Minor Characters
What is thefunctionof the character?Find quotes that exemplify their reason for being in the play.LaertesPoloniusHoratioRozencrantzand Guildenstern
Laertes
Revenge hero in second revenge tragedy. Acts without delay, providing contrast to Hamlet.Drives the denouement of the play.Plots with Claudius.
Polonius
Acts as a go-between, tell-tale, spy.Obsession and reverence for rank.Comic function – circumlocutory nature, and Hamlet’s fun at his expense.Prime plot-based cannon fodder.
Horatio
On Hamlet’s side when nobody else is.Provides an ear and supportive (more rational?) point of view.Survives – decay in Danish court has not corrupted him.
Rozencrantzand Guildenstern
SurveillanceBetrayal of HamletSycophanticRely on one another – suggests weakness of individual characters/ cowardice?
Choose a play in which minor characters have an important impact on the action of the play.Explain how this is important for your understanding of the play as a whole.
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