Hamlet Questions & Answers

Ophelia is Polonius’s daughter, Laertes’s sister, and Hamlet’s lover. She is one of only two major female characters in the play, and much of her life is controlled by the men around her. Her father… read more

Hamlet dies after being wounded with a poisoned sword during a duel with Laertes. Claudius and Laertes secretly arrange the match as a trap: Laertes’s sword is tipped with poison, and Claudius also prepares a… read more

Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. He is a young nobleman studying in France, and he serves as an important contrast to Hamlet throughout the play. Where Hamlet hesitates and… read more

In Hamlet, Polonius says “to thine own self be true” to his son Laertes as Laertes prepares to leave for France. The full lines are: “This above all—to thine own self be true; /… read more

Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle, stepfather, and the new King of Denmark. After the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, Claudius quickly marries Queen Gertrude and takes the throne for himself. Hamlet is deeply disturbed by… read more

Shakespeare explores the tension between action and inaction in the play, especially through Hamlet’s inability to avenge his father decisively. After the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, the prince swears revenge, yet… read more

The play is set primarily in Elsinore Castle in Denmark during the late Middle Ages. Much of the action takes place inside the castle and on its surrounding ramparts, where the ghost of Hamlet’s dead… read more

Polonius is King Claudius’s chief counselor and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. He is an elderly court official who constantly spies, schemes, and tries to control the people around him, especially his children. Hamlet… read more

Hamlet kills Claudius to avenge his father’s murder, but the act comes only after a long struggle over whether revenge is morally justified at all. The ghost of Hamlet’s father tells him that Claudius murdered… read more

Polonius dies because he is secretly spying on a confrontation between Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. While Hamlet is angrily accusing his mother of betraying his dead father by marrying Claudius, Polonius hides behind a tapestry… read more

Laertes dies after being wounded with his own poisoned sword during the final duel with Hamlet. Laertes and Claudius secretly plan to murder Hamlet by arranging a fencing match in which Laertes uses “a poison-tipped… read more

In Hamlet, Ophelia’s death is presented as an apparent suicide brought on by overwhelming grief, isolation, and the pressures placed on her by the men around her. After Hamlet rejects and humiliates her, and… read more

Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother, the Queen of Denmark, the former King Hamlet's widow, and Claudius's new wife. Her most important role in the play is at the center of Hamlet’s grief and anger. After… read more

Horatio is Hamlet’s closest friend and most trusted confidant. He is a nobleman and a scholar, originally skeptical when the guards report seeing the ghost of the dead King Hamlet on Elsinore’s ramparts. Horatio… read more

Fortinbras is the Prince of Norway, a young military leader who serves as a contrast to Hamlet. His father, also named Fortinbras, was killed by Hamlet’s father in a duel, and Norway lost land… read more

In Hamlet, Yorick was the royal jester from Hamlet’s childhood. He is deceased in the play's present, and a gravedigger digs up his skull in Act 5, Scene 1. Hamlet remembers Yorick warmly… read more

Hamlet acts mad, or crazy, mainly to hide that he is investigating Claudius for murdering his father and to buy time before taking revenge. After the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius killed King Hamlet,… read more

The play is a tragedy, specifically a revenge play. Its full title, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, signals that it is a tragic drama, and its plot follows a prince whose father's… read more

In Hamlet, Laertes warns Ophelia that Hamlet’s love may be dangerous because Hamlet is a prince whose choices are controlled by Denmark, not by private feeling alone. As Laertes prepares to return to… read more

The ghost tells Hamlet to avenge King Hamlet’s murder by killing Claudius, while sparing Gertrude from revenge. The ghost presents Claudius as the true villain: the man who poisoned King Hamlet, stole the crown,… read more

In Hamlet, Polonius says the advice "neither a borrower nor a lender be," which means don't borrow or lend money. He says it to his son, Laertes, in Act 1, Scene 3, as Laertes… read more

Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, was murdered by Claudius, his own brother, who poured poison into his ear while he was sleeping in the orchard. The official story at court is that King Hamlet died… read more

Hamlet wants the players to perform The Murder of Gonzago. He asks the First Player to prepare it for the following evening and to add a short speech Hamlet has written himself. Hamlet’s purpose… read more

Hamlet says “Frailty, thy name is woman!” in Act 1, Scene 2. He says it during his first soliloquy, after Claudius and Gertrude leave him alone. Hamlet is grieving his father’s death and is disgusted… read more