1. 12th Grade Honors English Ms. Clark
Hamlet Characters

2. Click to learn more about a character and their overall story:
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Polonius
Horatio
Ophelia
Laertes
Fortinbras
The Ghost
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3. Hamlet
Main Character
Son of Gertrude and the dead king (The Ghost) which makes him the prince and next in line
Best friend is Horatio
Is in love with Ophelia, but will not be able to marry her because of her social rank
The ghost will only appear to him
Swears revenge on his uncle for the murder of his father and will do anything to get it
Murders Polonius by accident thinking it was Claudius
Is fatally wounded by Laertes with a poisoned sword during a duel, but is able to kill Laertes and Claudius before his death fulfilling his revenge
Names Fortinbras as the next king before his death at the end of the play
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4. Claudius
Brother of the dead king (The Ghost) and now rules over the country
Marries Gertrude at the beginning of the play
Found to be the king’s murderer so he could get the throne and Gertrude
Does occasionally show guilt for his crimes
Tries to get Hamlet declared insane and sent away from the palace when he learns that Hamlet knows he’s the murderer
Tries to poison Hamlet with a drink, but Gertrude drinks it instead on accident and dies
Killed at the end by Hamlet
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5. Gertrude
Was married to the dead king (The Ghost), but is now the wife of Claudius
Hamlet’s mother and cares deeply for him
Hamlet suspects her of having a hand in the king’s murder, but discovers she’s innocent towards the end
Despite not being apart of the murder it is made clear she may have had relations with Claudius before hand
Is killed during the duel at the end of the play by accidentally drinking poison that was meant for Hamlet
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6. Polonius The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court
The father of Ophelia and Laertes
Is known for spying on the other characters from time to time for Claudius
Was spying on Gertrude and Hamlet when Hamlet mistook him for Claudius and killed him
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7. Horatio The best friend of Hamlet and is extremely loyal to him
Helps Hamlet throughout the play to discover if the king is truly guilty
He is the only character to survive the play
Remains alive to carry out Hamlet’s order of making Fortinbras king and to tell the story of what happened to the royal family
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8. Ophelia The daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes
The love interest of Hamlet and wishes to marry him
After the murder of her father, she begins to lose her mind and eventually go crazy
Due to her mental state and grief, she drowns herself in a pond by the castle
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9. Laertes The son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia
Spends most of his time in France gambling his money away and usually just comes back home to get more money
Seeks revenge on Hamlet for the murder of his father and works with Claudius to get it
Before a duel with Hamlet, he dips his sword in poison so he can kill him with just one cut from the blade
In the duel he does cut Hamlet with the blade, but he gets cut as well and dies soon after from it
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10. Fortinbras
The young Prince of Norway, whose father the king was killed by Hamlet’s father
Now he wishes to attack Denmark to avenge his father’s honor, making him another foil for Prince Hamlet.
He is a great leader and it’s because of this that Hamlet names him king before his death at the end
He takes the throne and gives Hamlet a proper burial
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11. The Ghost He is the ghost of the recently dead king
Father of Hamlet, brother of Claudius, and first husband of Gertrude
Appears to Hamlet to tell him that he was actually murdered by Claudius
Only reappears one more time to keep Hamlet on his path for revenge
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12. Quiz
Which character is left with the task of telling the story of how the royal family fell and Hamlet’s story?
Fortinbras
Laertes
Horatio
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13. Try Again!
Fortinbras is the new king at the end of the play, but he arrives after many of the characters have been killed so he has to learn what happened.
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14. Try again!
Laertes is killed at the beginning of the end of the play. He couldn’t be the one to carry on the story because he is dead.
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15. Good job!
Before Hamlet dies he gives his best friend, Horatio the job of telling what happened and making Fortinbras king!
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