Hamlet Character Relationships

Relationship	Description	Evidence
Claudius and Gertrude	Gertrude is trusting of Claudius	When Hamlet kills polonius, Gertrude confides in Claudius.
	Claudius loves Gertrude to an extent	Claudius stops Gertrude from drinking the poisoned wine that was meant for Hamlet.
	Gertrude protects Claudius	Gertrude is always defending Claudius. For example, when Claudius is disturbed by Hamlet’s play, she promises to put an end to Hamlet’s behaviour.
Claudius and Hamlet	Hamlet despises Claudius	Hamlet is bitter toward Claudius because he killed late King Hamlet and took Gertrude from him as well.
	Claudius fears Hamlet	Claudius sees Hamlet as a threat because Hamlet knows about Claudius’ crime and Claudius knows what Hamlet is capable of in defending his father.
	Claudius and Hamlet compete for Gertrude’s love/attention	In Gertrude’s chamber (before Hamlet kills Polonius), Hamlet pleads for Gertrude to stay away from Claudius. When Claudius suggests that Hamlet should see him as a father, part of his intent is to boast the fact that Claudius has Gertrude’s love.
Hamlet and Laertes	Laertes doesn’t respect Hamlet	Laertes tells Ophelia that Hamlet’s love is untrue, that he isn’t trustworthy, and she should stay away from him.
	Hamlet feels superior to Laertes	Hamlet thinks he is a better swordsman and loves Ophelia more than Laertes.
	Hamlet and Laertes are in competition	Laertes tries to convince Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet. Hamlet wants to duel with Laertes when he discovers Laertes’ skill.
Polonius and Laertes	Polonius does not trust Laertes	Polonius sends Reynaldo to France to check up on Laertes.
	Polonius cares for Laertes	Polonius gives Laertes a long advising lecture about how he can succeed in France.
	Laertes truly loves Polonius	Laertes tries to avenge Polonius’ death and give him a proper and honourable funeral.
Hamlet and the Ghost	The Ghost grounds Hamlet	When Hamlet verbally abuses Gertrude, the Ghost comes and tells him to calm down and remember his purpose.
	Hamlet is skeptical of the Ghost’s intentions	Hamlet puts on a play to check if the Ghost was telling the truth.
	. The Ghost influences Hamlet’s actions	After hearing the Ghost’s story, Hamlet decides to take revenge.
Gertrude and Hamlet	Gertrude is loyal to Hamlet	When Gertrude discovers the wine is poisoned, she immediately tells Hamlet he shouldn’t drink it.
	Gertrude is scared of Hamlet	Gertrude asks Hamlet if he is going to kill her almost immediately after he enters her chambers.
	Hamlet is obsessed with Gertrude	Hamlet is more upset with Gertrude’s remarrying than with his father’s murder.
Hamlet and Ophelia	Hamlet is emotionally abusive to Ophelia	Hamlet sends mixed sexual messages to Ophelia.
	Ophelia loves Hamlet	Ophelia is reluctant to believe Polonius when he says that Hamlet does not love her.
	Ophelia deceives Hamlet	Ophelia allows Claudius and Polonius to spy on her.
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern and Claudius	R&G are loyal to Claudius	R&G go to try and find out what is wrong with Hamlet at Claudius’ bidding.
	Claudius controls R&G	R&G obey Claudius’ every command without question.
	R&G respect the hierarchy	R&G are loyal to Claudius because he is the most powerful.
Hamlet and Horatio	Trusting	Hamlet sends Horatio a letter telling him of his plan to come back.
	Supportive	He helped Hamlet with his plans and gave Claudius the letter as he was instructed.
	Loyalty	He offered to die with Hamlet even though Hamlet told him not to.
Hamlet and Rozencrantz and Guildenstern	Distrusting	He suspects them of being in cahoots with the king and queen.
	Caring	In the beginning, R&G did have his best interests in mind and came from England to help.
	Disloyal	R&G take the side of the king and queen instead of helping Hamlet. They’re supposed to be Hamlet’s friends but they have ulterior motives.
Polonius and Ophelia	Submissive	Ophelia drops all feelings for Hamlet and starts ignoring him because her father tells her to.
	Controlling	Polonius disregards her emotions for his personal agenda.
	Caring	Polonius is looking out for Ophelia’s best interest when he tells her not to see Hamlet anymore.
Laertes and Ophelia	Loving	Laertes was loving in a parental way toward Ophelia.
	Respect	She idolizes and listens to what he has to say.
	Protective	Laertes thinks he needs to watch over her and protects her.

READ:

Hamlet and Gertrude’s Relationship in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’

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Cite this article as: William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team), "Hamlet Character Relationships," in SchoolWorkHelper, 2019, https://schoolworkhelper.net/hamlet-character-relationships/.