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What follows is an overview of the main characters in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play. [1] Three different early versions of the play survive: known as the First Quarto ("Q1"), Second Quarto ("Q2"), and First Folio ("F1"), each has lines—and even scenes—missing in the others, and some character names vary.
The majority of characters in Hamlet have classical names, in contrast to the "particularly Danish" ones of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The names were common in the court of Frederick II and Christian IV , and also at the University of Wittenberg , an institution where Hamlet is mentioned as having studied (he refers to them as "my two ...
The character Claudius is both the major antagonist of the piece and a complex individual. He is the villain of the piece, as he admits to himself: "O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven" (Act III, Scene 3, Line 40), yet his remarkable self-awareness and remorse complicates Claudius's villain status, much like Macbeth.
Lee Blessing's Fortinbras is a comical sequel to Hamlet in which all the deceased characters come back as ghosts. The New York Times said it is "scarcely more than an extended comedy sketch, lacking the portent and linguistic complexity of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
In Act II, Hamlet refers to Polonius as a "tedious old fool" [3] and taunts him as a latter day "Jephtha". [4] Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet unknowingly kills Polonius, provoking Ophelia's descent into madness, ultimately resulting in her (probable) suicide and the climax of the play: a duel between Laertes and Hamlet.
Pages in category "Characters in Hamlet" The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
Numerous characters are clowns, or are comic characters originally played by the clowns in Shakespeare's company. See also Fool and Shakespearian fool. A cobbler and a carpenter are among the crowd of commoners gathered to welcome Caesar home enthusiastically in the opening scene of Julius Caesar. Cobweb is a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Hamlet and Fortinbras both have plans that are thwarted by uncles that are also kings. Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric and Polonius are all courtiers. Hamlet, his father, Bernardo, Marcellus, Francisco, Fortinbras and several other characters are all soldiers. Hamlet and his father share a name (as do Fortinbras and his father).