HAMLET
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HAMLET: Character Analysis
At a Glance
Role: Prince of Denmark
Relationships: Son to Gertrude; nephew to Claudius; friend to Horatio; once lover to Ophelia; rival to Laertes
Core drive: Truth and justice for his father’s murder – without damning his soul
Fatal flaw: Scruple and doubt – a conscience that slows decisive action
Foils: Laertes; Fortinbras
Key scenes: A1S2 – grief and disgust; A1S5 – the charge; A2S2 – antic plan; A3S1 – “To be”; A3S2 – the Mousetrap; A3S3 – prayer; A3S4 – the closet; A5S2 – readiness and end
Overview
The heir apparent to Denmark, Hamlet returns from university to find his father dead and his mother remarried to his uncle, Claudius. Intelligent, witty and fiercely self-aware, he struggles to reconcile private grief, public duty and the terrifying claim of a ghost who demands revenge. His inner life is unusually visible – Shakespeare gives him more soliloquies than any other character – which turns his crisis into a study of conscience, faith and power.
Motives
Hamlet wants a just response to murder – but not at the cost of his soul. The ghost’s charge demands blood; Hamlet’s theology demands certainty. That tension produces delay: he seeks proof, tests appearances and rehearses action in words. His antic disposition shields enquiry; the Mousetrap supplies confirmation; only when chance and necessity align does he act fully. The engine of the part is this conflict between thought and deed.
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