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<big>Bernardo is one of the Danish army sentinels.  He is the first character who speaks in the play.</big>

Bernardo is one of the Danish army sentinels.  He is the first character who speaks in the play.

==Role==

==Role==

<big>Bernardo approaches the sentinel Francisco at the beginning of the play, to relieve him, at midnight.  When Bernardo sees a human shape ahead of him in the darkness, a shape he does not yet recognize as Francisco, he stops and calls out, to begin the play dialogue.

Bernardo approaches the sentinel Francisco at the beginning of the play, to relieve him, at midnight.  When Bernardo sees a human shape ahead of him in the darkness, a shape he does not yet recognize as Francisco, he stops and calls out, to begin the play dialogue.

Bernardo must be of high enough rank to be entrusted with important duty; the sentinel duty is quite important because the country is facing an apparent military threat.  However, Bernardo is not of high enough rank to escape the unpleasantness, and danger, of a nighttime assignment.  (It is dangerous: should the Norwegian army attack in the early hours, the sentinels could be the first Danes to die.)  In modern terms, Bernardo could be anything from a corporal to a lieutenant, with the higher rank indicated.  It would make sense for him to be a lieutenant, with that much command authority, so in the event of attack he could muster and lead troops himself, while the higher, general officers are roused.

Bernardo must be of high enough rank to be entrusted with important duty; the sentinel duty is quite important because the country is facing an apparent military threat.  However, Bernardo is not of high enough rank to escape the unpleasantness, and danger, of a nighttime assignment.  (It is dangerous: should the Norwegian army attack in the early hours, the sentinels could be the first Danes to die.)  In modern terms, Bernardo could be anything from a corporal to a lieutenant, with the higher rank indicated.  It would make sense for him to be a lieutenant, with that much command authority, so in the event of attack he could muster and lead troops himself, while the higher, general officers are roused.

Bernardo is not present when Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus go to the platform to see the Ghost in Scene 4.  His absence has a ready explanation, because of the cannons being fired to accompany Claudius's drinking.  Personnel are needed to man those cannons, and since Bernardo is already on nighttime duty, he would be a natural choice for reassignment.  We can take it, then, he got reassigned to cannon duty, much to his disappointment.

Bernardo is not present when Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus go to the platform to see the Ghost in Scene 4.  His absence has a ready explanation, because of the cannons being fired to accompany Claudius's drinking.  Personnel are needed to man those cannons, and since Bernardo is already on nighttime duty, he would be a natural choice for reassignment.  We can take it, then, he got reassigned to cannon duty, much to his disappointment.

==Name==

==Name==

<big>The name, Bernardo, is not at all Danish.  It can be viewed as either Italianate or Spanish.  It probably carried over from an older source play, set in Italy, that contributed to Shakespeare's ''Hamlet.''  Shakespeare probably kept the name because researching correct Danish names was more trouble than it was worth, for this character who is not of importance to later events.  Also, since Hamlet is a "mad" play, there's a kind of appropriateness for a Danish character to "madly" have a name associated with a different country, which leaves even less reason for Shakespeare to have changed it.

The name, Bernardo, is not at all Danish.  It can be viewed as either Italianate or Spanish.  It probably carried over from an older source play, set in Italy, that contributed to Shakespeare's ''Hamlet.''  Shakespeare probably kept the name because researching correct Danish names was more trouble than it was worth, for this character who is not of importance to later events.  Also, since Hamlet is a "mad" play, there's a kind of appropriateness for a Danish character to "madly" have a name associated with a different country, which leaves even less reason for Shakespeare to have changed it.

==First Quarto==

==First Quarto==

<big>In the First Quarto publication, 1603, the character corresponding to Bernardo is given only the numeral 2 as a speech prefix. (However, the name Bernardo does still appear in the dialogue.) The reason for the numerical speech prefix is probably that the playing company for whom the First Quarto was printed intended to change the name, but had not yet decided on a replacement, (nor had they yet made the corresponding change to the dialogue.)  See the [[First Quarto]] page, for more consideration of the name.

In the First Quarto publication, 1603, the character corresponding to Bernardo is given only the numeral 2 as a speech prefix. (However, the name Bernardo does still appear in the dialogue.) The reason for the numerical speech prefix is probably that the playing company for whom the First Quarto was printed intended to change the name, but had not yet decided on a replacement, (nor had they yet made the corresponding change to the dialogue.)  See the [[First Quarto]] page, for more consideration of the name.

==Lines==

==Lines==

<big>Significant lines spoken by Bernardo:

Significant lines spoken by Bernardo:

* Who's there? - the first line of the play.

* Who's there? - the first line of the play.

* The rivals of my watch... - the first line which expressly raises the ''[[friend]]'' / ''[[stranger]]'' Motif.

* The rivals of my watch... - the first line which expressly raises the ''[[friend]]'' / ''[[stranger]]'' Motif.

==Themes and Motifs==

==Themes and Motifs==

<big>Those most immediately relevant to his character and dialogue:

Those most immediately relevant to his character and dialogue:

[[Duty]], [[friend]]/[[stranger]], [[omen]], [[Proof]], [[Secrecy]].

[[Duty]], [[friend]]/[[stranger]], [[omen]], [[Proof]], [[Secrecy]].

Bernardo's ''duty'' is to guard the Castle against hostile ''strangers.''  The importance of ''friend'' is clear enough for Bernardo, as he first meets Francisco, then Horatio and Marcellus.  He has the ''proof'' of his own eyes that the Ghost does appear, and he participates in the discussion of whether the Ghost is an ''omen.''  The importance of ''secrecy'' to his character is explicit when Hamlet, in Scene 2, asks him and the others to keep silent about the Ghost.

Bernardo's ''duty'' is to guard the Castle against hostile ''strangers.''  The importance of ''friend'' is clear enough for Bernardo, as he first meets Francisco, then Horatio and Marcellus.  He has the ''proof'' of his own eyes that the Ghost does appear, and he participates in the discussion of whether the Ghost is an ''omen.''  The importance of ''secrecy'' to his character is explicit when Hamlet, in Scene 2, asks him and the others to keep silent about the Ghost.

==On Stage==

==On Stage==