What follows is an overview of the main characters inWilliam Shakespeare'sHamlet, followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play.[1] Three different early versions of the play survive: known as theFirst Quarto ("Q1"),Second Quarto ("Q2"), andFirst Folio ("F1"), each has lines—and even scenes—missing in the others, and some character names vary.
Marcellus, Bernardo (or Barnardo) and Francisco are sentries at Elsinore. Francisco gives up his watch to Bernardo in the opening of the play, and it is Bernardo and Marcellus, who first alertHoratio to the appearance ofKing Hamlet's Ghost.[2] Marcellus goes with Horatio to tell Hamlet about the Ghost's appearance.[3] Marcellus is the most prominent of the three.[4]
Barnardo (inF1) is spelled Bernardo inQ2 (Second Quarto) and Barnard inQ1 (First Quarto).
Voltemand and Cornelius are ambassadors sent by the King of Denmark,Claudius, to old King Norway.[5]
He is a servant toPolonius.[6] (In the "Q1" text, Reynaldo is called "Montano" and Polonius is called "Corambis.") Polonius sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on whatLaertes is doing.
He informsGertrude ofOphelia's strange change in behaviour, before Ophelia's first "mad" appearance.[7]
He is the courtier sent by Claudius to invite Hamlet to participate in the duel withLaertes.[8] (This character is called "Ostricke" in the Second Quarto.) Osric, as well asPolonius, attempts to engage with Hamlet in the elaborate, witty discourse, fully consistent withBaldassare Castiglione's 1528 work,The Courtier. This work outlines several courtly rules, specifically advising royal retainers to amuse their masters with inventive language.[9]
The Players are a company of actors who arrive at Elsinore Castle. Friends of Hamlet, they had earlier performed in "the city" (presumably Copenhagen), but faced stiff competition from boy performers, so they have traveled to Elsinore to offer Hamlet their services. At Elsinore, they perform a version—which Hamlet has modified and calledThe Mousetrap—of the playThe Murder of Gonzago in the "play within a play".
He is the leader of the troupe of touring actors. In the "play within a play", he takes the part of the king who is murdered.[10]
This role was traditionally performed by a man, as were all the female parts inHamlet, since women did not appear on stage in Elizabethan times.[10]
He is also calledLucianus in the "play within a play".[11] The name may be a reference toLucius in the Brutus legend, a source forSaxo Grammaticus'Gesta Danorum, itself acandidate source forHamlet.Plays the role similar to Claudius and kills the king by pouring poison into his ear.
TheMousetrap play-within-a-play has a very brief Prologue recited by one of the Players. The First Player may do the Prologue, but if not, a Fourth Player, with a speaking part, is probably required to do it.
The bailiff informs the sexton that Ophelia's death was suicide, but the sexton argues the point. Later, the sexton unearthsYorick's skull, which leads to Hamlet's famous "Alas, poor Yorick" speech. During theInterregnum, all theatres were closed down by thepuritan government.[12] However, even during this time playlets known asdrolls were often performed illegally, including one based on the two clowns, calledThe Grave-Makers, based on Act 5, Scene 1 ofHamlet.[13]
Yorick is anunseen character depicted as a skull unearthed by the Gravediggers. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes a reminiscence byPrince Hamlet of the man, who apparently played a role during Hamlet's upbringing.
He officiates at Ophelia's funeral, and does not give her full Christian burial rites, since the church suspects her death was suicide. Called a "Priest" in the First Folio edition of "Hamlet," his speech prefix in the Second Quarto is "Doct" for Doctor of Divinity, a Protestant clergyman. Thus, the two original "good" printings of the play are in disagreement whether the clergyman is Protestant or Catholic.[14]
He is a commander inFortinbras' invading army, and is assigned by Fortinbras to get the license from Claudius for Fortinbras's army to be in Denmark.[15]
The sailors are two pirates who deliver a letter from Hamlet to Horatio, informing Horatio that Hamlet has returned to Denmark.
They appear in the final scene to report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.[16]
All references toHamlet, unless otherwise specified, are taken from the Arden Shakespeare "Q2" (Thompson and Taylor, 2006a). Under their referencing system, 3.1.55 means act 3, scene 1, line 55. References to the First Quarto and First Folio are markedHamlet "Q1" andHamlet "F1", respectively, and are taken from the Arden Shakespeare "Hamlet: the texts of 1603 and 1623" (Thompson and Taylor, 2006b). Their referencing system for "Q1" has no act breaks, so 7.115 means scene 7, line 115.
