Minor Characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

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Table of Contents

Contrast Development
Narration
Plot Development
Larger Concerns of the Play
Works Cited

In any chef-d’oeuvre, the playwright must make use of both major and minor characters. Major characters usually have their names as well as their actions often stressed in the masterwork. The author uses them to address most of his/her crucial messages to the audience. However, the author cannot present these messages fully and properly without the incorporation of the minor characters. Some people question whether these characters play any vital role in the success of a play or a film since their roles fail to stand out in most of the stories encountered. However, some playwrights, for instance, William Shakespeare, successfully manifest how important minor characters can be in a play. His narrative Hamlet is heavily laden with minor characters like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the ghost of Hamlet senior, Polonius, Fortinbras, Horatio, among others, whose role stands out well in the play. Generally, minor characters contribute significantly as far as plot development is concerned. These characters too improve the flavor of the story. These, among other roles, appear in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. For instance, minor characters in this play help in presenting the issue of contrast between characters as well as ideas.

Contrast Development

The evident contrast between the characters, scenes, and ideas in Shakespeare’s account only comes out through the way he strategically employs his story’s minor characters. Contrast in friendship stands out through Hamlet’s friends. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern depict a fake friendship with Hamlet unlike Horatio, who is Hamlet’s real friend and one who remains on his toes throughout the play to help Hamlet. In addition, a contrast of characters comes out through Voltimand and Polonius. While presenting their report to Fortinbras, Norway’s young prince, Polonius employs too many words and too much time, as he does when handling court business. On the contrary, Voltimand presents his within seconds. Laertes and Hamlet provide the most outstanding contrast through the way they react. For instance, when Laertes’ father dies, Laertes reacts immediately out of anger. He seeks revenge on the spot. However, Hamlet cannot react upon receiving the news of Claudius’ crime cases. Minor characters too play the role of narrating stories.

Narration

Some of the stories that the reader comes to know, about some people or events in the play, come inform of narrations from the minor characters. The minor characters give most of the information known to Hamlet and about the major characters. For instance, the Ghost, a minor character, and Hamlet’s father specter narrate the murder story of Claudius, which the reader could not have known. For instance, narrating to Hamlet, the ghost says, “Ham…His beard was grizzled,—no? Hor…It was, as I have seen it in his life, a sable silvered. (Hamlet ACT I Scene 2). Horatio too, through his narration about the message in the letter handed to him by Hamlet, lets the reader know the criterion employed by Hamlet in escaping the forced friendship of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Minor Characters keep the flow of the story.

Plot Development

Minor Characters in the play help in maintaining the movement of the story, which would otherwise come to a standstill without them. When the play is staged, the viewer comes to know the remorse of the king. These are the characters, whose performance drives Hamlet towards realizing the need for proof behind Claudius’ crimes as well as the identity of his father’s ghost. In addition, the lengthening of the story comes in clearly following Polonius’ episode. The conversation between Hamlet and the Queen leads to the death of Polonius, following his act of eavesdropping. This episode brings in Laertes, another minor character, who confronts Hamlet following his slaying of Polonius, a case that keeps the play in motion, without which the play would appear shorter than it actually is. Therefore, building on these expositions, the reader can testify about the crucial position, that minor characters hold in any play. They are not as minor as the name suggests. Shakespeare clarifies this issue as misconceived by many people. These characters illuminate, not only the reader’s understanding of Hamlet but also some larger concerns of the play.

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Larger Concerns of the Play

Hamlet’s malicious character, as revealed to the reader, comes through Polonius, a minor character, whose act of eavesdropping induces Hamlet’s anger, who in turn slays him. Hamlet’s revengeful character too comes to the reader through Claudius, a minor character. When Claudius murders King Hamlet, Hamlet resolves to revenge, as a way of relieving his tempers. He then suffers a lot of guilt as a result; a case that reveals to the reader how much he yearns for death through suicide. Despite the Christians’ teachings about suicide, he does not seem to care where he will go after he dies, whether heaven or hell. In fact, he says, “To be or not to be” (Hamlet Act III scene I). Moreover, some of the major themes come out through the minor characters. For instance, when addressing the issue of nations as being in pathetic conditions, the author employs the Ghost to show that ““…something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Hamlet Act I Scene iv). In addition, Claudius and Gertrude’s evil characters serve to illustrate the prevailing state of Denmark as a rotten country. However, the expected regaining of its strength comes through Fortinbras, another minor character that as the play finalizes raises him to power, following his recommendable behavior. Therefore, it suffices for the reader to infer that minor characters, not only develop the play, but also contribute much towards addressing most of the authors’ lessons. This awareness makes Hamlet a must-read informative piece of work.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

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Minor Characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

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