Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras are all very distinct character in this play. Hamlet is given to deep thought, Laertes is hot-tempered, and Fortinbras is obsessed with waging war and winning respect. Each of these characters has lost their fathers and must figure out for himself how to go about revenge. From the very beginning of the play Hamlet is troubled by his mother's decision to marry Claudius – he thinks it is a bit too hasty, not to mention incestuous – but soon he learns even more troubling news: a ghost informs him, in the form of his father, that the former King was murdered by his uncle Claudius.
             Is Hamlet a hero or a villain? By all accounts, he is neither perfect nor innocent. He treats Ophelia cruelly, he happily sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths, and he decides not to kill the King at one point because he wants to secure the King's eternal damnation. He is also guilty of Polonius' death.
             Hamlet finds out about the murder of his father from a ghost. The ghost charges Hamlet to revenge his father's death. This begins the greatest revenge story of all time, as Hamlet first must seek confirmation of the ghost's tale, and then as he tries – now certain of Claudius' guilt – to find the perfect timing to commit murder. Hamlet struggles at times with suicidal thoughts, but in the end he decides it is more honorable to live a difficult life and see his father avenged than to give up.
             Fortinbras is the nephew of the old ruler of Norway, also called Fortinbras. He wins Hamlet's respect because of his ability to act so decisively, and to defend his family's and nation's honor at any price, qualities Hamlet certainly envies. Hamlet is so impressed, in fact, that he recommends Fortinbras as next King of Denmark shortly before his death. The play doesn't actually say whether Fortinbras becomes the king but it is implied. As king Fortinbras honors Hamlet with a royal ceremony. The son of Polonius, ...