Hamlet The Prince of Denmark

Cast of Characters  Claudius: King of Denmark, a smooth talking villain.  Hamlet: son of the king, a nephew to Claudius, a scholar as well as a swordsman.  Polonius: Lord Chamberlain and chief advisor to the king, a talkative old man who likes to spy on others.

Characters Continued  Horatio: Hamlet’s faithful friend  Laertes: hot-tempered son of Polonius  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: boyhood friends of Hamlet, courtiers and willing spies for Claudius

Character’s Continued  Gertrude: Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet.  Ophelia: daughter of Polonius, loved by Hamlet.  Ghost: spirit of King Hamlet, the late king of Denmark and Hamlet’s father.

Hamlet Plot  The king, Hamlet’s father, dies and his mother marries his uncle, his father’s brother, shortly after his father’s death.  Hamlet is angry and confused about his mother’s marriage.  Hamlet’s dead father comes to tell him that he did not die by natural causes but was murdered, by his own brother, Hamlet’s uncle who is now married to his mother. And is King of Denmark.

Plot Continued  The plot thickens as Hamlet has to decide what he is going to do about all that he knows:  Kill his uncle, the now king? But what if the ghost of his father is wrong?  Do nothing, but what if the ghost is right?  Committee suicide so he does not have to decide anything?  Run away and hide from everything and everyone?  WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Soliloquy A long speech in which a character who is usually alone onstage expresses his or her private thoughts or feelings.