Hamlet Characters

Hamlet 1

• - "i am proud, revengful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than i have thoughts to put in them", Hamlet is essentially a noble-minded young man whose innate idealism is deeply undermined by a series of traumatic events. Our final impression of Hamlet is a positive one. This shows us Hamlets finer qualities that had so endeared him to the Danish public
• - Hamlet's disillusionment with life is expressed in the early scenes "how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world" and the image of an unweeded garden coneys his vision of a coarse, corrupt world "'tis an unweeded garden that grown to seed, thing rank and gross in nature posses it merely". He places no value in his own life "i do not set my life at a pin's fee"
• - Gertrude accurately identifies the roots of Hamlet's disillusionment with life "i doubt it is no other than the main; his fathers death and our o'er hasty marriage". Hamlet is disgusted with his mother for her haste in entering this new relationship, calling her "O most pernicious woman". He is also bitterly disillusioned with the fact that his father;s place has been userped by a "smiling damned villain"
• - Hamlet's trestment of his mother is cruel and unfeeling, he seems determined to make her see her weakness and wrongdoing. His obsession with the relationship of Claudius and Gertrude and his crude depiction of human relationships "the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog" highlights the less attractive side to his character
• - He also treats Ophelia in this way, highlighting his contempt towards women in general "for wise men know well enough what fools you make of them". While Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia can be explained in part by the fact that he knows that Claudius and Polonius are spying on him, his treatment of her amounts to emotional and mental torture

Hamlet 2

• - Hamlet's killing of Polonius is "a rash and bloody deed" and his treatment of Polonius "wretched, rash, intruding fool" alienates much of the audience
• - His treatment of R and G also highlight the uncaring and unattractive side to his nature
• - Although his thinking is often far from noble, it is his basic decency and idealism that make him "loved by the distracted multitude". It is also important to note that all of the plays characters at some point or another in the play pay tribute to Hamlet's nobility "O what noble mind is here o'er thrown"
• - Hamlet is essentially a man of conscience "give me your pardon sir. I have done you wrong" and it is this that causes his indisision and procrastination "thus conscience does make cowards of us all"
• - Despite his unappealing qualities, we never entirely loose sympathy for Hamlet, as we can understand why he acts as he does, and we ultimatly see Hamlet as an imperfect but noble hero. "Now cracks a noble heart, good night, sweet prince" "for he was likely, had he been put on, to have proved most royal"

Claudius

• - Our intitial impression of Claudius is positive, he seems an efficient and attentive monarch who is eager to please. As the play progresses, we see that he is a "smiling damned villain". Claudius is shrewd, manipulative, and unscrupulous , however he tormented by his conscience and is aware of the enormity of the crimes he has comitted "my offence is rank". It is this complexity that makes claudius such a credible villain
• - Although Claudius seems kind and eager to please when we first meet him, his kindness seems very exagerated "what is't Laertes.....what wouldst thou beg Laertes? what wouldst thou have Laertes?"
• - Claudius easily manipulates those around him with his words "my cousin Hamlet, and my son" and his manipulative skills are particularly evident in the way in which he deals with Laertes "you shall choose a sword unbated, and, in a pass of practice, requite him for your father"
• - Claudius is shrewd and perceptive, quick to notice the danger that Hamlet posses to him and the crown "madness in great ones must not unwatched go"
• - Claudius is devoid of scruples; sending hamlet to his death, sending Polonius to his death, getting Laertes to kill Hamlet, letting Gertrude drink from the poisoned cup
• - Claudius is completely self absorbed, he is only affected by the death of Polonius because it could have happened to him "it had been so with us had we been there" and is unaffected by the deaths of gertrude and Ophelia. He does not believe in the permenance of love "there lives within the very flower of love a kind of wick or snuff that will abate it"

Gertrude

• - Gertrude is not an evil woman, but she undoubtedly has no initial sense of personal guilt or shame concerning her sudden marriage to Claudius
• - Gertrude loves her son, however she is weak and is easily manipulated by Claudius. While she plays a very passive role in the play, it is clear that her "sin" dominates Hamlet's mind, profoundly affecting his outlook on life. She cares for him, and is anxious that R and G should draw her "much too changed son" out of his depression
• - she is caught between loyalty for her husband and love for her son
• - Her most redeeming feature is her love for her son. She seems genuine in her happiness at his success in the sword fight and uses her last dying breath to warn Hamlet of Claudius' treachary
• - She is morally blind in that she cannot see Claudius for what he really is

Ophelia

• - young, innocent, dominated by the men in her life
• - she is lectured by her brother, manipulated by her father, used by the king and abused by the man she loves
• - the flower imagery associated with her sharply contrasts to the weed imagery associated with the Danish court
• - she is a dutiful daughter and a typical shakesperian woman
• - She is easily exploited and manipulated by Polonius and Claudius, thus becoming enmeshed in the corruption of the Danish court
• - Ophelia becomes the focus of Hamlet's disgust with love, marriage, and procreation as she reminds him of Gertrude "get thee to a nunnery". Although she bears the brunt of Hamlet's unadmirable qualities, she herself highlights his better qualities "O what a noble mind is here o'er thrown"
• - She is too sweet and innocent for the world she inhabits, costing her her sanity "she is importunate, indeed distract. her moods will need be pitied"
• - Her death highlight's the plays tragic dimension, she is the perfect example of a tragic victim

Polonius

• - The central characters of the play hold contrasting views of him; Claudius and Gertrude view him as "a man faithful and honourable", while Hamlet views him with undisguised contempt "a foolish prating knave". The audience is inclined to agree with Hamlet as it is hard to find many positive qualities in the character of Polonius
• - Claudius' positive view of Polonius is easy to explain, Polonius is a loyal and unwavering courtier "I hold my duties as i do my soul"
• - His advice to Laertes shows him to be shallow, narsassistic, and practical "to thine own self be true"
• - while his advice to Ophelia may be inspired by parental concern, it reflects an utterly cynical view of life and human relationships, he is incapable of believing that Hamlet is in any way dependant or sincere "do not believe his vows". By denying Ophelia access to Hamlet, he disregards her feelings, also sacrificing her possible happiness
• - Polonius reduces love to lust, and young people to farmyard animals "walks with a larger tether"
• - he is pretentious and self- centered. he is unscrupulous, imoral, mchiavellian, and manipulative. He orders servants to spy on his own son and manipulates his daughter to meet his own selfish ends. His only concern is his appearance and advancement in the Danish court

Laertes

• - laertes acts as a foil character to Hamlet, yet has a tendency to act rashly and displays a lack of morality
• - Laertes likes to moralise, offering Ophelia advice, however, his propensity for lecturing his sister while following the "path of dalliance" himself suggests that he is a shallow and hypocritical character
• - When Laertes learns of his fathers death, we see how his impertuosity contrasts with Hamlet's indiscision, and we see how leartes does not need proof of his fathers killer before seeking revenge
• - While Hamlet admits that his failure to act has much to do with his conscience, Laertes is determined that nothing will stand in the way of him being "revenged most thoroughly" for his father
• - Laertes is unscrupulous in his quest for revenge "to cut his throat i'th' church". His impulsiveness and lack of morality are skillfully exploited by Claudius, and his weak character allow for him to be ruled by Claudius
• - While Hamlet is restrained by his conscience, Laertes is determined that his conscience will not stand in the way of revenge
• - His shallowness is apparent at Ophelia's funeral where he puts on an exagerated show of grief
• - Laertes reedeems himself somewhat before his death, showing him to be conscience troubled "I am justly killed by mine own treachery" "The King, the king's to blame" "exchange forgiveness with me noble Hamlet. Mine and my fathers death come not upon thee nor thine on me"