The play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is about a Danish prince whose father was recently murdered by his uncle, Claudius. This means that prince Hamlet is the protagonist and King Claudius is the antagonist. In the play the character Horatio serves a number of purposes including friendship, loyalty, advice, and trust. Horatio is the first interesting character to appear who is a very loyal and trustworthy friend of the protagonist. His character doesn’t change throughout the play until Hamlet’s death. As mentioned in Lars Engle’s Article who is an English professor that taught renaissance and medieval literature since 1988: “Horatio has no income. Politically powerless, he can confer no advancement in return for insincere praise. Moreover,
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Horatio is accepting the world as it is handed to him where Hamlet is questioning everything and everyone around him. When the ghost appears to the guards at the castle, it is Horatio that they go to. In Duncan Spaeth’s article who is an English professor for Anglo-Saxon literature shows Horatio’s humble intellect after the confrontation with the ghost: “Though above the soldiers in education, Horatio shows no sense of superiority, but is at one with them in the equality of their common devotion and loyalty to Hamlet.”(Spaeth 39). Marcellus and Bernardo get Horatio’s opinion to confirm the ghost’s existence, because they admire his intellect. He is never accused of over thinking and isn’t loquacious either, unlike many characters in the play. Horatio is also there to give a sense to the interior monologues of Hamlet. In act 5 Horatio questions Hamlet’s judgement only once, when Hamlet discusses the fates of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with him (5.2.48-56). Horatio’s intelligence and knowledge is appreciated by everyone equally not just Hamlet …show more content…
Horatio is able to persuade Hamlet believe his encounter with the ghost rather easily since they have a strong bond of trust and confidence in each other. Horatio is concerned with Hamlets safety as mentioned by Spaeth: “Horatio, carrying out his promise, watches with Hamlet and Marcellus at midnight on the platform, (1.4.1-38). Note that Horatio’s first concern is for Hamlet’s safety when the ghost beckons him to go away with it. “You shall not go, my lord; be ruled you shall not go.” And when Hamlet breaks away Horatio says: “He waxes desperate with imagination.” (1.4.87).” (Spaeth 41). Shakespeare used Horatio in many ways to show that the Prince wasn’t alone after king Hamlet died and that grief can never be overcome by oneself. Hamlet’s dialogue with Horatio reveals details of Hamlet’s plans. Horatio’s character gives Hamlet someone to confide his plans to, thus revealing those plans to the audience. To contribute to the theme of madness Hamlet tells him the plan earlier to fake madness. Without Horatio’s actions like talking after soliloquies and seeing the ghost the reader wouldn’t be able to figure out that the Prince is acting mad and is not actually crazy. Horatio tries to stop Hamlet from dueling with Laertes and is worried for the life of the prince, but Hamlet already made up his mind. Hamlet had lost his father and now his fiancé, there was no bright future left for
Horatio is accepting the world as it is handed to him where Hamlet is questioning everything and everyone around him. When the ghost appears to the guards at the castle, it is Horatio that they go to. In Duncan Spaeth’s article who is an English professor for Anglo-Saxon literature shows Horatio’s humble intellect after the confrontation with the ghost: “Though above the soldiers in education, Horatio shows no sense of superiority, but is at one with them in the equality of their common devotion and loyalty to Hamlet.”(Spaeth 39). Marcellus and Bernardo get Horatio’s opinion to confirm the ghost’s existence, because they admire his intellect. He is never accused of over thinking and isn’t loquacious either, unlike many characters in the play. Horatio is also there to give a sense to the interior monologues of Hamlet. In act 5 Horatio questions Hamlet’s judgement only once, when Hamlet discusses the fates of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with him (5.2.48-56). Horatio’s intelligence and knowledge is appreciated by everyone equally not just Hamlet …show more content…
Horatio is able to persuade Hamlet believe his encounter with the ghost rather easily since they have a strong bond of trust and confidence in each other. Horatio is concerned with Hamlets safety as mentioned by Spaeth: “Horatio, carrying out his promise, watches with Hamlet and Marcellus at midnight on the platform, (1.4.1-38). Note that Horatio’s first concern is for Hamlet’s safety when the ghost beckons him to go away with it. “You shall not go, my lord; be ruled you shall not go.” And when Hamlet breaks away Horatio says: “He waxes desperate with imagination.” (1.4.87).” (Spaeth 41). Shakespeare used Horatio in many ways to show that the Prince wasn’t alone after king Hamlet died and that grief can never be overcome by oneself. Hamlet’s dialogue with Horatio reveals details of Hamlet’s plans. Horatio’s character gives Hamlet someone to confide his plans to, thus revealing those plans to the audience. To contribute to the theme of madness Hamlet tells him the plan earlier to fake madness. Without Horatio’s actions like talking after soliloquies and seeing the ghost the reader wouldn’t be able to figure out that the Prince is acting mad and is not actually crazy. Horatio tries to stop Hamlet from dueling with Laertes and is worried for the life of the prince, but Hamlet already made up his mind. Hamlet had lost his father and now his fiancé, there was no bright future left for