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Fortinbras is either of two minor
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
s from
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's tragedy ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''. The more notable is a
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
with a few brief scenes in the
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the
monarchy of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was alre ...
and its subjects. Fortinbras is also the name of the former king of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and father of the crown prince Fortinbras. King Fortinbras was slain in the play's antecedent action in a duel with
King Hamlet The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as ''King'' Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince, ...
. The duel between the two is described by
Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
in Act One, Scene One (I,i) of the play. His name is not
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
in origin, but is a FrenchEnglish hybrid (''fort'' in ''bras'') meaning "strong in arm."


Role in the play

Although Fortinbras makes only two brief appearances in the latter half of the play, he is referred to throughout:
King Claudius King Claudius is a fictional character and the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained the throne of ...
sends ambassadors to Norway in the hopes of staving off his invasion, and they return with the news that Fortinbras will attack Poland but leave Denmark alone. At the very end—after all the major characters except
Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
are dead—Fortinbras and his army enter, accompanied by ambassadors from England who have come to announce that Claudius' supposed orders to execute
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of ...
have been carried out. With the throne of Denmark now vacant, Fortinbras is to be crowned ruler. This may be an allusion to the political situation of the day: at the time the play was written, Denmark and Norway were united under a single crown; also, England itself was to be ruled by King
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
and VI of Scotland, who claimed the throne by virtue of his blood relation to
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
(the play was written before Elizabeth I's death). Fortinbras also serves as a parallel to Hamlet in many ways: like the latter, he is motivated largely by the death of his father, whose name he also bears (as Hamlet does his), and both serve as princes of their respective countries. In other respects, Fortinbras serves as a
foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...
for Hamlet: while the Danish prince is deliberate and given to long-winded soliloquies, the Norwegian is impulsive and hot-headed, determined to avenge his slain father at any cost. Fortinbras orders that Prince Hamlet be given a soldier's funeral, describing him as "likely, had he been
put on "Put On" is a song by American recording artist Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West, from Jeezy's third studio album '' The Recession''. The song was released as the album's lead single on June 3, 2008. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best ...
, to have proved most royally."


Screen adaptations

''Hamlet'', with a running time in the range of four hours, is seldom performed in its entirety. Consequently, the role of Fortinbras is sometimes omitted, as it was in the 1948 film starring
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
, in the 1969 film starring
Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a Scottish actor, once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and view ...
, and the 1990 film starring
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
. He was included, however, in the 1921 Svend Gade and Heinz Schall directed German silent film ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' and portrayed by
Fritz Achterberg Fritz Achterberg (2 November 1880 – 12 October 1971) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Rose on the Heath'' (1916) * '' Augen'' (1919) * '' The Swabian Maiden'' (1919) * ''Anna Karenina'' (1919) * ''Bettler GmbH'' (19 ...
, in the 1964
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
revival, which was later filmed as Richard Burton's ''Hamlet'', in the 1980 BBC Shakespeare television production starring
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
, in the 1996 film starring
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...
and the
2000 film The year 2000 in film involved some significant events. The top grosser worldwide was '' Mission: Impossible 2''. Domestically in North America, '' Gladiator'' won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ( Russell Crowe). ''Dinosaur'' ...
starring
Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...
, although in the 2000 film, he is an enemy of business. In these films he was played by
Michael Ebert Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
,
Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. ...
,
Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''A Knight's Tale ''(2001), ''The ...
and
Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He beg ...
, respectively. Fortinbras also appears in the 1964 BBC television ''Hamlet'', starring
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
, and here he was played by
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...
, in what was his first important role.


Other stage adaptations

Fortinbras is the protagonist of the 1992 play ''
Fortinbras Fortinbras is either of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future ...
'' by
Lee Blessing Lee Knowlton Blessing (born October 4, 1949) is an American playwright best known for his 1988 work, '' A Walk in the Woods''. A lifelong Midwesterner, Blessing continued to work in regional theaters in and around his hometown of Minneapolis thro ...
. The plot of ''Fortinbras'' follows that of ''Hamlet''; the first scene is the death of Hamlet in the original Shakespearean text. The rest of the play is in a vernacular, modern English. Major characters from ''Hamlet'' appear as ghosts in this sequel.


References


Sources

* * {{Hamlet Characters in Hamlet Male Shakespearean characters Fictional kings Fictional princes Fictional Norwegian people