King Hamlet/Ghost
- Successful King
Led Denmark through many battles - Returns as ghost claiming to have been murdered
Hamlet
- Prince of Denmark, son of the late King Hamlet
- Studied at university and has returned to Denmark for his father’s funeral
- Must deal with father's death and mother's remarrying
Gertrude
- Queen of Denmark, widow to late King Hamlet
- Recently remarried Claudius, King Hamlet's brother
Claudius
- Current King of Denmark, the late King Hamlet's brother and Hamlet's uncle
- Married Hamlet's mother soon after death of her husband, the King
Polonius
- King Claudius's top advisor
- Father to Laertes and Ophelia
Laertes
- Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother
- Spends much of the play in France
Ophelia
- Polonius’s daughter and sister to Laertes
- Hamlet's love interest
Horatio
- Hamlet’s close friend from university
Fortinbras
- Son of late King Fortinbras, slain by King Hamlet
- On quest to avenge his father's death
