Hamlet: List of Characters
Major Characters
1.
Prince Hamlet: son of King Hamlet (AKA “old Hamlet”) and Queen Gertrude. He is the main protagonist, who must decide
whether to kill his uncle Claudius and revenge his father's death. Hamlet is an introspective character who does not know
whether to trust the ghost of his father or not. He hates his mother for marrying Claudius so soon after his father's death, and
he is love with Ophelia until she rejects him.
2.
Ghost of Hamlet: the ghost of the late King of Denmark. The ghost appears several times, but only speaks to his son Hamlet. He
demands that Hamlet avenge his murder by killing Claudius.
3.
Queen Gertrude: the widow of the late King Hamlet, and the current wife of Claudius. She seems unaware that Claudius killed
her former husband until Hamlet confronts her directly. However, she also believes that Hamlet is mad after he sees the ghost
of his father in her presence, a ghost she cannot see.
4.
King Claudius: the brother of the late King of Denmark and the uncle to Hamlet. He murdered his brother in order to seize the
throne, and subsequently married Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark.
5.
Polonius: a lord (advisor to King Claudius) who is the father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is the first to believe that Hamlet's
madness is the result of Ophelia rejecting him. Polonius is accidentally killed by Hamlet while eavesdropping on a conversation
between Hamlet and Gertrude.
6.
Laertes: the son of Polonius, he is first sent to France but returns when he learns that his father has been killed. He is a fencing
expert -- and fights Hamlet in a fencing match at the end, and kills Hamlet by slashing him with a poisoned foil.
7.
Ophelia: the daughter of Polonius, she is in love with Hamlet but rejects him after her father orders he to do so. She later goes
mad after Polonius is murdered, and soon thereafter commits suicide by drowning herself.
8.
Horatio: a friend of Hamlet who is the first to inform him about the ghost of Old Hamlet. He is the only friend Hamlet trusts and
by the end of the play reveals the true story of why Hamlet killed Claudius.
Minor Characters

Rosencrantz and Guildestern: friends of Hamlet who are invited to the court by Claudius. They watch Hamlet closely at
Claudius' request, and they later serve as escorts for Hamlet to England. Hamlet discovers that he should be killed in England,
and instead puts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death.

Fortinbras: the Prince of Norway. In order to avenge his father's death at the hands of Old Hamlet, he is marching an army
through Denmark pretending to go to Poland. Instead, he attacks the Danish palace and conquers Denmark.

Players: a group of actors who arrive in Denmark. Hamlet uses them to stage a production he calls The Mousetrap in order to
see how Claudius will react.

Reynaldo: a servant to Polonius.

Barnardo, Marcellus, and Francisco: soldiers who first see the ghost of Old Hamlet.

Voltemand and Cornelius: courtiers

Osric: a courtier who invites Hamlet to fence with Laertes.

Two Clowns: a gravedigger and his companion, they are digging the grave for Ophelia. Hamlet sees them and speaks with them
for while, wondering at the casual way they go about their work.

A Priest , Gentlemen courtiers, A Sailor, A Captain in Fortinbras' army, and Ambassadors from England.