Guildenstern - Rosencrantz companion, who is generally smarter and more worldly-wise than his friend. ... Hamlet - A Friend of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Prince of Denmark. ... Not even Hamlet, their only identifiable friend in the play, can tell them apart. ...
Also, however, Laertes informs Hamlet of his knowledge of Claudius' treachery in the very end, as well as his distaste for Claudius, thus removing the threat of friend estrangement. ... Although Hamlet feigns insanity in order to throw off suspicion of his true, hostile intentions to kill Claudius, there is one person who sees through them, namely Claudius. ... This is true, but one must keep in mind the term "eventually." ...
Claudius and Hamlet Claudius & Hamlet, would the inhumane and sick character please step forth. Upon reading the sampling of Hamlet criticisms in John Jump's Hamlet (Selections) I disagreed with a few of the critics, but my analysis was the most different from Wilson Knight's interpretation. He labels Hamlet as a sick, cynical, and inhumane prince (Jump, 124) who vitiated a Denmark which was one of healthy and robust life, good-nature, humor, romantic strength, and welfare. In his book, The Wheel of Fire, he continues this line of thought to conclude that Claudius is a good and gentl...
"Shakespeare represents Hamlet's melancholy as genuine rather than stereotypical."5 Shakespeare did not attempt to have Hamlet conform to any criteria of the time, and with his non-conformity Hamlet appears as a true character and not someone who has been forced to be a certain way in order to generate a fixed response from the audience. ... 8 Hamlet takes advantage of his friend's inquiries to make a statement regarding his current view of the world in which he lives. ...
