List of Characters from Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Hamlet: Dramatis Personae

Please see Shakespeare's Characters: A to Z for a pronunciation guide.
Please see Introduction to the Characters in Hamlet for analysis and fascinating facts.

Claudius, King of Denmark

Hamlet, son to the late, and nephew to the present king

Polonius, Lord Chamberlain

Horatio, friend to Hamlet

Laertes, son to Polonius

Voltimand, Cornelius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric, a Gentleman, courtiers

A Priest

Marcellus, Barnardo, officers

Francisco, a soldier

Reynaldo, servant to Polonius

Players

Two Clowns, grave-diggers

Fortinbras, Prince of Norway

A Captain

English Ambassadors

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet

Ophelia, daughter to Polonius

Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants

Ghost of Hamlet's Father

Scene: Denmark

Next: Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1

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More Resources

Daily Life in Shakespeare's London

Life in Stratford (structures and guilds)

Life in Stratford (trades, laws, furniture, hygiene)

Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read?

Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L]

Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z]

An Elizabethan Christmas

Clothing in Elizabethan England

Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron

King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron

The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron

Going to a Play in Elizabethan London

Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama

Publishing in Elizabethan England

Shakespeare's Audience

Religion in Shakespeare's England

Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day

Entertainment in Elizabethan England

London's First Public Playhouse

Shakespeare Hits the Big Time

Thoughts on Divine Providence

"In Hamlet, the Poet gives a dramatic representation of the free will of man under the governance or guidance of the Divine Will — a Will which subordinates in some mysterious and incomprehensible manner all human actions and events to the accomplishment of purposes often inscrutable to the human mind." Simon Augustine Blackmore. Read on...

More to Explore

Hamlet: The Complete Play with Explanatory Notes

Introduction to Hamlet

The Hamlet and Ophelia Subplot

The Norway Subplot in Hamlet

Hamlet Plot Summary

Hamlet: Problem Play and Revenge Tragedy

The Purpose of The Murder of Gonzago

The Dumb-Show: Why Hamlet Reveals his Knowledge to Claudius

The Elder Hamlet: The Kingship of Hamlet's Father

Hamlet's Relationship with the Ghost

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Did You Know? ... Shakespeare did not list his characters at the beginning of the play. Neither did he separate his plays into acts and scenes. There is no one single authoritative copy of Hamlet which we can read as Shakespeare intended. The play as we know it today has been an undertaking lasting hundreds of years by hundreds of editors who have attempted to organize and amend the various quartos and folios to capture its full glory. The poet Nicholas Rowe was the first to list the Dramatis Personae in 1709. You can read more about Rowe here.

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Philological Examination Questions on Hamlet

Quotations from Hamlet (with commentary)

Hamlet Study Quiz (with detailed answers)

Analysis of I am sick at heart (1.1)

Hamlet: Q & A

Soliloquy Analysis: O this too too... (1.2)

Soliloquy Analysis: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!... (2.2)

Soliloquy Analysis: To be, or not to be... (3.1)

Soliloquy Analysis: Tis now the very witching time of night... (3.2)

Soliloquy Analysis: Now might I do it pat... (3.3)

Soliloquy Analysis: How all occasions do inform against me... (4.4)