HamletThe prince of Denmark and a student at the University of Wittenberg. As the play begins, Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, has recently died and his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married the new king, Hamlet's uncle Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, filled with hatred for his uncle and disgust at his mother for marrying him. When the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and claims to have been murdered by Claudius, Hamlet becomes obsessed with avenging his father's death but continues to think about reasons why he should wait to kill Claudius, then berates himself for not having acted courageously. Hamlet is a character of contradictions. He admires characters like Fortinbras and the King of Gamblers, who behave passionately and even violently for no good reason, but he himself is thoughtful, thoughtful, and philosophical. At times Hamlet is indecisive and hesitant, but at other times he is prone to rash and impulsive acts of violence. Claudius King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle. The villain of the play, Claudio is a calculating and ambitious politician, skilled at manipulating others for his own ends and willing to execute, assassinate, or kill to stay in power. He does not understand Hamlet or Hamlet's motives, but he immediately perceives Hamlet as a threat and takes decisive action against him. Claudio occasionally shows signs of remorse and human feelings: his affection for Gertrude, for example, seems sincere. Gertrude Queen of Denmark, mother of Hamlet, recently married to Claudius. We never get to observe Gertrude alone, so we know much more about how Hamlet feels about her than about how she sees herself. She clearly seems to love Hamlet, but Hamlet sees her as a weak, even depraved woman, reason... middle of paper... that the ghost and where it comes from is never definitively resolved. Rosencrantz and GuildensternTwo somewhat clumsy courtiers, former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg, who are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover the cause of Hamlet's strange behavior. OsricThe foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with Laertes. His speeches are pretentious and difficult to understand. Voltimando and Cornelio Cortieri whom Claudio sends to Norway to persuade the king to prevent Fortebraccio from attacking. Marcellus and Barnardo The officers who first see the ghost walking on the ramparts of Elsinore and who summon Horace as a witness. Marcellus is present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost. Francisco A soldier and guard at Elsinore. Rinaldo's servant Polonius, sent to France by Polonius to monitor and spy on Laertes.