哈姆莱特的问题，最后但同样重要的是人生的意义。人生的意义是人类精神生活中最普遍最广泛最基本的问题。只有一个人在心目中搞清了这个问题，他才能明白为什么他应活在这世上，换句话说，他才能明白人生的意义是什么。哈姆莱特通过反复思忖“生还是死”的问题搞清了他为什么应活着——为了向谋害他父亲的凶手复仇、为了负起重整乾坤的责任。
他的前者目的听起来没有后者伟大，因为前者似乎是个人或私人目的而后者则是公众目的。
私人或个人目的或目标只能产生私人或个人的意义。事实上，属于私人的意义是根本没有任何意义的，因为没有人会从他的个人成就中获益。一个人的目的和行为的真正意义取决于这些目的和行为对他人的生活所作的贡献，也就是对他人的意义。所有人生的真正意义都是普遍意义——它们是能够被他人分享的意义，也是能够被他人认可的意义。从人类社会的现实视角看，哈姆莱特的人生意义就在于他尽了义务，履行了责任：他向谋害他父亲的凶手复仇，尽了双重义务——作为他父亲的独子，他尽了个人或私人义务；作为丹麦王子，他为国为民除害，尽了对公众的义务。正如第一幕第三场作者所写：“他有这样高的地位，他的意志并不属于他自己，因为他自己也要被他的血统所支配；他不像一般庶民一样为自己选择，因为他的决定足以影响到整个国家的安危……以他王子之尊究竟能做到几分，那是必须以丹麦的公意为限的。”他履行了作为王子应尽的责任——他大义灭亲，杀死了他亲叔叔；他为国为民除害，当众杀死了“这败坏伦常、嗜杀贪淫、万恶不赦的丹麦奸王”。
Hamlet’s question， last but not least， is about the meaning life. The meaning of life is the most general，universal and essential question in the human spiritual life. Only one can make it clear in one’s mind， can oneunderstand why he should live in the world， i.e. can one understand what meaning of life is. By contemplatingthe“to be or not to be”question repeatedly Hamlet has made it clear why he should live on—to revengehimself on his father’s murderer； to set it right， for“the time is out of point”. His former purpose doesnot sound as great as the latter， because the former seems to be a personal or private one while the latteris a public one. Private or personal purposes or aims can only bring about private or personal meaning. Aprivate meaning is in fact no meaning at all， for no one else benefits from his personal achievements. The truemeaning of one’s purposes and actions lies in their contribution to the lives of others. That is their meaningfor others. All true meanings of life are common meanings—they are meanings in which others can share，and meanings that others can accept. From the realistic perspective of human society， Hamlet’s meaning oflife lies in that he has done double duty—as the only son of his father， he has done his personal or privateduty； as the Prince of Denmark， he has done his duty for the public， for he has got rid of the evil king for thestate and the people. Just as the author wrote in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅲ：“His greatness weigh’d， his will is not hisown， / For he himself is subject to his birth； / He may not， as unvalu’d persons do， / Carve for himself， for onhis choice depends / The safety and the health of the whole state... As he in his particular act and place / Maygive his saying deed； which is no further / Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.’ He has performedhis responsibilities as the Prince of Denmark should—he has upheld justice and righteousness even at thesacrifice of blood relations and killed his own uncle； he has got rid of the scourge for the state and the peopleby killing“thou incestuous， murderous， damned Dane”in public.
哈姆莱特在第一幕第四场中说：“我把我的生命看得不值一枚针；至于我的灵魂，那是跟它自己（他父亲的灵魂）同样永生不灭的”。在第四幕第二场，他回答罗森格兰兹问他波洛涅斯的死尸怎样处置的时候说：“它本来就是泥土，我仍旧让它回到泥土里去。”恰巧和莎士比亚在他最后的遗嘱中说的意思一样：“首先，我将灵魂交托给造物主上帝，希望并深信凭借救世主耶稣基督的恩典得分享永生，并将躯体交付它的原料泥土。”由此可见哈姆莱特代表他的作者并承袭了传统基督教义的二元论思想，人的生命是由肉体（物质）生命和精神（灵魂）生命组成的，肉体（物质）生命是泥作的，精神（灵魂）生命是永生的。从这个视角看，哈姆莱特的人生意义就更深远更持久。难怪哈姆莱特对他的“生命看得不值一枚针”，对他的“灵魂”看成是“永生不灭的”。也难怪他在第五幕第二场对他好友霍拉旭说：“他杀死了我的父王，奸污了我的母亲，篡夺了我的嗣位的权利，用这种诡计谋害我的生命，凭良心说我是不是应该亲手向他报仇雪恨？上天会不会嘉许我替世上剪除这一个戕害天性的蟊贼，不让他继续为非作恶？”“我死了，你还活在世上，请你把我的行事的始末原由昭告世人”，“要是世人不明白这一切事情的真相，我的名誉将要永远蒙着怎样的损伤！”“替我传述我的故事吧。”由此可见哈姆莱特是多么深深珍爱着他的名誉！作为王子，为国为民，他用手中的剑清除了他那杀兄篡位、万恶不赦的叔叔，大义灭亲；他为国为民为真理和正义献出了生命，死得可歌可泣！国家、民族和世人都会永远记住他！他总是永远活在全世界的读者、听众、观众的心中！这就昭示了人作为精神存在的意义，这也证明了哈姆莱特人生意义的永恒性。
Hamlet says in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅳ：“I do not set my life at a pin’s fee； and for my soul， what can it doto that， being a thing immortal as itself (his father’s spirit)”. In Act Ⅳ， Scene Ⅱ， when Hamlet answersRosencrantz’s question what he has done with Polonius’ dead body， he says：“Compounded it with dust，whereto‘tis kin.”Just as the meaning Shakespeare expresses in his last will：“That is to say first Icommend my soul into the hands of god my Creator， hoping and assuredly believing through thonlie meritsof Jesus Christ my Saviour to be made partaker of life everlasting， and my body to the earth whereof Yt ismade.”From here we can see Hamlet represents his author and inherits the orthodox Christian dualistassumptions that one’s life consists of body (physical) life and spirit (soul) life， body (physical) life is madefrom dust (earth) while spirit (soul) life is made everlasting. From this perspective， Hamlet’s meaning of life ismore far-reaching and everlasting. No wonder Hamlet“sets his life at a pin’s fee”while“his soul is a thingimmortal”. It’s also no wonder what he says to his good friend Horatio in Act Ⅴ， Scene Ⅱ：“He that hathkill’d my king and whor’d my mother， / Popp’d in between the election and my hopes， / Thrown out his anglefor my proper life， / And with such cozenage—is’t not perfect conscience / To quit him with this arm？ and is’tnot to be damn’d / To let this canker of our nature come / In further evil？”“I’m dead； / Thou liv’st； reportme and my cause aright / To the unsatisfied.”...“What a wounded name， / Things standing thus unknown，shall live behind me.”...“To tell my story.”From here we can see how deeply Hamlet cherishes his name.
As the Prince， for his country and people， with the sword in his hand he has quitted his uncle who had killedhis own brother and usurped the throne，“damned Dane”！ He has sacrificed ties of blood to righteousness.
His life is dedicated to his country and people， to truth and justice. His death moves people to song and tears.
His country and people， even all the people in the world will remember him for ever. He is living in the heartsof all his readers， listeners and audiences all over the world. This demonstrates the significance of man’sspiritual existence. This also proves the eternity of Hamlet’s meaning of life.
现在我们终于得出结论：《哈姆莱特》通过讲述以哈姆莱特、雷欧提斯和福丁布拉斯三位青年分别为父报仇为贯穿全剧主线的复杂故事，探究人性的善恶两面性及其可变性、人生态度及其生死问题、人生意义即人为什么活和如何活的深层次主题。
Now we’ve finally come to the conclusion： the deep theme of Hamlet is， by telling a complicated storyabout three young men Hamlet， Laertes and Fortinbras avenging their fathers’ death respectively as the threethreads of story running through the play， to explore both kind side and evil side of human nature and itschangeability， one’s attitude towards life and the question“To be or not to be”， the meaning of life， i.e. whyand how one lives.
2.4 主要人物的人生（经验教训）
2.4 Major Characters’ Lives (Experiences and Lessons)
哈姆莱特：他父亲是已故丹麦王，母亲是王后葛特露，自然出身显贵。他从德国威登堡求学召回，对他父亲突然死亡的原因感到可疑，并对母亲急忙改嫁心怀不满。在他从他父亲的灵魂那里得知他父亲是被正在王位上并娶了先前的王后——他母亲的亲叔叔克劳狄斯谋杀的之后，哈姆莱特决心为父报仇。他开始考虑如何报仇，到底是否去复仇。很多事情使哈姆莱特耽搁了需谨慎小心的复仇实施。但事实上所有的复仇悲剧人物都以各种方式延迟了复仇。这种戏剧的娱乐部分就在于对复仇如何（或者甚至是否）会最终实现有不断的悬念。而且，哈姆莱特不是异常的延迟。实际上，他的延迟比这类戏剧常见延迟情况有更多证明为正当理由的说法。毕竟他在敌人不断的注视下，并且克劳狄斯对他权力地位确定无疑：没有其他人表现出怀疑他。克劳狄斯似乎希望起初哈姆莱特对他的对立仅仅是过分悲痛或某种其他人生“自然”的原因；他当然愿意被说服“哈姆莱特的变态”来自忧郁的相思病。但当他慢慢清楚是哈姆莱特怀疑其父死亡的真相时，克劳狄斯的残忍就不可抗拒了。哈姆莱特的地位因此变得非常易受伤害。虽然一个复仇人物常常可能是匿名的并伪装得很好，悄悄跟踪根本不会怀疑他在跟踪的敌人，但哈姆莱特却与克劳狄斯不断地斗智。这就是为什么哈姆莱特在第一幕第五场末决定装出怪诞神气，行为疯疯癫癫，并且告诫霍拉旭和马西勒斯不要显示他们知道他任何事情的原因之一。既然他能使克劳狄斯相信他只是有点儿疯癫，他就有一定的机动余地，在很大程度上那就是一种自我保护和继续生存的办法。
Hamlet： His father is the late King of Denmark. His mother is Queen Gertrude. Naturally， he was bornto the purple. When he was asked coming home from school in Witternberg， German， he was suspiciousof the cause of his father’s sudden death， and unsatisfied with his mother’s overhasty remarriage. After heis told by his father’s ghost that his father has been murdered by his uncle who is now ruling as king andhas married the former queen， his mother， Hamlet has made up his mind to avenge his father’s death. Hebegins to consider how to go about it—and whether to go about it. Much has been made of Hamlet’s delayin exacting his revenge， but in fact all heroes of revenge tragedies delay their vengeance in various ways.
Part of the pleasure of the genre lies in a continual suspense as to how (or even whether) the revenge willeventually be consummated. Hamlet， then， is not unusual in delaying. Indeed， his delay has rather morenarrative justification given to it than is often the case in such plays. He is， after all， under the constant gazeof his enemy， and Claudius is very secure in his position of power： nobody else appears to suspect him.
Claudius seems to hope at first that Hamlet’s antagonism towards him is simply a matter of excessive grief，or some other“natural”cause； he is certainly willing to be convinced that it all springs from a melancholylove-sickness. But as it becomes clearer that Hamlet suspects the truth about his father’s death， Claudiusruthlessness reasserts itself. Hamlet’s position is thus a very vulnerable one. Whereas an revenger-hero mayoften be anonymous and well-disguised， stalking an enemy who does not suspect his presence， Hamlet isengaged in a continual battle of wits with Claudius. This is one of the reasons why Hamlet， at the end of Act Ⅰ，Scene Ⅴ， decides to put on his“antic disposition”， his mad act， and why he charges Horatio and Marcellusnot to reveal that they“know aught of (him)”. It is to a large extent a matter of self-preservation， of survival，since while he can convince Claudius that he is simply a little crazed， he has a certain amount of room formanoeuvre.
哈姆莱特的延迟还有三个主要阶段。首先，他推迟一切复仇行动直到他有克劳狄斯犯罪的确定证据。他通过剧中剧终于相信他父亲鬼魂的话是真的。第二，他放过了刺杀正在后面忏悔的克劳狄斯的机会，宁愿等待更加合适的方式才杀他。还有，他是一个传统的复仇人物，认为如果可能，惩罚应与罪行适合——他设想“在他乱伦作乐的床上”杀死克劳狄斯，才表明他罪有应得，这是哈姆莱特摆脱不了的情结。第三，然而，他走错了一步。被迫与他母亲正面相对时，他杀死了正在偷听他们母子谈话的波洛捏斯，认为那就是他正要复仇的克劳狄斯。事实是他复仇失误，并且误杀了（比较而言）无辜的波洛捏斯。这产生了两个主要后果：它使哈姆莱特自己的复仇杀人战斗失去了活力——好像某种流血欲望已得到满足；它也迫使哈姆莱特最终曝光了：从此克劳狄斯不再是怀疑而是认定他就是威胁。波洛涅斯的死也给了克劳狄斯对哈姆莱特采取行动的机会，他采取送哈姆莱特离开到英国去受死的办法。
在这一点上，在第四幕中，哈姆莱特从舞台上消失了约有半小时，当他重回舞台时，可能是舞台时间几周以后，因为他不得不逃离罗森格兰兹和吉尔登斯吞的押送，在海盗俘虏他后又不得不与海盗做交易。
Hamlet’s delay has three main stages. First of all， he puts off all action until he has positive proof ofClaudius’s guilt， which he obtains by staging a play within the play which finally convinces him of the truth ofthe Ghost’s words. Secondly， he passes up the opportunity to stab the praying Claudius in the back， preferringto wait for a chance to kill him in a way more fitting. Again， he is being a conventional revenge hero here.
The punishment should， if possible， fit the crime—and the fact that he envisages killing Claudius“in theincestuous pleasure of his bed”suggests which crime it is that obsesses Hamlet. Thirdly， however， he getsside-tracked. Forced into confrontation with is mother， he kills the eavesdropping Polonius， thinking that itis Claudius he is attacking. The fact that his revenge misfires and that the (comparatively) innocent Poloniusis killed has two main effects： it makes Hamlet’s own homicidal campaign lose energy—as if some sort ofblood lust had been sated. It also forces Hamlet finally out into the open： from this point on Claudius knows，rather than suspects， that he is a threat. Polonius’s death also gives Claudius an opportunity to move againstHamlet， which he does， sending him off to England to be put to death. At this point， in Act Ⅳ， Hamlet himselfdisappears from the stage for about half an hour. When he returns to the stage， it’s presumably several weekslater in stage time， for he has had to escape from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and to make a deal with thepirates who had fortuitously captured him.
哈姆莱特是莎士比亚的所有人物中最复杂的一个。有时他温和、体贴，但在全剧很多场合他又残忍、令人难以接受——特别是对他母亲和奥菲利娅。尽管我们看他是个敏感的人，他却对人性的善恶两面性及其可变性、人生态度及其生死问题、人生意义（即人为什么和如何活）的问题思考得很深刻，对个人身份在不同情况中的建构和再建构的方式进行不断地探究。事实上，《哈姆莱特》全剧看来结构精密，就是为了反映哈姆莱特万花筒般的千变万化形象。哈姆莱特对剧中其他众多人物的言行表明他身份的矛盾性和多面性。克劳狄斯在不断地力图解释哈姆莱特的言行。实际上，对他来说，找出哈姆莱特奇怪言行的意思关系到他政治和个人的生存问题。奇怪言行是来自失恋？来自忧郁症？或是来自对他父亲死亡真相的怀疑？宫中几乎人人都在为克劳狄斯承担解释哈姆莱特的任务。与此同时，哈姆莱特在剧中的很多情况都有自己的目的，就是从其他人对他的解释中隐藏自己，给他们提供为他做假解释的材料，使他们不停地猜测他知道多少或打算干什么。这又是必不可少的一部分。如果哈姆莱特是个模棱两可的人物，原因之一就是模棱两可为他提供了生存之道。哈姆莱特的角色扮演和观众对他何时是扮演的角色和何时不是捉摸不定，这就合成了对哈姆莱特的费解感。观众得到与哈姆莱特熟悉的幻觉，我们凭借他的大量独白好像知道了他的所有内心，而实际上比较而言我们对他知道得甚少，因为他上演给观众的是一系列有意识采用的角色和假面具。
例如，他最着名的讲话“生还是死”，作为独白，使观众看清了他内心里的真实想法，但又使观众把它看成是哈姆莱特扮演的角色和戴上的假面具，因为克劳狄斯和波洛涅斯在舞台上，躲在哈姆莱特看不见的地方，他们组成了台上观众，正急切地注视着他们安排和导演的奥菲利娅见面哈姆莱特之间的小戏——事实上，奥菲利娅在哈姆莱特身边扮演特务，哈姆莱特变成了患忧郁症的人，在“生还是死”的独白中沉思着自杀。只有这样，哈姆莱特才能继续活下去为父复仇杀死凶手。
Hamlet is one of the most complicated of all Shakespeare’s characters. Sometimes he is gentle andthoughtful， but on numerous occasions throughout the play he is cruel and bitter—especially with his motherand Ophelia. Although we see him as a sensitive person， he thinks profoundly about both kind side andevil side of human nature and its changeability， one’s attitude towards life and the question“To be or notto be”， the meaning of life， i.e. why and how one lives and explores constantly the way in which personalidentity constructed and reconstructed time and again in different situations. The whole play， in fact， seemsstructured precisely in order to reflect kaleidoscopically a variety of images of Hamlet. Hamlet’s actions andspeeches towards the numerous other characters in the play show his contradictoriness and multifacetednessof identity. Claudius is continually trying to interpret Hamlet’s words and actions. For him， indeed， it is amatter of political and personal survival to find out what， if anything， they mean： whether they spring fromlove， from melancholia， or from a suspicion of the truth about his father’s death. Acting (usually) on behalfof Claudius， nearly everyone else in the court is set to the task of interpreting Hamlet. Meanwhile Hamlet’sown objective for much of the play is to hide himself from other people’s interpretations， to furnish them withfalse explanations for himself and to keep them guessing as to how much he knows， or what he intends to do.
This， once more， is partly a matter of necessity. If Hamlet is an ambiguous character， one of the reasons isthat ambiguity is， for him， a survival mechanism. Hamlet’s role-playing， and the audience’s uncertainty asto when he is playing a role and when he is not， serves to compound the sense of Hamlet’s impenetrability.
An audience is given the illusion of intimacy with Hamlet； we seem to know all about his“inner being”byvirtue of his large number of soliloquies. But actually， we know comparatively little about him， since what hepresents to an audience is a series of consciously-adopted roles and masks. For example， his most famousspeech“To be or not to be”， as a soliloquy， it makes the audience see what is really going on in his mind，but it also makes the audience see it as Hamlet’s succession of roles and masks， for Claudius and Poloniusare on the stage but hidden from Hamlet’s view， and they constitute an on-stage audience， watching intentlythe small drama that is to be played out between Ophelia and Hamlet—in fact， Ophelia plays the role ofa spy beside Hamlet， who becomes the melancholic man， contemplating suicide in the“To be or not tobe”speech. Only in his way can Hamlet survive and avenge his father’s death on the murderer.
哈姆莱特不仅是个伟大的思想家而且是个伟大的实干家。当然，他首先是作者——莎士比亚的化身。我们被告知哈姆莱特从小时候开始就爱看戏，“惯常以那座城市的悲剧演员为乐”。但更重要的是，我们见他依次成为演员、导演、剧作家和戏剧理论家。他指导演员们的技艺，给他们写台词并教他们如何表演。是剧作家哈姆莱特最终迫使克劳狄斯泄露他的犯罪的。哈姆莱特无情地计划并实行了复仇，他装疯以达到目的。但他对奥菲利娅的残忍和对波洛涅斯之死的无情反应，也许只有他是疯了才能被原谅。他行为常常古怪不受控制，甚至向雷欧提斯道歉说“都是我在疯狂中犯下的过失”，责备“他的疯狂”吧。“他的疯狂是可怜的哈姆莱特的敌人。”他看似情绪激烈变动。他战斗勇敢、诚实、直率。他陷入了他叔叔——国王克劳狄斯设下的三重圈套，死得悲壮，年仅30岁左右。
Hamlet is not only a great thinker but also a great man of action. Of course， he is， first of all， anembodiment of the author—the great poet and dramatist Shakespeare. From an early age， we are told， Hamletwas an enthusiastic play-goer，“wont to take ... delight in the tragedians of the city”. But more than that， wesee him become in turn an actor， director， playwright and dramatic theorist. He instructs the players in theircraft， writes scenes for them and tells them how to play them. It is Hamlet the playwright who finally forcesClaudius to reveal his guilt. Hamlet plans and carries out his revenge quite ruthlessly， pretending he is madin order to achieve his ends. But his cruelty to Ophelia and his unfeeling response to the death of Poloniuscan， perhaps， be excused if he was mad. His behaviour is often odd and uncontrolled， and he even apologiesto Laertes for being“punished， With sore distraction”， blaming“his madness”.“His madness is poorHamlet’s enemy.”He seems to have violent swings of mood. He is brave in battle， honest and forthright. Hehas fallen into a triple snare set by his uncle， King Claudius， and died a sad but stirring death at the age ofthirty or so.
葛特露：哈姆莱特的母亲葛特露不是一个坏女人但她相当易变。她丈夫死后只悲伤了很短时间就迅速地再婚，这使哈姆莱特心烦意乱。她似乎毁坏了哈姆莱特对妇女忠贞的信心。
她是个容易被诱导的人并相当自私，但对奥菲利娅表现出慈爱，对她儿子表现出热爱——即使她不理解他。克劳狄斯评述说：“王后，他母亲，差不多一天不看见他就不能生活。”葛特露临终的话就是对她儿子的呼喊。
Gertrude： Hamlet’s mother Gertrude is not an evil woman but she is rather fickle. She grieves for only ashort time after her husband’s death， and her speedy remarriage upsets Hamlet very much. She seems to havedestroyed his faith in the fidelity of woman. She is easily led and rather selfish， but she shows affection forOphelia， and love for her son—even if she does not understand him.“The queen his mother， Lives almost byhis looks”， observes Claudius. Gertrude’s dying words are a cry to her son.
克劳迪斯：哈姆莱特的叔叔克劳迪斯杀死他兄长——哈姆莱特的父亲，因为他想做国王并娶他兄长的妻子。他是一个邪恶的人，还准备谋杀哈姆莱特，以便保持王位。但是，他像大多数莎士比亚笔下的坏人一样，不是全坏——他确实对他所做的事悔恨和内疚。他试图祈祷宽恕，但他知道那无用。他对疯了的奥菲利娅感到同情，但他的人品中邪恶品质占上风。
他是引起全剧悲惨结局的根源。
Claudius： Hamlet’s uncle killed his own brother—Hamlet’s father because he wanted to be King， andto marry his brother’s wife. He is an evil man who is prepared to murder Hamlet in order to keep his throne.
But like most of Shakespeare’s villains， he is not totally wicked； he does feel remorse and guilt for what he hasdone. He tries to pray for forgiveness but knows that it is useless. He feels sympathy for the mad Ophelia buthis human qualities are outweighed by his evil ones. He is the person who is the cause of the play’s tragedy.
波洛涅斯：波洛涅斯是御前大臣，既是一个爱讨好的近臣又是一个国王王室中很负责任的成员。他是雷欧提斯和奥菲利娅的父亲。他是一个老人，爱与任何愿意听他谈话的人闲聊。尽管他像很多老人一样话太多，但他的有些话是明智的。如他对他正要到法国去的儿子说：“不要想到什么就说什么，凡事必须三思而行。对人要和气，可是不要过分狎昵。相知有素的朋友，应该用钢圈箍在你的灵魂上，可是不要对每一个泛泛的新知滥施你的交情。留心避免和人家争吵，可是万一争端已起，就应该让对方知道你不是可以轻侮的。倾听每一个人的意见，可是只对极少数人发表你自己的看法，接纳每一个人的批评，可是保留你自己的判断。尽你的财力购置贵重的衣服，可是不要炫新立异，必须富丽而不浮艳，因为服装往往可以表现人格，法国的名流要人，在这一点上是特别注重的。不要向人告贷，也不要借钱给别人，因为债款放了出去，往往不但丢了本钱，而且还失去了朋友，向人告贷的结果，是容易养成因循懒惰的习惯。尤其要紧的，你必须对你自己忠实，正像有了白昼才有黑夜一样，对自己忠实，才不会对别人欺诈。”但哈姆莱特认为他是一个老傻瓜，因为波洛涅斯常常暗中监视他。难怪当他发现误杀了波洛涅斯时，他说：“你这卑鄙乱闯的蠢材，再会吧！我把你当成是你上司，你认命吧！现在你可知道爱管闲事的危险了。”
Polonius： Polonius is Lord Chamberlain， both a fawning courtier and a very responsible member ofthe King’s household. He is the father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is an old man and loves talking to anyonewho is willing to listen to him. Although he talks too much， as many old people do， some of his words arewise. For example， he says to his son who is going to France：“Give thy thoughts on tongue， / Nor anyunproportion’d thought his act. / Be thou familiar， but by no means vulgar； / The friends thou hast， and theiradoption tried， / Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel； / But do not dull thy palm with entertainment /Of each new-hatch’d， unfledg’d comrade. Beware / Of entrance to a quarrel， but， begin in， / Bear’t that th’dopposed may aware of thee. / Give every man thine ear， but few thy voice； / Take each man’s censure， butreserve thy judgment. / Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy， / But not express’d in fancy； rich， not gaudy； /For the apparel oft proclaims the man， / And they in France of the best rank and station / Are most select andgenerous， chief in that. / Neither a borrower， nor a lender be； / For loan oft loses both itself and friend， / Andborrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. / This above all： to thine own self be true， / And it must follow， as thenight the day， / Thou canst not then be false to any man.”But Hamlet regards him as an old fool， for Poloniusoften spies on him. No wonder he says when he discovers he’s mis-killed Polonius：“Thou wretched，rash， intruding fool， farewell！ I took thee for thy better； take thy fortune； Thou find’st to be too busy is somedanger.”
奥菲利娅：哈姆莱特的恋人奥菲利娅是个美丽、善良和温柔的姑娘。她也是个恭敬、孝顺和可爱的女儿，愿意遵照她父亲的话去办事。然而，当她见到哈姆莱特时，无疑她深深地爱着他。当哈姆莱特拒绝她的爱时，她对哈姆莱特的变化绝望地大声疾呼，既可怜她自己也可怜哈姆莱特。奥菲利娅的疯癫是因为哈姆莱特拒绝了她的爱，同时也因为她父亲的死。她为失去了深爱的人而戴着鲜花、唱着疯疯癫癫的恋歌，成了可怜的人儿。她简直不能忍受落在她身上的痛苦，最终悲惨地淹死在溪水里。
Ophelia： Hamlet’s sweetheart Ophelia is a beautiful， kind and gentle girl. She is also a dutiful， filialand loving daughter， who is willing to follow her father’s advice. When， however， she meets Hamlet there isno doubt that she loves him deeply. When Hamlet rejects her love， she cries out in despair at the change inhim， pitying herself as well as him. Ophelia’s madness is caused by Hamlet’s rejection， and by the death ofher father. She becomes a pathetic creature who wears fresh flowers and sings mad songs about the loss of aloved one. She simply cannot endure the suffering that has befallen her. She finally died a tragic death in thestream.