Hamlet Summary and Analysis

Author: William Shakespeare. Wrote this play shortly after his son, Hamnet, and father died. Both deaths are believed to have great influence on the play.

Setting: Denmark, mostly in Elsinore. Takes place in the 13^th century, though many film adaptations have placed Hamlet in a more modern setting.

Characters:

--Hamlet: He’s the Prince of Denmark. His father’s name was also Hamlet and his mom’s name is Gertrude, the current Queen. He’s next in line to be king and he often sees images of his father’s ghost, telling him to seek revenge. He’s torn and, because of this among other reasons, has gone mad and continually considers suicide.

--Ophelia: is in a relationship with Hamlet, but is torn between being with Hamlet and obeying her father, Polonius. When her father dies, however, she goes crazy and eventually kills herself.

--Gertrude: Hamlet’s mother and the Queen. Currently married to Claudius. It’s possible that she was having an affair with Claudius while Old Hamlet was still alive. Another suggestion is that she’s having an incestuous relationship with her son Hamlet.

--Claudius: The current King and Gertrude’s husband. His brother was Old Hamlet, who he killed to get the crown.

--Laertes: Ophelia’s brother, also Polonius’s son. He finds out that Hamlet killed his father Polonius and Laertes decides to seek vengeance. Laertes gets into a duel with Hamlet and plots with Claudius to poison Hamlet. Instead, Laertes is killed by his own poisoned sword.

--Polonius: father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is Claudius’s right-hand-man and enjoys making all the decisions without getting any of the criticism. He is killed by Hamlet, thought Hamlet had thought he was killing Claudius.

Plot Summary (from the collaborative review):

• Act 1
• Scene 1
• Horatio is told that the Ghost of the old king of Denmark, Hamlet, has been seen
• Horatio sees the Ghost and attempts to talk to it, but it does not answer Horatio.
• King Hamlet led a conquest against old Fortinbras
• Scene 2
• Claudius is introduced and makes a speech about his marriage and how young Fortinbras demands the lands taken by King Hamlet. Claudius sends ambassadors to stop an attack.
• Laertes is given leave to go to France, with permission of Polonius.
• Hamlet is introduced and is mourning his father, Claudius and Gertrude tell him to get over his father’s death.
• Hamlet is not given permission to leave and go back to Wittenberg.
• Hamlet is forced to stay in Denmark. He is upset about his mother’s marriage to his uncle. (Took place “within a month”)
• Horatio and friends tell Hamlet about the Ghost and he agrees to join them.
• Scene 3/4/5
• Laertes (leaving for France) warns Ophelia not to fall for Hamlet and not to trust him.
• Polonius says the same thing and orders her not to see Hamlet.
• Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost.
• The Ghost wants to only speak to Hamlet.
• The Ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his murder.
• Hamlet makes his friends swear to secrecy.
• Act 2
• Scene 1
• Polonius does not trust Laertes in France and sends someone there.
• Ophelia was visited by Hamlet, who seemed crazy.
• Polonius thinks that Hamlet is crazy because Ophelia will not see him.
• Scene 2
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent to spy on Hamlet by Gertrude and Claudius.
• Polonius tells Claudius that Hamlet is crazy with love for Ophelia. They go to spy on Hamlet.
• Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spying for Claudius.
• Hamlet decides to prove his uncle’s guilt by staging a play, The Murder of Gonzago.
• Act 3
• Scene 1-To Be or Not To Be
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot find why Hamlet is mad.
• Polonius makes Ophelia to find out about Hamlet’s madness and goes to spy with Claudius.
• Hamlet sees Ophelia and is nice, but then he changes his attitude.
• Hamlet says he never loved her.
• After Hamlet leaves Claudius does not think that love is the cause of his madness. He decides to send Hamlet to England.

• Polonius says not to and wait until Gertrude talks to him.
• Scene 2
• The play occurs. Hamlet and Horatio watch for a reaction from Claudius.
• The Player King is killed by having poison poured in his ear.
• Claudius gets upset and leaves.
• Hamlet is asked to go see Gertrude.
• Scene 3
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are ordered to take Hamlet to England.
• Polonius plans to spy on Hamlet and Gertrude.
• Claudius starts to pray and Hamlet wants to kill him there, but cannot because then Claudius would go to Heaven.
• Scene 4
• Polonius hides behind a tapestry in Gertrude’s room.
• Hamlet enters and scares Gertrude, who calls for help. Polonius then calls for help.
• Hamlet, thinking that Polonius is Claudius, stabs the tapestry.
• Hamlet is then upset at Gertrude for marrying Claudius, when the Ghost appears and he is the only one to see. Gertrude thinks he is mad.
• The Ghost reminds Hamlet to avenge King Hamlet’s death.
• Act 4
• Gertrude tells Claudius that Polonius is dead. Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet, and the body.
• Hamlet does not say where he put the body.
• Claudius orders Hamlet to leave immediately for England. Claudius tells the audience he plans to have Hamlet killed in England.
• Hamlet sees Fortinbras and his army.

• Act 5
• Scene 1
• Two clowns (gravediggers) dig up poor Yorick’s bones to make room for Ophelia.
• Scene 2
• Hamlet has his “fall of the sparrow” speech.
• He then duels with Laertes, is mortally wounded, kills Claudius, then relinquishes his control to Fortinbras

Theme:

Shakespeare’s Hamlet cautions that self-doubt paired with moral corruption can lead to the subversion of providence.

Hamlet has a lot of conflict in his life, internal and external. First, he sees the ghost of his father, revealing to young Hamlet that Claudius had killed Old Hamlet: Claudius wasn’t the rightful heir and had usurped all the power that he had. The ghost wants Hamlet to kill Claudius. Hamlet is almost prepared to do it, but then he remembers that he can’t because of his religion. He doesn’t know how to be loyal to both God and his father. Eventually though, Hamlet gives in and finally kills Claudius, subverting providence.

Hamlet isn’t the only one though that is morally corrupt and that ends up subverting providence. It was Claudius, after all, who had originally killed the King, allowing Claudius to become the next king, and, therefore, subverting providence. And the moral corruption, of course does not stop at Claudius. All of Elsinore is corrupt (“there’s something rotten in Denmark”), and it is suspected that even Gertrude was having an affair while Old Hamlet was still alive.