Characters in Hamlet Characters in Hamlet What follows is an overview of the main characters in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play. Three different early versions of the play survive: known as the First Quarto ("Q1"), Second Quarto ("Q2"), and First Folio ("F1"), each has lines—and even scenes—missing in the others, and some character names vary. Marcellus, Bernardo (or Barnardo) and Francisco are sentries at Elsinore. Francisco gives up his watch to Bernardo in the opening of the play, and it is Bernardo and Marcellus, who first alert Horatio to the appearance of
Dark Lady (Shakespeare) London's prominent book-selling quarter by Richard Bonian. As she encourages women to have confidence in themselves in her poetry, Emilia was different from other passive women. Shakespeare might have grown on her because of her original boldness, her occupation as a musician, and her origin being from Italy. The characters’ names of Shakespeare’s plays can also prove that Emilia Lanier was the Dark Lady. In "The Merchant of Venice", there is a protagonist named Bassanio, which sounds like Bassano, falling in love with a beautiful woman. Moreover, in "The Spanish Tragedy", the pre-Shakespearean play, the names of three sons of