The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark1

HAMLET, son to the former, and nephew to the present king2

POLONIUS, Lord Chamberlain3

HORATIO, friend to Hamlet4

LAERTES, son to Polonius5

VOLTEMAND, courtier6

CORNELIUS, courtier

ROSENCRANTZ, courtier7

GUILDENSTERN, courtier8

OSRIC, courtier

A GENTLEMAN, COURTIER

A PRIEST

MARCELLUS, officer

BERNARDO, officer

FRANCISCO, a soldier

REYNALDO, servant to Polonius

PLAYERS

TWO CLOWNS, GRAVEDIGGERS

FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway9

A NORWEGIAN CAPTAIN

ENGLISH AMBASSADORS

GERTRUDE, Queen of Denmark, mother to Hamlet10

OPHELIA, daughter to Polonius11

GHOST OF HAMLET’S FATHER12.

LORDS, LADIES, OFFICERS, SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MESSENGERS,

ATTENDANTS

1 He is “Feng” in Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum, and Fengon in the 1608 English translation of Belleforest. His namesake Claudius (10BC—54AD) is the fifth Caesar of the ancient Roman Empire and the first Roman Emperor that came to England (he stayed 16 days). According to Suetonius’s De Vita Caesarum, he was reputedly foolish (Lucian wrote in a comic dialogue that he became a pumpkin after his death), and was poisoned by his niece and third wife Agrippina (Their marriage was regarded as incestuous).

2 He is “Amleth” in Saxo and “Hamblet” in Belleforest.

3 The actor playing Polonius has since 1730 often doubled in the role of the Gravedigger.

4 Horatio is not only a name with classical connotations—his name implies “ratio” (reason) on the one hand, and suggests “Horatian decorum” on the other—but also that of the loyal friend and murdered son in Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.

5 Laertes is the name of the father of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. It is possible for the player playing Laertes to double in the role of Guildenstern.

6 It is close to Valdemar, the name of several kings of Denmark.

7 The name means “wreath or crown of roses.”

8 The name means “golden star.”

9 The name means “strong (in) arm” or “iron hand” in French.

10 She is Gerutha in Saxo and Geruth in Belleforest. Possibly Shakespeare combines this name with that of Hermutrude or Hermetrude, Amleth’s own second wife.

11 Greek: ὠφελέω (help, aid, assist)

12 Hamlet’s father is called Horwendill in Saxo, Horvendile in Belleforest. Occasionally the actor playing the Ghost also plays the King.