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A loyal friend and level-headed scholar, Horatio serves as a source of stability for both Hamlet and the audience throughout the play. He stands by Hamlet’s side as the action unfolds, and although he is rarely a direct participant in it, his consistent presence gives the audience a clearer understanding of the situational and psychological forces that drive his friend to madness. Shakespeare establishes Horatio and Hamlet as a close pair from the first act of the play, highlighting their shared educational background and emphasizing their respect for one another. The fact that both men are university students suggests that both have a similar intellectual capacity, and this detail plays a key role in interpreting Hamlet’s reaction to seeing his father’s ghost. Knowing how distraught Hamlet is over the death of his father and the ascension of Claudius to the throne, his interaction with the ghost may initially come across as pure madness. The fact that a man as rational as Horatio can also see the ghost, however, emphasizes to the audience the legitimacy of Hamlet’s private conversation with his father’s spirit.
As the play progresses, the consistency of Horatio’s character draws even greater attention to the psychological deterioration of his companion. He appears in a number of key scenes which are pivotal to Hamlet’s quest for revenge, and his measured responses to these moments contrast significantly with his companion’s growing anxieties. In Act 3, Scene 2, for example, Hamlet excitedly celebrates Claudius’s suspicious reaction to the Players’ performance while Horatio calmly agrees with him. This steady loyalty is what later lands Horatio at Hamlet’s side during his famous graveyard soliloquy and drives him to advise his friend to sit out the duel with Laertes. By the final act, Hamlet is far removed from the type of logical reasoning that he and Horatio once shared, and he suffers greatly as a result. Horatio may be willing to commit suicide in order to follow Hamlet in death, but the fact that he is the only major character who survives at the end of the play further reinforces his function as a figure of stability. This role invites the audience to find a sense of peace and closure in the wake of tragedy.
