Prince Hamlet is the
title character and
protagonist of
William Shakespeare's
tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of
Denmark, nephew to the usurping
Claudius, and son of
King Hamlet, the previous
King of Denmark. At the beginning of the play, he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and struggles with his own
sanity along the way. By the end of the tragedy, Hamlet has caused the deaths of
Polonius,
Laertes, Claudius, and two acquaintances of his from the University of Wittenberg
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He is also indirectly involved in the deaths of his love
Ophelia (drowning) and of his mother
Gertrude (poisoned by Claudius by mistake).