ELA B30 AP - Hamlet Proper Nouns

Hamlet

prince of Denmark; tragic hero

King Hamlet

Hamlet’s father; Gertrude’s first husband

Fortinbras

former king of Norway; defeated by King Hamlet

Young Fortinbras

prince of Norway; foil to Hamlet

Old Norway

Fortinbras’ uncle

Horatio

Hamlet’s one true friend

Wittenberg

university in Germany

Gertrude

Hamlet’s mother; King Hamlet’s former wife and Claudius’ new wife

Claudius

King of Denmark; Gertrude’s second husband; Hamlet’s uncle; a snake

Yorick

King Hamlet’s jester; died years ago

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Hamlet’s childhood friends; sponges

Polonius

Claudius’ advisor; the Lord Chamberlain; father of Laertes and Ophelia

Laertes

Ophelia’s brother; Polonius’ son; foil to Hamlet

Ophelia

Laertes’ sister; Polonius’ daughter; Hamlet’s love interest

Elsinore

setting of the play; location of Danish palace

Reynaldo

Polonius’ house servant; spies on and tell lies about Laertes in France

Voltimand and Cornelius

Danish ambassadors

Osric

Claudius’ jester; mirrors Polonius

Francisco, Bernardo, and Marcellus

Danish guards; saw the ghost of King Hamlet

Lamond

French gentleman; praises Laertes as a master in fencing

Achilles

former king of Troy; killed by Priam who discovers his one weakness (King Hamlet)

Arras

French city well known for its tapestries

Gonzago

a play’s namesake; Lucianus’ uncle; murdered by his nephew

Hercules

Greek hero; performed twelve incredible labours; renowned for great strength

Hyperion

god of the sun

Jephthah

biblical judge; sacrificed his daughter to fulfill an oath to God

Lethe

river of forgetfulness

Niobe

Queen of Thebes; punished for boasting; loses her fourteen children

Troy (Ilium)

kingdom of Priam (Denmark)

Priam

king of Troy; Hecuba’s husband (Claudius)

Pyrrhus

Achilles’ son; avenges his father and kills Priam (Hamlet)

Hecuba

queen of Troy; Priam’s wife; mourns his death (Gertrude)

Roscius

famous Roman actor in Julius Caesar’s time

Lucianus

Gonzago’s nephew; murders his uncle

Vulcan

god of blacksmiths

Hymen

god of marriage

Hecate

goddess of witchcraft

Damon

a loyal friend in Greek mythology

Nero

Roman emperor; rumoured to have murdered his mother

Mercury

messenger of the gods

Jove

supreme god (Zeus; Niobe’s husband)

Mars

god of war

Mount Olympus

home of the gods

Claudio

sailor who gave a messenger letters from Hamlet to deliver to Claudius

Yaughan

tavern-keeper near the Globe Theatre; First Gravedigger sends Second there

Pelion and Ossa

high mountains in Greece