Concetti Chiave
- Hamlet is the enigmatic protagonist of the play, marked by melancholy and cynicism, often indecisive but capable of impulsive actions.
- Claudius, the antagonist and king of Denmark, is a calculating and ambitious politician, whose actions are driven by power and personal gain.
- Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and queen, is portrayed as a dependent and shallow woman, whose love for her son seems genuine despite her choices.
- Polonius is a pompous and manipulative courtier, who is also a flawed father, using his children as tools for political schemes.
- Ophelia, Polonius's daughter and Hamlet's love interest, is depicted as innocent and obedient, ultimately driven to madness by her father's death and Hamlet's behavior.
Hamlet - Characters
Hamlet:
The protagonist, prince of Denmark. He is thirty years old and he is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and nephew of the present king, Claudius.
He has studied at the University of Wittenberg.
Temper: he is melancholy, bitter and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle’s scheming and disgust for his mother’s sexuality…but first of all he is enigmatic:
there is always, more to him than all the other characters, something to figure out about him during the play;
even the most careful and clever readers come away with the sense that they don’t know everything there is to know about this character…when he speaks,
he sounds as if there’s something important he’s not saying,
maybe something he is not even aware of.
He is often indecisive and hesitant, but also, sometimes, prone to rash and impulsive acts.
Claudius:
The king of Denmark, elected to the throne after the death of his brother, King Hamlet.
Claudio has married Gertrude, his brother widow.
He is the major Hamlet’s enemy and antagonist.
Temper: he is calculating, ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power;
he has the ability of manipulate others with his skillful use of language;
but he also shows signs of guilt and human feelings sometimes; for example, his love for Gertrude seems sincere for instance…even though it could seem as a strategic move to have the throne too. Claudius acts only for his own good.
Gertrude:
Queen of Denmark, King Hamlet’s widow; now married to Claudius, and Hamlet’s mother.
Temper: she is shallow, weak woman who seeks affection to fulfill her instinct for self-preservation… which, of course, makes her extremely dependent upon the men in her life; at least her love for the son Hamlet seems truthful.
She never exhibits the ability to think critically about her situation, but seems merely to move instinctively toward seemingly safe choices, as when she immediately runs to Claudius after her confrontation with Hamlet.
Polonius:
The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court, his chie counsellor, father of Laertes and Ophelia.
At the same time, Polonius reveals himself to be a far from perfect father. He sends Reynaldo to spy on his son, and he uses his daughter as bait to trick Hamlet.
Temper: he is pompous, conniving old man, but he is a proud and concerned father: the secure and happy family unit of Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia provides a stark contrast with the dysfunctional unit formed by Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet. But…at the end, Polonius reveals us himself to be a far from perfect father. He sends Reynaldo to spy on his son, and he uses his daughter as bait to trick Hamlet.
Ohelia:
Polonius’s daughter, young woman who’s been in love with Hamlet. During the play she gives into Polonius’s schemes to spy on Hamlet.
In Act Four she spirals into madness and dies under ambiguous circumstances.
Ophelia obeys, but her action sends Hamlet into a fit of misogynistic rage. Soon after, Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius. The combination of her former lover’s cruelty and her father’s death sends Ophelia into a fit of grief.
Temper: she is sweet and innocent, even in her laps into madness and death, she remains maidenly, singing songs about flowers and drowning int the
river amid the flower garlands she had gathered.
She obeys her father and her brother.
The ghost:
The ghost represents Hamlet’s father: the recently deceased King. He claims to be murdered by Claudius and asks to the son to avange him.
But we are not certain about the ghost nature and about who he represents, regarding Hamlet’s speculation: he believes that the ghost might be a devil sent to deceive him and tempt him into murder…
The question of what the ghost is or where it comes from is never definitively resolved.
Domande da interrogazione
- ¿Cuál es la principal característica del personaje de Hamlet?
- ¿Cómo se describe el carácter de Claudio en la obra?
- ¿Qué papel desempeña Gertrudis en la historia?
- ¿Cómo se presenta a Polonio en la obra?
- ¿Qué simboliza el fantasma en la obra?
Hamlet es un personaje enigmático, melancólico y cínico, lleno de odio hacia su tío y desagrado por la sexualidad de su madre. A menudo es indeciso y vacilante, pero también puede ser impulsivo.
Claudio es un político calculador y ambicioso, impulsado por sus apetitos sexuales y su deseo de poder. Aunque muestra signos de culpa y sentimientos humanos, actúa principalmente por su propio beneficio.
Gertrudis es la reina de Dinamarca, viuda del rey Hamlet y ahora casada con Claudio. Es una mujer superficial y débil que busca afecto para su autoconservación, y su amor por Hamlet parece sincero.
Polonio es el chambelán de la corte de Claudio y un padre orgulloso y preocupado, aunque imperfecto. Utiliza a su hija como cebo para engañar a Hamlet y envía a Reynaldo a espiar a su hijo.
El fantasma representa al padre de Hamlet, el rey recientemente fallecido, que afirma haber sido asesinado por Claudio y pide venganza. Sin embargo, la naturaleza del fantasma y su verdadera identidad nunca se resuelven definitivamente.
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