Hamlet

by

William Shakespeare

Horatio Character Analysis

Read our modern English translation.
Hamlet’s closest friend and most trusted confidant. Horatio wants to help Hamlet get to the root of his father’s loss and take vengeance upon his murderer, but as Hamlet descends into inaction, volatility, and apparent madness, Horatio worries that Hamlet is getting in too deep and tries to warn his friend against risking his reputation and safety. Horatio urges Hamlet not to go through with the duel against Laertes, a warning that proves to be legitimate in the end, as Laertes’s plot with Claudius ends up killing Hamlet along with Gertrude and Laertes and Claudius themselves. While Hamlet is dying after Laertes stabs him with a poisoned sword, Horatio contemplates committing suicide by drinking from the same cup of poisoned wine Hamlet used to kill Claudius, demonstrating the deep loyalty he feels for Hamlet and his despair over losing his friend. However, Hamlet prevents Horatio from doing so, urging him to live on and share the truth of Hamlet’s story with the world.

Horatio Quotes in Hamlet

The Hamlet quotes below are all either spoken by Horatio or refer to Horatio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Action and Inaction Theme Icon
).
Act 1, Scene 2 Quotes

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Claudius, Gertrude, Horatio
Page Number: 1.2.187-188
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1, Scene 4 Quotes

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Related Characters: Marcellus (speaker), Hamlet, The Ghost, Horatio
Page Number: 1.4.100
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1, Scene 5 Quotes

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio
Page Number: 1.5.187-188
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 1 Quotes

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest… Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio, Yorick
Related Symbols: Yorick’s Skull
Page Number: 5.1.190-198
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 2 Quotes

We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio
Page Number: 5.2.233-237
Explanation and Analysis:

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Related Characters: Horatio (speaker), Hamlet
Page Number: 5.2.397-398
Explanation and Analysis:
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Horatio Quotes in Hamlet

The Hamlet quotes below are all either spoken by Horatio or refer to Horatio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Action and Inaction Theme Icon
).
Act 1, Scene 2 Quotes

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Claudius, Gertrude, Horatio
Page Number: 1.2.187-188
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1, Scene 4 Quotes

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Related Characters: Marcellus (speaker), Hamlet, The Ghost, Horatio
Page Number: 1.4.100
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 1, Scene 5 Quotes

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio
Page Number: 1.5.187-188
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 1 Quotes

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest… Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio, Yorick
Related Symbols: Yorick’s Skull
Page Number: 5.1.190-198
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 2 Quotes

We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.

Related Characters: Hamlet (speaker), Horatio
Page Number: 5.2.233-237
Explanation and Analysis:

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Related Characters: Horatio (speaker), Hamlet
Page Number: 5.2.397-398
Explanation and Analysis: