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