Hamlet Graphic Organizer

Characterization

Hamlet

Fakes madness to avoid any suspicion of a ghost

Begins to actually become mad after the death of Ophelia

Makes Claudius, Polonius and Gertrude very worried

Depressed/Suicidal

Would have killed himself it wasn't a sin in the Bible

Death of his father hurt him deeply

Mother married his uncle days after his father's death

Honorful

Decides to fight Laertes with honor and follows the rules of dueling unlike Claudius and Laertes who plan to poison Hamlet

Rational

Likes to see things with his own eyes to truly believe them

Doesn't believe Horatio the first time when he tells him about the gohst sighting

Doesn't believe the ghost outright and decides to find the truth about his father's death by himself

Indecisive about his actions and about killing Claudius

Avengeful

Desire to punish Claudius for murdering his father

Hatred towards Claudius and Gertrude for their incestual relationship and the unrightful murder of his father

Gertrude

Unloving to a man who loved her dearly

Married Claudius (an incestual marriage) days after the death of her first husband

Easily manipulated

Fell for a greedy and corrupt man like Claudius when she had a loving husband like King Hamlet

Didn't realize Claudius was a murderer and a manipulator

Driven by emotions rather than rational thinking

Could have married Claudius to still stay as Queen of Denmark

Depends on the men in her life than herself

Rushes to Claudius after Hamlet confronts her about her sin of marrying Claudius

King Claudius

Self-centered

Only thinks about himself

Decides to use Laertes' anger over the murder of his father for his plan to kill Hamlet

Comforts Laertes after his sister's death so that he doesn't kill Hamlet before the plan is set into action

Gertrude tells him about Polonius' death and thinks what would've happened if he was there

Manipulative

Seduced Gertrude and married her to be King of Denmark

Murderer

Wanted to kill Hamlet because Hamlet discovered that Claudius killed King Hamlet

Killed King Hamlet to be King of Denmark

Laertes

Loves his sister

Deeply upset by her untimely death

Respectful to his father

Listens to his father and thinks highly of him

Revengeful

Wants to avenge his father's death

Decides ill-fatedly to listen to Claudius and poison Hamlet in a sword duel

Impulsive

Comes running and ready to kill after hearing about his father's death

Ophelia

Attracted towards Hamlet

Deeply hurt by insulting comments towards her and him saying he doesn't love her

Respectful towards her father and her brother

Listens to their advice on how to not fall for Hamlet's "sinful" acts

Innocent

Driven mad by her father's death

Might have committed suicide by drowning in a river

Conflict

Person vs. Person

Hamlet vs. Claudius

Hamlet vs. Laertes

Hamlet vs. Gertrude

Person vs. Self

Laertes

Is conflicted between honor vs. revenge during his duel with Hamlet

He was given a poisoned rapier which when stabbed Hamlet would kill him for revenge against killing his father

Hamlet

Faking madness vs. actually being crazy

King Claudius

Feeling guilty of killing previous king Hamlet vs. the things he received being the King of Denmark

Feels guilty of unjustly killing his brother but also enjoys the throne and Gertrude

Person vs. Nature

Setting

Denmark

Elsinore

Play room

Where Hamlet puts on a play to bring out Claudius' innermost secrets

Queen Gertrude's room

Where Hamlet confronts his mother with her sins of marrying Claudius

Duel room

Where Hamlet and Laertes duel

Theme

Revenge

Hamlet

Hamlet wants revenge for his father's murder

Laertes

Laertes wants revenge for his father's murder

Tragedy

Laertes

Not wanting to kill Hamlet in the end during the duel

Hamlet

Hamlet's flaw in judgement when killing Claudius

Hamlet's bad relationship with Gertrude and Claudius

Death

Ophelia killing herself

Queen Gertrude dying by drinking the poisoned wine

Murder

King Hamlet's murder done by Claudius

Polonius' murder done by Hamlet

Laertes' murder by Hamlet unknowningly poisoning Laertes

Hamlet's murder done by Laertes' after he hit him with a poisoned rapier