Jul 24, 2008

Hamlet | Minor Characters and the Number Three

In this essay, J. R. Costa discusses numbers as sources of superstition for the Elizabethans. In Hamlet, a motif of the number three is evident, particularly in the organization of the minor characters, including Marcellus, Bernardo, Claudius, Fortinbras, Horatio, and Polonius.

According to Colin Wilson, author of The Occult, some people believe that numbers have an influence on human affairs. It is well known that the Elizabethans were more superstitious than most, and the influence of numbers can readily be seen in Shakespeare's Hamlet. There are two women (Gertrude and Ophelia), two uncles (Claudius and Norway), and six countries (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Norway, and Poland), the result of two times three. The number three itself is a major, though often neglected, motif of the play. Wilson comments on its significance:

...