Amleto

Hamlet

He is the protagonist of the tragedy and prince of Denmark, son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet and nephew of the present king Claudius.

Hamlet is a melancholy, indecisive, cynical and very embittered character from the intrigues of his uncle and his mother to take the power.

He is an enigmatic, with inner conflicts between fears, indecisions, life and death

King Claudius

Is the current king of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle and his antagonist, brother of Hamlet's father. He is an ambitious politician, driven by his thirst for power and without scruples; he occasionally shows signs of humanity, like his love for Gertrude, which seems true. He is cruel, and above all, a manipulator. Finally he weaves the plan that was supposed to kill Hamlet: a poisoned chalice during a duel with a poisoned sword. The poisoned sword killed Hamlet, but the chalice poured against the new king and his wife

The Ghost

The specter of Hamlet's father tell to the prince to have been murdered by Claudius and invites him to revenge his father's death.

Hamlet thinks that the specter could be the devil himself, who wants to deceive him and make him commit a murder. The question of who the ghost is and where it comes from is never revealed.

Gertrude

Queen of Denmark and mother of Hamlet, now married with Claudus. Gertrude loves her son, but she is still a weak woman.

We don't know clearly if she is involved in the plot against Hamlet's father or not

Polonius

Is the chief counsellor and the Lord Chamberlain of the Claudius' court

Ophelia and Laerte

Polonius' daughter and son

He is a very impulsive young man. He spends a lot of time in France and will duel against Hamlet to take revenge

Daughter of Polonius, of whom Hamlet was in love. He goes mad with pain when his father dies at the hands of Hamlet and ends his existence drowning in a stream and unleashing the wrath of his brother Laerte who retaliated by killing Hamlet

Reynaldo

Polonius' servant, sent to France to monitor and spy on his son Laerte

Horatio

A friend of Hamlet, a fellow student at the University of Wittenberg. Horatio helps Hamlet in discovering the truth and remains faithful to him throughout the tragedy. When Hamlet dies, Horace remains alive to tell the story of Hamlet

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Two courtiers, childhood friends of Hamlet, who are called by Gertrude and Claudius to try to discover the reason for the strange behavior of Hamlet.

Marcellus and Bernardo

The two guards who first see the ghost of the sovereign walking on the ramparts of the castle. Marcello is there when Hamlet meets the ghost for the first time.

Francisco

A soldier

Fortinbras

Prince of Norway, whose father was killed by Hamlet's father.

Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark to revenge his father's death

Osric, Voltimand and Cornelius

Courtiers who are sent to Norway to convince Fortebraccio not to attack Denmark

The foolish courtier who calls Hamlet to his duel with Laerte

Revenge

Although Hamlet is a tragedy of revenge, his main character is not capable of revenge for his father's murder. For various reasons he continues to postpone his intent. The causes of this postponement have been sources of debate for centuries, and even today Hamlet symbolizes a doubtful, undecided person, the kind of person who thinks a lot and acts too little.

Death

The theme of death envelops the work from its beginning, where the ghost of Hamlet's father introduces the idea of ​​death and its consequences. The ghost represents the breaking of the accepted social order. The disorder was caused by the natural death of the king, soon followed by a series of deaths, suicides, revenge and accidental deaths.

"who would be willing to carry loads on their shoulders, to moan and sweat for the difficulties of life, if there were no fear of something after death, this unexplored land from whose boundaries no traveler has ever come back ..."

Madness

Hamlet's madness is ambiguous madness. It seems like a simulated madness to take advantage of the fact of appearing insane, in order not to let the king suspect his plan of revenge. For centuries, critics have been wondering if the madness of the prince of Denmark is real or simulated. When Hamlet is alone, or with people he trusts (Horace) he is completely aware and lucid, and capable of profound reflections.