CHARACTERS IN HAMLET

NAME : Shranti Sitaram HakeClass : M . A -2ND ROLL NO:3057SUB : Drama in EnglishPaper :3.4College : S . M . Joshi College , HadapsarGuided by : Prof. Gaikwad Sir

Characters in HAMLET

HAMLET -William Shakespeare

Introduction :• Written . About 1602• One of the “world books”.• One of the greatest tragedies.• Most popular play in English literature.• Highly interesting .• Remarkable characters.

About AuthorWILLIAM SHAKESPEARE:• Life spnan:1564-1616• Greatest men of genius.• Bulk & richness of plays.• Eternal source of delight & knowledge for 4

centuries.• Works existed even after 400 years.• 37 dramas,2 long poems & 154 sonnets.• Emperor of the realm literature.

Characters Hamlet

King Hamlet

Gertrude

Claudius

Polonius Laertes Ophelia Horatio

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

Marcellus & Bernardo Reynaldo Osric

Voltimand & Cornelius Francisco The Clowns Fortinbrass

Hamlet • Hero –the Prince of Denmark.• Student at Wittenberg university.• He is son to the late King

Hamlet.• And also nephew to the present

King Claudius.• Disturbed by his father’s death.• Faced with evidence that his

uncle murdered his father.

• Behaves rashly and impulsively.• Extremely disappointed with his mother for

marrying his uncle.• Desires to see Claudius pay for his crime• He is in love with Ophelia.• Extremely philosophical and contemplative. • He accepts the duel with Laertes . • Finally kills Claudius.• And dies as wounded in a fencing match.

Fencing match

King Hamlet• Ex-King of Denmark.• Father of Hamlet.• Killed by his brother.• Appears as ghost in the

beginning.• Asks Hamlet for revenge.• Plays no active role.

Conversation of Ghost with Hamlet.

Gertrude • The beautiful Queen of Denmark.• King Hamlet's widow.• Married Claudius recently.• Mother to Hamlet. • Loves Hamlet deeply .• Shallow deep woman who seeks affection

and status more urgently than moral rectitude or truth.

• Thinks only about her body and external pleasures.

• Finally dies as drinks poisonous wine by mistake.

Claudius • Present King of Denmark.• Calculating & ambitious

politician• Uncle of Hamlet.• Has killed Hamlets father

and married his mother.• Villain of the play. • Finally killed by Hamlet.

Murder of King Hamlet

Polonius• The Lord Chamberlain of

Claudius’s court. • Father of Laertes and Ophelia.• Warns Ophelia to keep away

from Hamlet.• He is knowing in retrospect, and

ignorant in foresight.• Killed by Hamlet by mistake.

Laertes • Polonius’s son. • Ophelia’s brother.• Student at the University of Paris.• Affects so much by the death of his

father and sister.• Claudius uses him for his purpose.• Challenges Hamlet for fencing

match.• Reveals truth about Claudius and

dies in match at end.

Ophelia • Tragic heroine .• Polonius’s daughter. • A sweet and innocent young

girl, who obeys her father and her brother, Laertes.

• A beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love.

• Dependent on men to tell her how to behave.

• Dual nature of women in the play.• Affects badly by

her fathers death.• Becomes insane.• Commits suicide

by drowning.• Sympathetic

figure.

Condition of Ophelia Ophelia goes mad Ophelia dies

Horatio • Hamlet’s close friend.• Studied with the prince at

the university in Wittenberg.

• Loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play.

• Remains alive to tell Hamlet’s story.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

• Two slightly bumbling courtiers.

• Former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg.

• Corrupted by the King.• Were asked to discover

the cause of Hamlet’s strange behavior.

Marcellus & Bernardo• Officers on guard at

the castle of Elsinore.• See the ghost first.• And then with

Horatio.

Reynaldo • Polonius’s servant.•Sent to France by Polonius to check up on and spy on Laertes.

Osric •A young courtier at Claudius’s

court.•Appointed as an Umpire of the

fencing match of Laertes and Hamlet .

Voltimand & Cornelius• Courtiers whom

Claudius sends to Norway to persuade the king to prevent Fortinbras from attacking.

Francisco •Francisco is a guard at Elsinore. He is slightly depressed, or at least unhappy about having to work cold nights

The Clowns• Comic characters:First Clown (Gravedigger)• The First Clown is a gravedigger.

He is convinced that Ophelia ought to be considered a suicide.

• He is a joking fellow who sings as he digs, is much given to wordplay, and is proud of his profession.

Second Clown (Gravedigger)• The Second Clown is the first

gravedigger’s straight man. • He is aware that when it comes down

to it, Ophelia is only being properly buried because of her rank.

Fortinbrass • Prince of Norway.• A warlike young man with

energy to spend. • He intends to revenge his

father, Old Fortinbras.• His father old Fortinbrass

was killed in a duel with Old Hamlet and thereby lost some Norwegian lands to Denmark

• Restrained from doing so by his uncle the king of Norway, he invades Poland instead, to capture a useless little plot of land.• This greatly impresses Hamlet. • On his return, he passes through Denmark,

and happens to arrive just as everyone dies. • Since the entire royal family of Denmark is

dead, he claims the throne on the basis of some old connection, Hamlet having already spoken in his favor

Minor characters• The English Ambassadors• The players (actors in “The Mouse Trap” play)• A Gentle man • A Priest• A Captain• Lords• Ladies • Soldiers • Sailors • Servants & Messangers

Conclusion • Thus, Hamlet’s character are

quite interesting and has variations in them.•Major characters are suffered

from huge tragedy.

Thank you! For your ATTENTION.Any questions please?