| Horatio | |
|---|---|
| Hamlet character | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Hamlet_und_Horatio_auf_dem_Friedhof_(Eug%C3%A8ne_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix).jpg) Horatio (standing, dressed in red) with Hamlet in the "gravedigger scene" by Eugène Delacroix[1] | |
| Created by | William Shakespeare |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Hamlet |
Horatio is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.
He was present on the field when King Hamlet (the father of the main character, Prince Hamlet) defeated Fortinbras (the king of Norway), and he has travelled to court from the University of Wittenberg (where he was familiar with Prince Hamlet) for the funeral of King Hamlet. Hamlet is glad to see him, and Horatio remains at court without official appointment, simply as "Hamlet's friend".[2] He is on relatively familiar terms with other characters. For example, when Gertrude (the queen) is reluctant to admit the "distract" Ophelia, she changes her mind following Horatio's advice. Hamlet has departed for England by this point, and is not supposed to return.
Horatio is not directly involved in any intrigue at the court, but he makes a good foil and sounding board for Hamlet.[citation needed] Being from Wittenberg, a university that defined the institutional switch from theology to humanism, Horatio epitomizes the early modern fusion of Stoic and Protestant rationality.[3]
- ^ The Gravedigger Scene is Hamlet 5.1.1–205.
- ^ "Hamlet". www.folgerdigitaltexts.org. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ Hui, Andrew (2013). "Horatio's Philosophy in Hamlet". Renaissance Drama. 41 (1–2): 151–171. doi:10.1086/673910. S2CID 191575651. Retrieved 4 March 2020.