Horatio epitomizes the faithful friend. He only questions Hamlet’s judgment once, when Hamlet confides the fates of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Otherwise, Horatio supports every rash decision Hamlet makes. Horatio is the man Hamlet wants to be. He is intelligent, but not driven by his intellectual creativity. Horatio seems to accept […]
Read more Character Analysis HoratioCharacter Analysis Laertes
Hamlet and Laertes presumably grew up together, fencing with one another and confiding in one another. Then Hamlet went away to Wittenberg and Laertes to Paris, parting the friendship. Still, Hamlet refers to Laertes as “a very noble youth.” Hamlet recognizes what Shakespeare has made abundantly clear throughout the play, […]
Read more Character Analysis LaertesCharacter Analysis Ophelia
Ophelia is a difficult role to play because her character, like Gertrude’s, is murky. Part of the difficulty is that Shakespeare wrote his female roles for men, and there were always limitations on them that restricted and defined the characterizations devised. In the case of an ingenue like Ophelia, a […]
Read more Character Analysis OpheliaCharacter Analysis Polonius
Casting Polonius in a demeaning light is a common danger. While he is a blowhard, and he does spout aphorisms that were, even in the 16th century, cliches, his cliches constitute sound advice and his observations prove themselves prophetic. Polonius may be elderly and demented, but he must have been […]
Read more Character Analysis PoloniusCharacter Analysis Gertrude
Gertrude is a shadowy character with little substance on which to hang a characterization. We can examine her through what others say about her more than through what she says. That she is “th’imperial jointress” to the throne of Denmark indicates that she wields some power and suggests that Claudius’ […]
Read more Character Analysis GertrudeCharacter Analysis Claudius
Shakespeare’s villains are complex. Unlike the earlier antiheroes of the revenge or morality plays that were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean culture, Shakespearean criminals lack the simple clarity of absolute evil. Claudius is a perfect example of a quintessential Shakespearean antagonist. Claudius is socially adept, and his charm is genuine. […]
Read more Character Analysis ClaudiusCharacter Analysis Hamlet
Hamlet is an enigma. No matter how many ways critics examine him, no absolute truth emerges. Hamlet breathes with the multiple dimensions of a living human being, and everyone understands him in a personal way. Hamlet’s challenge to Guildenstern rings true for everyone who seeks to know him: “You would […]
Read more Character Analysis HamletSummary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2
Summary A calmer Hamlet recounts the events leading up to his escape from the plot to kill him. He says that he is convinced now more than ever that divine providence governs man’s life, and that things happen as they are meant to happen. He tells Horatio that the night […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1
Summary Two gravediggers (called clowns) discuss the burial for which they are digging. An inquest has declared the corpse fit for Christian burial. The First Gravedigger argues that the dead woman deserves no such indulgence, because she drowned herself and is not worthy of salvation. The other gravedigger explains, using […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 7
Summary Claudius confirms that Hamlet killed Polonius, though seeking to take Claudius’ life. Laertes can’t understand why Claudius didn’t punish Hamlet for such capitol crimes. Claudius explains that he has restrained himself, even though he has no intention of letting Hamlet get away with his crimes. At this point, a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 7