Who He Is
Horatio is the friend of Hamlet, to whom he brings the news of the Ghost. He stands beside the prince without being of the court, watches the king’s face for him at The Mousetrap, receives from him the letter about the ship, and survives the duel, as the only one who did not stray and who must tell the story.
Trajectory
In scene 1 of Act I, he waits on the battlements with Marcellus and sees the Ghost, which vanishes without answering him, and decides to tell everything to the prince. In scene 2 of Act I, he tells Hamlet about the apparition, and in scene 4 of Act I and scene 5 of Act I he is at his side when the Ghost appears and swears silence on the sword.
In scene 2 of Act III, Hamlet asks him to watch the king’s face during the poisoning scene. In scene 5 of Act IV, he is with Gertrude when a gentleman persuades her to receive Ophelia gone mad, and the king orders him to watch her. In scene 6 of Act IV, sailors deliver to him Hamlet’s letter, which calls him to meet the prince.
repair thou to me with as much haste as thou wouldst fly death.(IV.6)
In scene 1 of Act V, he accompanies the prince to the graveyard, before the skulls and Yorick’s skull. In scene 2 of Act V, he hears from him the story of the switched letter and, at the end, receives the request to tell his story.
Relationships
- Hamlet: the friend to whom he serves as witness and confidant.
- The Ghost: the apparition he sees first and tells the prince about.
- Claudius: the king whose face he watches at The Mousetrap.
- Gertrude: the queen he accompanies when she receives Ophelia gone mad.
- Ophelia: the young woman, gone mad, whom the king orders him to watch.