Consider the role(s) of the other characters in the play, e.g. Ophelia, Gertrude, Horatio, Laertes, Polonius, Claudius.

Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother, widow to the late king Hamlet and wife of the current king, Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet very much but is a weak woman who seeks affection. She goes off to marry Claudius very soon after the late king Hamlet’s death. Claudius is the uncle of Hamlet, the new husband of Gertrude and the new king of Denmark. Claudius plays the biggest villain in the play as the man who is behind the death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius is also the man that plans to have Hamlet killed not by his own hands but has Laertes help him with poison. Polonius is the counsellor in Claudius’s court and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius is an old man who plays a villian that is conniving and scheming. He connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet to reveal what causes his madness. Ophelia is described as a beautiful young woman and is the love interest of the main character Hamlet. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, warn her that she is only for Hamlet’s sexual desire. Her relationship with these men eventually leads to her death. Laertes spends most of his time away in France for college. He returns for revenge when he hears about the death of his father. Haratio is the most loyal and trustworthy friend, if not the only one. He shows his loyalty and trustworthiness throughout the play. In the end, Haratio decides to live to tell the story of Hamlet.