Summary/ Analysis of Hamlet

Author: William Shakespeare

Setting: Elsanor- royal compound in Denmark

Plot: The story begins with Horatio and a few castle guards seeing the ghost of Old Hamlet, the late King of Denmark. King Claudius has just killed his brother, Old Hamlet, and married Old Hamlet’s wife, Gertrude. Horatio tells Hamlet who he has seen which leads to Hamlet seeking out his father’s ghost in the middle of the night and speaking to him. His father’s ghost tells him about how he was murdered by Claudius and instructs him to get revenge. This sets off Hamlet’s madness and makes him obsessed with killing Claudius. Hamlet decides he needs to “fake” going crazy and makes Horatio sware to tell no one of his plan. Meanwhile. Opehlia, Hamlet’s old lover, is stuck between Hamlet who is going crazy and her father who recently finds out about her romance with Hamlet. As her brother Laertes goes back to school in France, Polonius tells the Queen and King all about the romance by reading Ophelia’s letters to Hamlet out loud to the court. The King and Queen have also asked Hamlet’s childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. At this point, the characters are suspicious of Hamlet’s madness.

         Hamlet decides to put on a play that represents his father’s murder and the marriage of his Uncle and mother. While the play is going on, Claudius gets very upset and leaves making it certain to Hamlet that he did in fact kill his father. He is then told that Gertrude wishes to speak to him. On his way to his mother’s bedchambers, he sees Claudius in a vulnerable spot; somewhere Hamlet could easily murder him. Once he sees Claudius is praying he knows he can’t kill him since that would send Claudius to heaven. During his talk with his mother, he sees something moving behind the curtain and believes it is Claudius spying. Thus, he stabs whatever is behind the curtain. It turns out, it was Polonius. Later on in his conversation with his mother, his father’s Ghost appears. Gertrude cannot see the ghost, which shows Hamlet’s madness.       

Claudius desperately wants to get rid of Hamlet since everyone in Denmark loves him. He sends him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempting to get Hamlet killed.  Back in Elsanor, Laertes returns and Ophelia kills herself after going mad. A very upset Laertes plans to seek revenge on Hamlet, who has returned unharmed from England without Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and conspires with Claudius.

The play ends in a battle. Before the battle, Hamlet apologizes to Laetres. Claudius has made a poisoned glass of wine that he plans on serving to Hamlet if he is not killed by Laertes poisoned sword. But, the Queen drinks the poisoned wine and dies. Hamlet is cut by Laertes poisoned sword and Laertes is cut by it too. Before dying, Laertes confesses the plan to Hamlet. Hamlet then kills the king too. Knowing everyone is dying, Horatio wants to kill himself but Hamlet doesn’t allow it. Hamlet’s final request is for Fortinbras, prince of Norway, to take over the throne.

Characters:

Hamlet – Prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude and Old Hamlet. He goes crazy trying to seek revenge for his late father on Claudius. He is obsessed with the idea of seeking revenge by killing Claudius but he fails to take action throughout the whole play.

Claudius- King of Elsinore, Hamlet’s uncle/step dad and Old Hamlet’s brother. He is dedicated to keeping his position as King, his new wife (Gertrude), and getting rid of Hamlet. He killed his brother, Old Hamlet, in order to get the title of King.

Gertrude- Hamlet’s mother and Queen of Denmark. She was married to Old Hamlet and then married Claudius after Old Hamlet was killed. She loves her son but is a very wishy-washy, confusing character. She wants Hamlet to stay in Elsanor and not return to Wittenberg but she is also committed to her new husband.

Polonius- King Claudius’s chief counselor and father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is on Claudius’s “side.” He is very against Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship and is big on giving advice to his children. He is killed while spying on Gertrude and Hamlet by Hamlet who confused him as Claudius. 

Ophelia- Hamlet’s old lover and lady-in waiting for Gertrude. When Hamlet goes crazy she is stuck between him and her father. Her father forces her to turn on Hamlet. When her father dies, Ophelia goes crazy. Some readers believe she was pregnant. She drowns herself after her father’s death.

Laetres- Ophelia’s brother and Polonius’s son. His father dies while he is away at school in France. He conspires with Claudius to kill Hamlet and ends up being the one to do so in a duel.

Horatio- Hamlet’s friend and “moral compass.” He is one of the few “good” characters in the play.

Fortinbras- prince of Norway, aggressive, action-taking foil to Hamlet

Narrative Tone/Style:

         Since it is a play, the story does not have a narrarator. We hear about what is going on through each individual character, allowing the reader to make an unbiased interpretation of the play. We are able to see each character’s motives and learn how they are actually feeling. The play is enhanced by numerous soliloquies and asides (mainly by Hamlet.) We see his internal battles unravel throughout the play by his multiple lengthy monologues. The tone throughout the story varies. There is always an underlying tone of mischief, revenge, confusion, and anger. Shakespeare gets many points across by using various sets of foils.

Theme: One cannot successfully complete a task without taking action.

Quotes:

1. My mother. Father and mother is man and wife, Man and wife is one flesh, {and} so, my mother. – Hamlet (Act 4. Scene 4)

-Hamlet is explaining how incestuous and wrong Claudius marrying Gertrude is. He is extremely against it especially since he thought so highly of his dad and believed his mother and father had a great relationship.

2. I will speak {daggers} to her, but use none. My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites. –Hamlet (Act 3. Scene 2)

-Hamet says this right before going to speak with his mother. He is very angry with her but knows he would never hurt her. Hamlet loves his mother but is upset and disappointed in her choice of Claudius.

3. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet. I pray thee, stay with us. Go not to Wittenburg.- Gertrude (Act 1. Scene 2)

-At the beginning of the play we see how much Gertrude loves Hamlet. She is a very confusing character but we do know she loves her son.