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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Group: Astghik P, Anna N, Eliza B)

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Group: Astghik P, Anna N, Eliza B)

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Hamlet’s childhood friends. By Claudius’ order, they were sent to spy on Hamlet to prove his madness. They quickly switched sides and betrayed Hamlet. This is how corruption works. It is highlighted that the two characters are not two distinctive individuals but rather represent a society. It is not about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern but rather a group of people who have the same tendencies of disloyalty. At the end, both die. Hamlet had no remorse towards their death, making both of them victims of his new mindset.

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Laertes is Polonius' son and Ophelia’s brother. Laertes and Hamlet share several similarities: both are students, skilled in fencing, in love with Ophelia, seeking vengeance for their fathers’ deaths, and quick to suspect Claudius’s involvement in their fathers’ murders. However, in contrast to Hamlet, who is rather slow in taking action, Laertes is more impulsive and emotional, acting swiftly after learning of his father’s death. Although both ultimately die, Laertes gives Hamlet a clear reason to kill the king, avenging his father and mother, and his own imminent death. Amidst this chaos and destruction, he both offers and requests forgiveness from Hamlet, reflecting a changed posture of heart and a desire to set things in order before leaving this world.

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Horatio was Hamlet’s friend and a fellow student from Wittenberg. It is notable to mention that perhaps his most distinguishing feature is that he was still alive at the end of the play. He is also the one character who is the most trusted by us, as Shakespeare makes sure that we believe in Horatio’s eyes and words. Maybe we would not have believed that Hamlet actually saw the ghost, but as Horatio was the witness, we believe that the ghost actually appeared. Also, as all the other major characters have died, we are left with nothing but believing in what Horatio tells us. He is a well-balanced and calm person whose consistency makes him a good friend, according to Hamlet. Horatio’s loyalty was also one quality that Hamlet appreciated in him. Even though he was ready to take the poison and die with Hamlet, he was instead instructed to live and tell Hamlet’s story, which he complied with. Horatio is a character who offers constancy and calmness amid the chaos of the play.

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Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark, mother of Prince Hamlet, widow of the late King Hamlet, and now married to the current King, Claudius. It is worth noting that, in many ways, being defined by her relationships with the mentioned men in the play, and with no soliloquies of her own, Gertrude is perhaps the most ambiguous character in Hamlet. There are very different opinions about her.

It is important to note that the most we learn about her is not from her own actions or words, but from the opinions of others about her. As our reading suggests:
“Listening to what other characters in the play say about Gertrude, we are led to think of her as shallow, weak-willed, and motivated by lust.”

Both Hamlet and the Ghost speak badly of her, although we shouldn't really consider their opinions as a basis for her characterization. So far, she seems somewhat indifferent and is led by questionable motives.

But it does seem that she changes throughout the play.
“After learning that Claudius is a murderer and being forced to confront the "black and grainèd spots" on her soul, her obedience ebbs away. Firstly, she does not reveal to her husband that Hamlet's madness is feigned, and then most significantly, in the final scene, her refusal of Claudius' instruction not to drink sets the conclusion of the play in motion and, as she dies, gives Hamlet his cue to kill the king.”

In the end, she is a complex character that needs close consideration, and may be viewed differently depending on who you ask.

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Claudius despite being considered as the main villain of the story actually has some dimension to him. Surprisingly his cunning nature helped avoiding a bloodshed on a battlefield. However when it comes to inner politics Claudius is ruthless and ready to use all the necessary means to get the power and influence. He killed his own brother sneakily, tried to kill his nephew, manipulated Laertes and Gertrude. He is posed as a typical bad guy at first, however we see him actually being affected by his actions for example Claudius's abrupt departure from the Players’ performance shows that he is not emotionless. We can see it also in his monologue in act 3 scene 3 where Claudius starts praying. He might feel guilty and understand the wrongness of his actions. Nevertheless he makes a fully informed choice because he is going to prioritize himself, his wellbeing over anything. Claudius puts his greed for power even above the wellbeing of his allies (aka Gertrude) - he views people like pawns.

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Hamlet, as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh (1996)

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Hamlet (Anahit Poghosyan and Lilit Aleksanyan)

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Hamlet (Anahit Poghosyan and Lilit Aleksanyan)

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Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, the son of the late King Hamlet Sr. and Queen Gertrude, who, after having returned from the University of Wittenberg, finds himself thrust into the role of an avenging son, for he learns from his own father’s ghost that he was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet is the first modern tragic hero because his mind’s workings are more important than his observable actions.

Hamlet is a complex character. He is filled with melancholy regarding his father’s death, hatred and anger toward his murderer uncle and his mother’s hasty remarriage, cynicism toward humanity (and women especially). Hamlet is full of contradictions: he claimed to love Ophelia but rejects her most harshly; he can be playful and rebellious, kind and mean. He is deeply contemplative and emotional: while he is often hesitant (because of thinking too much, as “the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with a pale cast of thought”), he can also make impulsive decisions.

In Act I, Hamlet decides to pretend to be mad in order to gather evidence against Claudius. However, as the play progresses, it becomes harder and harder to tell if Hamlet is only “acting” mad. He is at war with his own mind, and this affects negatively everyone around him.

When he learns about the murder, Hamlet promises to avenge his father’s death, but it is easier said than done: how can he kill Claudius when he wants to commit suicide himself?

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Polonius (Madlen Mahlamyan, Lena Melikyan)

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Polonius (Madlen Mahlamyan, Lena Melikyan)

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Polonius is one of the most talkative and meddling characters in Hamlet. He is the king’s advisor, which gives him some power at court, but he often comes across as pompous and full of himself. He is the father of Laertes and Ophelia, and he tries to control them by constantly giving advice, some of it wise, but much of it unnecessary or overbearing. His tendency to spy and interfere ultimately leads to his accidental death at Hamlet’s hand. Polonius is both a comic figure, because of his silliness, and a tragic one, because his flaws cost him his life.

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Marcellus and Bernardo, Reynaldo, Osric (Mariam)

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Marcellus and Bernardo, Reynaldo, Osric (Mariam)

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Marcellus and Bernardo

These two were the first to see the ghost of King Hamlet, and basically set the inciting incident of the story. Marcellus and Bernardo also help us understand the current political state of the country. Shakespeare uses these characters to explain how Claudius's ascent to the throne affects the population of Denmark. "If a guardsman with little to no access to the corridors of power can correctly deduce that there is some manner of sinister goings-on occurring at the top of the political hierarchy, Denmark truly must be in trouble."

Osric

Osric's main purpose in the play is to set up the final match between Hamlet and Laertes, but he also has other functions in the story. He is there to give the audience a final idea of Hamlet's intelligence and how he uses it to fool other people. His character also shows that the people in power who are around the king are very weak both morally and intellectually.

Reynaldo

He is Polonius's servant who is sent to spy on Laertes. Their dialogue is pretty long, but it is the only one, and Reynaldo doesn't appear in the play after this. However, he is an important character, because 1. His scene exposes Polonius's hypocrisy and distrust towards his son, 2. This scene shows that Polonius is an important person in the kingdom and has his own staff, 3. This scene shows that Polonius has a habit of suveiling, and we will later find out that this habit will bring him down.

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Ophelia is a side character, Polonius’ daughter, and Laertes’ sister. She is naive and kind, and her young heart believes that Hamlet’s words are love. However, throughout the whole play, Ophelia does not have a voice, unlike other Shakesperean women characters. Both her father and brother warn her to stay away from Hamlet. Later, when suspecting she is the reason for Hamlet’s madness, Claudius and Polonius use her as a decoy, putting her in a room just to see how Hamlet talks to her. In his turn, Hamlet uses her to show his pretended madness to the court, and especially to his uncle. Ophelia is in her final stage of mental breakdown during her father’s death. She has nobody to support her; Laertes is too consumed by revenge to take care of her.

Ophelia is a girl who tasted being the scapegoat of her own family. She is tormented by Hamlet's possible madness, and both male figures in her life manipulate her in the way they want. This is obviously a tragic moment for her she loses her love, purpose, and identity. Even though she appears only in five scenes throughout the play, we, as readers are clearly defining her tragic end. She is unable to be herself, she willfully seeks her own salvation that's why Shakespeare leaves her death ambiguous. Whether she committed suicide or accidentally drowned is intentionally not told to the reader. Flowers in her pond could not be a coincidence. We are inclined to believe this was a suicide...last attempt to gain agency in her life and make her own last decision.

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Although King Hamlet is dead most of the play, he still plays a huge role as a symbol of honor, courage, and some moral aspects. We know that he is remembered as a strong and courageous king who fought Norway and defended Denmark against it. He is the representative of the ideal monarch in the play , whose murder by Claudius is the opener for the tragic events happening in the play. King Hamlet also represents a moral and spiritual authority. His ghost guides Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius but at the same time not harm Gertrude. This shows his wisdom and ethical clarity. his death opened the covered corruption of Claudius and the moral decay in Denmark. It's like his bravery, strategic thinking and kindness are the vice versa of his brother's Claudius corruption. So this shows the downgrade and downfall of Denmark under Claudius kingdom.

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Fortinbras (Emma Madatyan, Ani Babkenyan)

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Fortinbras (Emma Madatyan, Ani Babkenyan)

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Fortinbras is the Prince of Norway and appears only briefly in the play. His father, also named Fortinbras (just like Hamlet and his father), was slain by King Hamlet and lost a portion of Norwegian land to him. The prince's character is decisive, brave, and action-oriented, in contrast to Hamlet’s hesitation and constant thinking. His willingness to take risks and pursue his goals motivates Hamlet to reflect on his own inaction. It seems as though that Fortinbras is a mirror for Hamlet's character, given the many parallels. They both desire to take revenge for their fathers, but their approach greatly differs: Hamlet’s introspective, philosophical nature versus Fortinbras’s bold, action-driven character. By the end of the play, Fortinbras arrives in Denmark and claims the throne, symbolizing order and resolution after the chaos in Denmark.