Osric is the wealthy courtier who delivers Claudius’s message about his bet

with Laertes to Hamlet in Act 5, Scene 2, and he also serves as the referee
during the sword fight. While he has little to do in terms of action within the
play, his presence serves as yet another example of the corruption within
Denmark’s royal court. Hamlet explains to Horatio that Osric is an affluent
landowner who has used his money to work his way into Claudius’s good
graces. Otherwise, he has a low intellectual capacity and does not benefit
the kingdom in any meaningful way. Osric’s lack of substance emerges
throughout his first exchange with Hamlet, especially when Hamlet
intentionally mocks him or twists his words. Their debate about Osric’s hat,
for example, highlights his people-pleasing nature as he agrees to
Hamlet’s assertion that it is cold immediately after explaining that he was
hot. Osric also attempts to make himself sound noble by using flowery
language to discuss the upcoming duel, but his unclear use of words calls
attention to the façade he has created for himself. Despite these
shortcomings, Claudius nevertheless keeps him in his court and invites him
to be involved in his plot against Hamlet by having him referee. At this point
in the play, Osric’s primary role becomes narrating the fight for the
audience. He does not necessarily make biased calls in favor of Laertes,
but he does tend to Laertes instead of Hamlet after they injure each other
with the poisoned sword. In all of the chaos at the end of the play, Osric
manages to survive and announces the arrival of Fortinbras and the
Norwegian army. His fate after this moment remains unclear, but the fact
that he does not die alongside Claudius leaves the door open for the
possibility that some corruption may remain in the kingdom even with a
new ruler on the throne.

2-Before the Ghost of Hamlet’s father ever appears on stage, Horatio and
the guards give a detailed description of the recently deceased King
Hamlet, painting him as a good and courageous ruler. They are afraid of his
specter, but their fear is due to the supernatural element rather than the
man himself. They debate if it is in fact the King’s soul at all and not
something darker trying to manipulate Hamlet. If it is the King, they take
the appearance of the Ghost as a sign that the former King’s soul is in a
state of unrest. When the Ghost does appear on stage, he is fully armed
and armored, which Hamlet interprets as a further sign that his father’s
soul is prepared to do battle.

True to Horatio’s account of the King’s personality, the Ghost is pragmatic

and specific about how he delivers his message of revenge. He speaks
only to Hamlet and makes sure to get his son alone before they converse.
He begins by asking Hamlet to pay careful attention to his message and
confirm his identity as the spirit of Hamlet’s father. The Ghost impresses on
Hamlet the gravity of what happened to him and entreats Hamlet to seek
revenge for his death. After Hamlet agrees, he plainly tells Hamlet that
Claudius poisoned him to take his wife and throne.

After all the relevant information is on the table, however, the Ghost starts
to reveal an emotional and performative tendency that is plainly echoed
and amplified in his son Hamlet. The Ghost has the restraint to
communicate the essentials of his request for vengeance first, but clearly
he still possesses a very human sense of personal pain at his brother’s
betrayal. His instruction for Hamlet to enact revenge on Claudius is in
service of political justice to protect the crown, but it is also just as much
about personal justice. While Hamlet seems primarily concerned with the
latter motive, the Ghost is keenly aware of both purposes.

This kingly sense of justice motivates the Ghost to appear to Hamlet one
final time after Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius and subsequently
becomes enraged at Gertrude. By this point, the Ghost is either too weak
to make himself known to Gertrude, or chooses not to, but he feels it
necessary to intercede and remind Hamlet what his goal is. The Ghost
wants only for Hamlet to kill Claudius. Although he previously expressed
anger toward Gertrude, he wants Hamlet and Gertrude to reconcile.
Hamlet struggles with his task of proper revenge, but the Ghost has a clear
and constant desire for justice.

Although the Ghost incites the play’s plot, he may not be the King at all.
Horatio and the guards agree that the Ghost looks exactly like Hamlet’s
father, and Hamlet strongly considers that the Ghost is telling him the
truth. Claudius eventually confirms that he did in fact kill the King, as the
Ghost said, so that much the audience knows to be true. However, Hamlet
is the only character to ever talk with the Ghost, and Gertrude cannot even
see it. Hamlet himself wonders if the Ghost is a devil trying to trick him.
Ultimately, the text leaves the true identity of the Ghost ambiguous. It
could be Hamlet’s father, but it could also be something more sinister and
mysterious meant to cause strife in Denmark.

3-Although his appearances on stage are brief, the character of Fortinbras

nevertheless allows Shakespeare to deepen his exploration of major themes such
as the psychology of revenge and dimensions of heroism. The audience learns in
Act 1, Scene 1 that Fortinbras has lost his father, the former king of Norway.
Hamlet’s father killed Old Fortinbras in a duel, and in the aftermath of this loss,
Fortinbras’s uncle became king. This line of succession parallels Claudius’s rise
to power in Denmark and establishes a distinct connection between Fortinbras
and Hamlet. As the action of the play begins to develop, however, Shakespeare
highlights the ways in which these two princes are foils of one another. While
Fortinbras sets out with an army in order to reclaim land lost in the duel, Hamlet
ruminates on the message from his father’s spirit and struggles to implement his
plans for revenge. Intertwining these two narratives throughout the play
highlights the contrast between acting on impulse and premeditation. Given that
Fortinbras survives and ultimately takes the Danish throne, Shakespeare seems
to suggest that action, rather than intellect alone, is the key to success.

This value of action also emerges through characterizations of Fortinbras as

heroic. When Hamlet learns of Fortinbras’s plan to take back land in Act 4, Scene
4, he delivers a soliloquy in which he seems to express admiration for his ability
to act. Describing Fortinbras as possessing “divine ambition,” Hamlet views his
willingness to fight for his family’s honor as a mark of greatness. Meanwhile, he
laments his own failures to follow through on his vow for revenge. Fortinbras’s
final appearance at the end of the play also gives him the opportunity to take on
a heroic role as he restores order in the kingdom and provides closure for the
audience. Through Fortinbras’s ultimate success, Shakespeare is able to offer a
vision of what Hamlet’s revenge could have been were it not for his psychological
impairments.

4-A loyal friend and level-headed scholar, Horatio serves as a source of

stability for both Hamlet and the audience throughout the play. He stands
by Hamlet’s side as the action unfolds, and although he is rarely a direct
participant in it, his consistent presence gives the audience a clearer
understanding of the situational and psychological forces that drive his
friend to madness. Shakespeare establishes Horatio and Hamlet as a close
pair from the first act of the play, highlighting their shared educational
background and emphasizing their respect for one another. The fact that
both men are university students suggests that both have a similar
intellectual capacity, and this detail plays a key role in interpreting
Hamlet’s reaction to seeing his father’s ghost. Knowing how distraught
Hamlet is over the death of his father and the ascension of Claudius to the
throne, his interaction with the ghost may initially come across as pure
madness. The fact that a man as rational as Horatio can also see the ghost,
however, emphasizes to the audience the legitimacy of Hamlet’s private
conversation with his father’s spirit.

As the play progresses, the consistency of Horatio’s character draws even

greater attention to the psychological deterioration of his companion. He
appears in a number of key scenes which are pivotal to Hamlet’s quest for
revenge, and his measured responses to these moments contrast
significantly with his companion’s growing anxieties. In Act 3, Scene 2, for
example, Hamlet excitedly celebrates Claudius’s suspicious reaction to the
Players’ performance while Horatio calmly agrees with him. This steady
loyalty is what later lands Horatio at Hamlet’s side during his famous
graveyard soliloquy and drives him to advise his friend to sit out the duel
with Laertes. By the final act, Hamlet is far removed from the type of
logical reasoning that he and Horatio once shared, and he suffers greatly
as a result. Horatio may be willing to commit suicide in order to follow
Hamlet in death, but the fact that he is the only major character who
survives at the end of the play further reinforces his function as a figure of
stability. This role invites the audience to find a sense of peace and closure
in the wake of tragedy.
5-The Gravediggers are a pair of common men who, throughout their brief
time on stage, bring a degree of humor to the play and give rise to
discussions surrounding the significance of death. Their lines, all of which
occur in Act 5, Scene 1, are in prose rather than in verse, and this stylistic
distinction emphasizes their low-class status to the audience. While the
Gravediggers may have simple backgrounds, Shakespeare imbues them
with rich intellects that allow them to engage in witty banter, both with
each other and with Hamlet. The Gravediggers’ smarts are what makes
them an example of Shakespearean fools, or characters of common origin
whose cleverness often allows them to provide social commentary.
Including this type of comedic character at the beginning of Act 5 offers
the audience a moment to recover from Ophelia’s tragic drowning at the
end of Act 4 before being inundated with the large number of casualties at
the end of the play. Much of this relief comes from the matter-of-fact tone
that the Gravediggers use as they work. They readily debate the
appropriateness of Ophelia’s Christian burial, calling attention to the royals’
willingness to ignore theological law, and entertain themselves by telling
riddles, making jokes, and singing. When Hamlet arrives at the graveyard,
he finds this behavior appalling given his rather existential understanding
of death. The Gravediggers, on the other hand, view their work much more
pragmatically and treat death as something rather inconsequential. By
including this alternative perspective right before Hamlet delivers his
famous speech to Yorick’s skull, Shakespeare invites the audience to
consider their own understanding of mortality. This moment also offers an
opportunity to evaluate the extent of Hamlet’s descent into madness.

6-While Yorick only appears on stage in the form of a skull and Hamlet
only mentions his character in one brief monologue, he adds a layer of
gravity to one of the play’s most famous scenes. Hamlet arrives in the
graveyard in Act 5, Scene 1 to find two men digging a grave and, in the
process, exhuming bones. The First Gravedigger hands him the skull of a
man whom he initially describes as “a mad rogue” before admitting that it
was Yorick’s. This sends Hamlet into an existential spiral which offers the
audience a glimpse into who Yorick was in life. A jester for the king, Hamlet
spent a lot of time with Yorick as a child and has fond memories of how
warm and caring he was. In addition to being a memorable entertainer,
Yorick was almost like a family member. By highlighting these
overwhelmingly positive characteristics during Hamlet’s monologue,
Shakespeare manages to heighten the tension in the scene and create an
especially bleak mood. The stark contrast between Yorick’s joyful
personality in life and his cold, crumbling skull also symbolizes the painful
realities of death. When he finally comes to terms with Yorick’s grim end,
Hamlet’s resentment toward his still-living uncle grows even stronger. The
restlessness that his memories of Yorick create ultimately ensure that
Hamlet continues down a dark path until he meets his untimely end.
6-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern may be played by two individual actors
on stage, but given that they always appear together, they essentially
function as a single character. Childhood friends of Hamlet, Claudius and
Gertrude summon them to Elsinore with the hope that they can determine
why their son is acting strangely. While they may have once been genuine
friends with Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s behavior throughout
the play suggests that they care more about themselves than anyone else.
The pair first arrives at the castle in Act 2, Scene 2, and in addition to
emphasizing what great friends they are to Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude
offer them a substantial reward for spying on their son. The fact that
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are willing to betray Hamlet’s trust in
exchange for compliments and a bribe highlights their questionable moral
code. Unlike Horatio, whom Hamlet trusts completely, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern fail to find a way into their friend’s inner circle. Their
pleasantries and expressions of concern are not enough to convince
Hamlet of their authenticity, although they are honest enough to admit to
him that the king summoned them to Denmark. Moments like this, as well
as their decision to bring Hamlet’s favorite acting troupe to the castle,
redeem them slightly, but their insistence on remaining involved in the
conflict drives them to become part of the rottenness plaguing the
kingdom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail in their mission to uncover
their friend’s secrets, so Claudius recruits them to accompany Hamlet to
England where, unbeknownst to them, he will die. Hamlet once again
outsmarts the pair, however, and they end up going to their deaths instead.
Their self-interested nature, both in terms of their desire for a reward and
their dismissal of Hamlet’s true condition, ultimately lead to their downfall.

8-A loyal friend and level-headed scholar, Horatio serves as a source of

stability for both Hamlet and the audience throughout the play. He stands
by Hamlet’s side as the action unfolds, and although he is rarely a direct
participant in it, his consistent presence gives the audience a clearer
understanding of the situational and psychological forces that drive his
friend to madness. Shakespeare establishes Horatio and Hamlet as a close
pair from the first act of the play, highlighting their shared educational
background and emphasizing their respect for one another. The fact that
both men are university students suggests that both have a similar
intellectual capacity, and this detail plays a key role in interpreting
Hamlet’s reaction to seeing his father’s ghost. Knowing how distraught
Hamlet is over the death of his father and the ascension of Claudius to the
throne, his interaction with the ghost may initially come across as pure
madness. The fact that a man as rational as Horatio can also see the ghost,
however, emphasizes to the audience the legitimacy of Hamlet’s private
conversation with his father’s spirit.

As the play progresses, the consistency of Horatio’s character draws even

greater attention to the psychological deterioration of his companion. He
appears in a number of key scenes which are pivotal to Hamlet’s quest for
revenge, and his measured responses to these moments contrast
significantly with his companion’s growing anxieties. In Act 3, Scene 2, for
example, Hamlet excitedly celebrates Claudius’s suspicious reaction to the
Players’ performance while Horatio calmly agrees with him. This steady
loyalty is what later lands Horatio at Hamlet’s side during his famous
graveyard soliloquy and drives him to advise his friend to sit out the duel
with Laertes. By the final act, Hamlet is far removed from the type of
logical reasoning that he and Horatio once shared, and he suffers greatly
as a result. Horatio may be willing to commit suicide in order to follow
Hamlet in death, but the fact that he is the only major character who
survives at the end of the play further reinforces his function as a figure of
stability. This role invites the audience to find a sense of peace and closure
in the wake of tragedy.