother
• Her first husband, the elder Hamlet, died
• She married her husbands brother, Claudius
• Gertrude is a shallow and weak character who does
  not make her own decisions

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King Claudius

• Hamlets uncle, and new stepfather
• Claudius is scheming and ambitious
• He is the antagonist and villain of the tragedy

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Polonius

• The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius court
• A pompous old man
• The father of Laertes and Ophelia

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Horatio

• Hamlets close friend from the University of
  Wittenberg, where they studied together
• He is a loyal friend to Hamlet
• Horatio outlives Hamlet and tells his tale

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Ophelia

• Polonius daughter
• Hamlet is madly in love with her
• Ophelias eventual madness leads to her downfall
• She is an obedient daughter and sister

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Laertes

• Polonius son and Ophelias brother
• He spends much of the play in France
• Ambitious young man

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Fortinbras

• The Prince of Norway
• His father was killed by Hamlets father
• Wants revenge for his fathers death

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King Hamlets Ghost

• The ghost of Hamlets late father
• Claims to have been murdered by Claudius
• Hamlet is not sure that the ghost is what he
  seems

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Rosencrantz Guildenstern

• Friends of Hamlets from the University of
  Wittenberg
• Claudius and Gertrude recruit them to find the
  source of Hamlets strange behavior

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Works Cited

• Information on characters from www.sparknotes.com/
  hamlet/