Main Characters of Shakespeare's Hamlet:
[Here some minor characters like Francisco and Osric are not included]
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1) Hamlet: The leading and title character, Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. His father was the previous king. But his uncle Claudius has murdered his father in order to conquer the throne. Hamlet is witty, thoughtful and was a student at the University of Wittenberg. He feels great sorrow about his father's death and is angry with his mother's dishonesty.
2) The ghost: We do not know the original name of Hamlet's father. Throughout the whole play, Hamlet's father appears as the ghost.
3) Gertrude: The queen of Denmark and Hamlet's widowed mother. Though she loves his son very much, she is more driven by her status and weakness than anything else. After the murder of his husband, she marries the murderer of his husband just to maintain her status as a queen.
4) Claudius: He is the main villain and the uncle of Hamlet who has killed his own brother to preserve the king-seat. He is ambitious and knows politics well. During the construction of the plot, he tries many times to kill Hamlet.
5) Horatio: One of the best friends of Hamlet. He is loyal and plays a vital role in the progression of the play. In the end, he remains alive to narrate Hamlet's tragedy.
“That one may smile and smile and be a villain.”
(Hamlet, act 1 scene 5)
6) Ophelia: Ophelia is a young woman and in love with Hamlet. She is also the daughter of Polonius. She respects her father and brother Laertes. But she commits suicide when Hamlet rejects her proposal.
7) Polonius: He is the father of Hamlet's lover, Ophelia. He has also another son, Laertes. Moreover, Polonius is one of the attendants and an important person of Denmark's Royal Court.
8) Laertes: Laertes is the son of Polonius and brother of Hamlet's lover, Ophelia. In the end, he had a fight with Hamlet and dies.
9) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: They are the two friends of Hamlet. They all used to be a Wittenberg University. These two friends were used by Claudius in order to spy on Hamlet's strange behaviour.
10) Fortinbras: He is the present King of Norway and the next King of Denmark because Hamlet's father once killed Fortinbras' father and now he wants to take revenge. So after both Claudius and Hamlet die, Fortinbras decides to attack and win Denmark.
Background of Shakespeare's Hamlet
William Shakespeare wrote his longest play, Hamlet at around 1601. This play by William Shakespeare is thought to be a great example of revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedy was popularized by the Roman philosopher and writer Seneca. Then it was also practised by the University Wits.
But let us again ask the question that, what is the background of one of the most successful Shakespearean play, Hamlet? What were the sources that Shakespeare actually used to construct the plot and characters of this play? Or do the scenes completely belong to Shakespeare's brain?
Critics do believe, that Shakespeare's Hamlet is the influence of many other previous literary works. In the twelfth century, a Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus collected many stories and legends from the North-European areas. His collected work is Historica Danica, where we find many elements that may influence Shakespeare's Hamlet.
“Listen to many, speak to a few.”
(Polonius, act 1 scene 3)
But most scholars think that William Shakespeare's Hamlet was directly influenced by some of Thomas Kyd's play which is lost now. That play by Kyd is called Ur-Hamlet. Though the text is lost, some of it is still left. The revenge tragedies or the Spanish tragedies were very popular in Kyd's time, so it is not impossible that Kyd, as a playwright, would have tried to write some of them. Many people find similarities between Shakespear's Hamlet and Kyd's Ur-Hamlet.
But regardless of its basic sources, Shakespeare's Hamlet is unique. If we consider that Shakespeare, perhaps got his idea of writing this play from somewhere else, still his play overcomes all criticism. Shakespeare modified the idea of the plot and characters. His ability of characterization makes his play great. Besides, why Hamlet is one of the greatest plays of all time is because Hamlet is actually the depiction of ordinary people like us. It portrays the inner confusion, guilty, self-doubt and conflicts that we all go through. It brings the psychological tension of human beings and makes us ask ourselves - "To be, or not to be?"
Act-wish plot deconstruction or analysis of Shakespeare's Hamlet
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The Statue of Prince Hamlet, Stratford Upon Avon, UK |
Act 1-2
Elsinore Castle, Denmark, a dark winter night, suddenly a ghost appears. The guards, who were there in the night, saw the ghost and were terrified by the scene. Then prince Hamlet's school friend Horatio arrived there. The guards then told Horatio that they have seen a ghost, and the ghost might be the spirit of Hamlet's father, the recently murdered King. Then the ghost reappeared. So the guards and Horatio decided to inform Hamlet.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in our philosophy.”
(Hamlet, act 1 scene 5)
Now Hamlet came to know that his father is present in the form of a ghost and he should be meeting his father as soon as possible. Then with the help of his friend Horatio, Hamlet met his dead father. The ghost described how Hamlet's own uncle Claudius killed his father and married his widowed mother. The ghost also told Hamlet that he must be taking avenge for the unfair murder of his father. But Hamlet had to be very quick in his decisions. Hamlet swears vengeance for his father.
But Hamlet is not in a very normal state of his mind. He had recently lost his father, his uncle married his mother, saw the ghost of his father, and now he has to take revenge for his father's death. So Hamlet's mind is now totally lost and confused. Hamlet raises doubts about his mother's loyalty. He is going through a serious mental state where he is unable to differentiate right or wrong. He's lost his own balance of mind. And as a result, Hamlet's normal behaviour changes. People start to notice that something is wrong with Hamlet.
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His uncle, Claudius who is the present king of Denmark, notices the strange actions of Hamlet too. He starts to spy on Hamlet and tries to understand what's going on within him. The king appointed Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to spy on Hamlet. Claudius finds that Ophelia loves Hamlet and perhaps, this is why Hamlet is acting like this. Meanwhile, Hamlet actually rejects the proposal of Ophelia and tells her to join a nunnery for her own sake.
Then a group of travelling actors arrive at Elsinore. Hamlet gets an idea. He plans to perform a play with these actors in front of his uncle, Claudius. The play will be a parody of his father's murder. If his uncle is really guilty, he will be influenced by his play. So Hamlet writes a play and performs the play in front of his uncle.
Act 3-5
While performing, Hamlet looks at his uncle's facial expressions. While the murder scene comes, his uncle Claudius is provoked, he leaps up and leaves the room. Now Hamlet is completely sure that Claudius is the murderer. He goes to kill him but finds him praying. Hamlet thinks if he kills Claudius while praying, he will be sending his soul to heaven. But he does not want that to happen, so he waits. Now Claudius is very concerned about Hamlet's madness and decides to send him to England and later murder him.
Then Hamlet goes to his mother to scold her. The attendant, Polonius tries to protect the queen. But Hamlet draws his sword, stabs and kills Polonius. Then the ghost reappears and tells Hamlet not to delay more, he suggests his son to take the final revenge and kill Claudius as soon as possible.
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On the other side of the plot, Ophelia, rejected by Hamlet, goes mad. She drowns herself in the river. And Claudius convinces Ophelia's brother, Laertes that Hamlet is guilty of Ophelia's death. Claudius poisons the blade of Laertes so that Hamlet dies from the wound of the sword. And he also poisons Hamlet's wine as a backup plan.
Now while Hamlet is attending the funeral of Ophelia, Laertes arrives there and a duel between the two of them is arranged. During the duel, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude drinks Hamlet's wine and dies. Then both wounded by the poisoned sword blade, Laertes dies. And Hamlet, in his death throes, kills Claudius and take revenge. Only his friend, Horatio is alive to narrate the whole story to the upcoming king, Fortinbras. And this is how the story ends.
“Goodnight, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!”
(Horatio, act 5 scene 2)
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Nice presentation sir.
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