Hamlet - The Bad Quarto characters

Also known as The Ghost

Appears from the start

An armed spirit resembling Denmark's dead king. It appears to the night watch at Elsinore without speaking, prompting Horatio to seek out Prince Hamlet in the hope that the apparition will address him.

Appears from the start

Hamlet's trusted friend and a witness to the apparition on Elsinore's battlements. Practical and loyal, he brings news of the Ghost to Hamlet and remains the person with whom the prince can speak most openly.

Appears from the start

An officer of the night watch at Elsinore who has repeatedly seen the dead king's likeness. He brings Horatio to the battlements and helps persuade Hamlet to attend the next watch.

First appears in chapter 2

The prince of Denmark, grieving his father's recent death and disgusted by his mother's rapid marriage to the new king. Intelligent, skeptical, and emotionally unsettled, he is prevented from returning to his studies and remains at a court he no longer trusts.

Also known as The King

First appears in chapter 2

The new king of Denmark and brother of the late ruler. He has married the widowed queen and seeks to present the succession as settled, combining public confidence with concern about Hamlet's prolonged mourning.

Also known as Gertred, The Queen

First appears in chapter 2

Hamlet's mother, widow of the former king and newly married to his brother. She wants Hamlet to set aside his mourning and remain at court, without understanding the full cause of his revulsion.

First appears in chapter 2

The king's elderly counselor and father of Leartes and Ofelia. Formal, talkative, and confident in his worldly judgment, he gives his children detailed advice and treats their private relationships as matters requiring his supervision.

Also known as Laertes

First appears in chapter 2

Corambis's son, preparing to return to France after the royal succession. He cares deeply for his sister Ofelia and warns her not to treat Hamlet's courtship as a promise the prince will necessarily be free to keep.

Also known as Ophelia

First appears in chapter 3

Corambis's daughter and the young woman Hamlet has courted. She listens to her brother's warnings and her father's commands, placing family obedience above her own uncertain reading of Hamlet's intentions.

First appears in chapter 5

A servant sent by Corambis to France to inquire indirectly into Leartes's conduct. The assignment shows how the counselor prefers surveillance and inference to direct trust even within his own family.

Also known as Rosencrantz

First appears in chapter 6

A former companion of Hamlet summoned to Elsinore by the king and queen. He presents himself as a friend, but his official purpose is to discover the cause of the prince's disturbed behavior.

Also known as Guildenstern

First appears in chapter 6

Rossencraft's companion, likewise called to court to observe Hamlet and report what he learns. Hamlet knows both men well enough to test whether their visit is genuinely friendly.

Also known as The Player King

First appears in chapter 8

The leading member of a visiting acting company. Hamlet welcomes the players and gives their leader material for a court performance designed to reproduce the circumstances described by the Ghost.

Also known as First Clown

First appears in chapter 16

A cemetery worker who jokes about law, labor, and death while digging Ofelia's grave. His handling of old bones gives Hamlet an immediate confrontation with the physical end shared by courtiers, entertainers, and ordinary people.