Hamlet | List of Characters
Barnardo, Francisco, Mercellus—sentinels; officers in King of Denmark’s army
Horatio—Prince Hamlet’s friend and confidante; fellow student at Wittenberg
Ghost—of dead King of Denmark, Prince Hamlet’s father; brother of new King, husband
of Gertrude
Claudius—brother of dead King of Denmark; now King, and new husband of Queen
Gertrude, Prince Hamlet’s mother
Gertrude—Prince Hamlet’s mother, widow of former King, now wife to Claudius, new
King
Polonius—King Claudius’s advisor; father to Laertes and Ophelia
Reynaldo—Polonius’s servant, sent to Paris to spy on Laertes
Laertes—son to Polonius, brother to Ophelia; friend to Hamlet
Prince Hamlet—son of the late King, and of Queen Gertrude; nephew-stepson to King
Claudius
Voltemand and Cornelius—messengers to King of Norway from Claudius
Ophelia—daughter to Polonius, sister to Laertes, beloved of Hamlet
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—fellow students of Hamlet at Wittenberg; sent with
Hamlet to England by Claudius to murder Hamlet
Osric—messenger who summons Hamlet to duel with Laertes
The Players—actors (adults) who formerly performed in the city, and who are now
traveling because of the rising popularity of companies of child actors
Grave diggers—two clowns (rustics) who are disinterring an old grave in order to make
way for a new burial, Ophelia
Priest—Doctor of Divinity (church official) presiding at Ophelia’s funeral
Fortinbras—Prince of Norway whose father was killed by Hamlet’s father; assumes
throne of Denmark at play’s end
Ambassador—from England, reporting to Claudius