"Hamlet" Summary/Analysis

Author: William Shakespeare, notable English poet and playwright, known as the “Bard of Avon”, wrote almost 40 plays, particularly tragedies and tragicomedies.

Setting: The Kingdom of Denmark, at the castle Elsinore. The play was written around 1600, but the time of the action in the play is not specified. Could plausibly occur around 1600 as well.

Plot:

Act I

1. scene i: Bernardo and Marcellus show Old Hamlet’s ghost to Horatio. Exposition on the history of Denmark vs. Norway. Horatio promises to tell Hamlet about the ghost.
2. scene ii: Claudius gives speech about marrying Gertrude after Old Hamlet’s death. Hamlet is pissed off at his mother. Claudius sends Voltimand and Cornelius to Fortinbras’s uncle telling him about how Fortinbras is trying to reclaim the lands his father lost with a bunch of thugs. Claudius and Gertrude convince Hamlet to stay in Denmark and to not go back to Wittenberg. Hamlet reveals suicidal thoughts. Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost.
3. scene iii: Having acquired Claudius’s (and Polonius’s) blessing in the last scene, Laertes prepares to leave for France. Laertes warns Ophelia against falling in love with Hamlet. Polonius gives Laertes some advice. Laertes leaves. Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet loves her. Polonius repeats what Laertes said. Ophelia vows to obey.
4. scene iv: Hamlet keeps watch with Horatio and Marcellus. We learn about Denmark’s reputation for drinking. Hamlet goes with ghost to talk with it; Horatio and Marcellus follow a little while later. (Hamlet again says his life is worthless.)
5. scene 5: Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered him; tells Hamlet to avenge his death but to not hurt Gertrude. Hamlet is shaken up, but vows to do so. He makes Horatio and Marcellus swear not to tell anyone about the ghost and to play along and pretend Hamlet is truly mad.

Act II

1. scene i: Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes in France. Ophelia tells him about an encounter with Hamlet; Polonius thinks Hamlet is lovesick and that has led to his condition.
2. scene ii: Claudius and Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (R&G) back from Witternberg and ask them to figure out why Hamlet is mad. Voltimand and Cornelius are back; Fortinbras’s uncle made him promise not to attack Denmark, but then gave him money to attack Poland; Fortinbras requests passage through Denmark. Polonius claims Hamlet is mad due to love and hatches a plan to spy on a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet. Polonius meets Hamlet; Hamlet talks as if he is mad (but makes fun of Polonius’s age); Polonius is convinced and rushes off to set up meeting with Ophelia. Hamlet meets R&G happily, but then asks why they are in Denmark. He infers that Claudius sent them to spy on him. A theater troupe arrives; Hamlet likes them and asks them to perform The Murder of Gonzago the next night with some lines he writes himself. Hamlet is angry that the actors can get worked up over nothing but he can’t take action about his father’s death. He plans to see if Claudius reacts to the play the next night, confirming his guilt.

Act III

1. scene i: R&G tell Claudius they don’t know why Hamlet is mad, but invite the king and queen to see the play the next evening. Claudius and Polonius hide to spy on Ophelia and Hamlet. The “to be or not to be” soliloquy. Hamlet sees Ophelia and gets mad at her, at women, at mankind (“get thee to a nunnery”). He claims to have loved and to never have loved Ophelia. Claudius says his madness is not out of love for Ophelia and that Hamlet does not seem truly mad. He thinks Hamlet is dangerous and plans to send him to England. Polonius agrees with his plan, but thinks Hamlet is still lovesick. Polonius asks Claudius to send Hamlet to Gertrude’s chamber later, so Polonius can spy on that meeting.
2. scene ii: Hamlet prepares the actors for the play. He greets Horatio and praises him highly. He reveals what the ghost said and asks Horatio to keep an eye on Claudius during the play. Hamlet continues to act insane and makes sexual references toward Ophelia. Claudius rises and orders the actors to stop as they reach the (allegorical) murder. Hamlet has confirmed Claudius’s guilt and starts truly acting mad out of excitement. R&G tell Hamlet to go to the queen’s chambers. He gets angry at them for trying to manipulate him. He vows to be brutally honest with his mother but not to hurt her.
3. scene iii: Claudius is scared of Hamlet and asks R&G to escort him to England. (They agree.) When he is alone, he reveals the guilt he feels over his sin. He cannot give up the rewards of the murder, but prays for forgiveness. Hamlet is ready to kill Claudius then, but realizes that Claudius just made confession and would go to heaven. He resolves to wait until Claudius has sinned again.
4. scene iv: Polonius tells Gertrude to scold Hamlet for his behavior and then hides behind a tapestry. Hamlet storms in and yells at Gertrude for marrying Claudius. Gertrude thinks Hamlet might be about to kill her and cries out for help. Polonius responds, so Hamlet slashes at the arras and kills him. (He was hoping it would be Claudius.) Gertrude repents to Hamlet. The ghost appears and reminds Hamlet that he still has to kill Claudius. (Gertrude can’t see it and thinks Hamlet is mad.) Hamlet gets Gertrude to keep his faking his madness a secret. (She agrees.) He mentions that he has to go to England with R&G and that he doesn’t trust them, before leaving with Polonius’s body.

Act IV

1. scene i: Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet is mad and has killed Polonius. He realizes Hamlet could have killed him. He calls in R&G, tells them about the murder, and sends them to find Hamlet and to take him to England.
2. scene ii: Hamlet has disposed of the body and won’t tell R&G where it is. He accuses them of being the king’s spies, but eventually agrees to let them take him to Claudius.
3. scene iii: Hamlet initially acts mad, but eventually tells Claudius where the body is. He agrees when Claudius sends him to England. Claudius sends R&G to escort him to England, along with a letter ordering for Hamlet to be killed.
4. scene iv: Fortinbras is marching through Denmark to get to Poland. He sends his captain to ask Claudius for permission. On the way, he meets Hamlet and R&G. Hamlet asks about the conflict and is surprised that people can fight a war for such little gain when he can’t even act to avenge his father. He resolves to be more focused/active in killing Claudius.
5. scene v: Gertrude and Horatio are talking about Ophelia. Horatio says to take pity on her. As Ophelia is acting madly, Claudius enters and says it is because of her father’s death. He adds that Laertes has secretly sailed back. There is a mob of people who want Laertes to be king. Laertes leaves them outside and storms in. Laertes wants revenge for Polonius and gets even angrier when he sees Ophelia’s state. Claudius convinces Laertes that he is innocent and that he will help Laertes take revenge, but on the proper person (Hamlet).
6. scene vi: Horatio gets a letter from Hamlet – their ship was attacked by pirates and he was returned to Denmark. The sailors have messages for Claudius and Gertrude and then lead Horatio to Hamlet, who has something to say about R&G.
7. scene vii: Horatio talks to the sailors. Claudius tells Laertes that he acted like he did because Hamlet is so loved. He also hears that Hamlet is due to be back soon, and Laertes is excited to have his revenge quickly. Claudius and Laertes concoct a plan for Hamlet to die in a duel (Laertes uses a sharp, poisoned sword), and Claudius has an additional backup plan (the poisoned wine). Gertrude enters and says that Ophelia drowned herself. Laertes leaves, raging.

Act V

1. scene i: Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia’s death and whether she deserves Christian burial. Hamlet sees the skulls nearby and engages the gravediggers in conversation. After some verbal sparring and seeing Yorick’s skull, he comes to the understanding that everyone will eventually just become dust, even great men. The funeral procession enters and Hamlet and Horatio hide. Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is the deceased. Laertes throws himself in the grave and says giving her Christian burial would profane the dead. As he tries to hold Ophelia again, Hamlet jumps into the grave, declaring his love for her and fighting with Laertes. The fight is broken up, the king and queen declare Hamlet mad, and Hamlet storms off with Horatio close behind.
2. scene ii: Hamlet explains how he escaped to Horatio. He replaced the letter with one ordering for R&G’s execution. He feels no sympathy for them because they betrayed him and spied for Claudius, but he regrets acting so hostilely toward Laertes, because Laertes’s desire for revenge is so similar to Hamlet’s own. Osric enters to tell Hamlet about the duel, and then a lord enters to summon Hamlet to the match. Horatio advises against it, but Hamlet agrees. He asks for Laertes’s forgiveness because he only killed Polonius in his madness. Laertes says he cannot yet forgive Hamlet, but will accept his offer of love. They grab swords. Hamlet lands the first hit, so the king drinks wine (as he promised he would), and then poisons it before handing it to Hamlet. Hamlet refuses to drink just yet, and lands another hit. Gertrude then drinks from the wine to toast Hamlet. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned blade, then Hamlet manages to get it and wounds Laertes with it. The queen falls, saying the wine must have been poisoned. Laertes also claims to have been slain and explains the sword to Hamlet, and then blames both poisons on the king. Hamlet runs Claudius through with the sword and makes him drink the wine, killing him. Hamlet tells Horatio he is dying and exchanges forgiveness with Laertes before doing so. Hamlet convinces Horatio not to commit suicide, but rather to tell his story. He also wants Fortinbras to be king. Fortinbras returns from Poland, and says that R&G are dead. Horatio says he will explain all that has happened. Fortinbras orders for the bodies to be carried away.

Characters:

• Hamlet – The main character and protagonist. He is 30, the prince of Denmark, and universally loved. He is commanded to avenge his father’s death and to kill Claudius, but goes mad in the process of deciding whether to do so. He considers his life, the world, and mankind to be worthless, often contemplating suicide. He is a scholar and a master of language and uses his wits and double entendres to deal with difficult situations and people. He often behaves erratically, displays misogynistic tendencies, and hates Gertrude for remarrying so quickly and so incestuously.
• Claudius – Old Hamlet’s murderer and brother. He marries Gertrude after his brother’s death. Although he reaps the rewards of murdering Old Hamlet, he expresses guilt and remorse. Throughout, he fears Hamlet, that the truth of Old Hamlet’s death may be revealed, and that the people will not love him. He is bent on maintaining power, and craftily uses language to manipulate others. He likely does not love Gertrude, and values his own safety above all else.
• Gertrude – Old Hamlet’s widow. She marries Claudius shortly after the funeral, angering Hamlet and adding incest to the list of themes of the play. She is morally frail, and uses/relies on men to maintain her position and safety by capitalizing on her social grace and charm.
• Polonius – Father of Laertes and Ophelia and Claudius’s closest advisor. He appears to be a pompous, old fool, but is secretly very cunning. He maintains an occasional semblance of almost-stupidity to prevent Claudius from suspecting that he desires power.
• Laertes – Polonius’s son, Ophelia’s brother. He spends most of the play in France, but acts impulsively and rashly when he returns. His desire to avenge his father’s death makes him a foil for Hamlet.
• Horatio – For some reason, a guy that everyone trusts. He’s Hamlet’s friend from school and his right hand man. He is shown to be loyal and a good friend and advisor. He is one of the few characters to survive Act V, vowing to tell Fortinbras all that had happened.
• Ophelia – Polonius’s daughter, Laertes’s sister, and Hamlet’s (former) lover. She does what men tell her, heeding her father’s advice about falling in love with Hamlet and going along with Polonius’s schemes to spy on Hamlet. She is probably pregnant with Hamlet’s child, goes mad when she sees the father is mad (and when her father dies), and ultimately commits suicide to escape it all. She sings songs when she goes mad, and uses flowers as symbols.
• Fortinbras – The prince of Norway, and a foil to Hamlet. His father was killed by Hamlet’s father and lost land to Denmark; now he wishes to avenge the loss. He acts rashly, but honorably at the end, when he treats Hamlet’s body with respect.
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – Hamlet’s friends from Wittenberg, employed by Claudius to spy on Hamlet and determine the source of his madness. In the process, they lose Hamlet’s trust, resulting in their own deaths when Hamlet arranges for their execution to save himself.
• Old Hamlet’s Ghost – Initially appears to Bernardo and Marcellus, and then to Horatio. He tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, setting the revenge tragedy in motion. Hamlet never resolves where it came from, or whether the ghost is something unholy, sent by the devil, or whether it is truly his father’s ghost. It is debatable whether the ghost ever exists, as Gertrude cannot see him.

Narrative Voice: There is no narrator. The point of view is third person omniscient, although some events occur off-stage, often as a result of Shakespeare censoring his plays for audiences of the time. Much of the interpretation of the play is ambiguous, aided by Shakespeare’s refusal to put many stage directions in his works.

Tone: Leading up to the bloodbath at the end, the tone throughout is ominous, dark, almost unholy. Violence and murder are continually referred to and foreshadowed. Hamlet’s tone often demonstrates misogyny. It also casts the incestuous nature of Gertrude and Claudius’s marriage in a very negative light, reflecting views of Henry VIII’s remarriage(s).

Imagery: A lot of the long speeches are pretty flowery – typical of Shakespeare. Imagery is especially prevalent when discussing death, murder, and general violence. (A lot of talk about blood and gore.) Imagery also enhances the theme of unholy vs. holy in its descriptions of hell and purgatory. Imagery also helps set the scene and tone (e.g. when describing the nights as cold and dark).

Symbolism:

• Flowers – Violets represent Ophelia, and the others all follow the usual Victorian flower symbolism code thingy. One of the most important is rue – it can express regret, but is also poisonous and imbibed to cause an abortion (hinting at Ophelia’s pregnancy). Overall, they signify innocence, particularly Ophelia’s.
• Yorick’s Skull – Not only is a physical manifestation of death, but it also represents both the inevitability of death and the fact that death does not discriminate. Upon seeing the skull, Hamlet realizes that even great men all return to dust.

Quotes:

• “To be or not to be…” (Act III, scene i) – This summarizes Hamlet’s internal conflict over whether or not he can kill Claudius, despite what his father’s ghost told him. In particular, he dives into the heart of the issue: that fear of consequences, especially death, forestalls action.
• “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” (Act II, scene ii) – This brings up the question of whether or not Hamlet is truly mad. He appears insane enough to fool Polonius here, but even Polonius recognizes that Hamlet’s words still have meaning. If Hamlet is still in control of his wits and his language skills, is he truly mad?
• “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” (Act I, scene iii) – This is part of Polonius’s advice to Laertes, but it applies to many of the events in Elsinore. Polonius personally spends a lot of time spying and eavesdropping – giving people his ear – but he and others, like Claudius, have a lot of secrets that they do not give voice to.

Theme: Even when you believe action is justified, carrying it out can still be a difficult task.

There are other themes of course, like the inescapability of fate, the impossibility of uncertainty, holiness vs. unholiness, and death, to name a few. However, this one is behind the main plot arc. Hamlet’s internal struggle is a question of steeling himself enough to kill Claudius and accept the consequences. The revenge is justified already – Claudius murdered Old Hamlet – but actually carrying it out by committing another act of murder is something else entirely. Some of Hamlet’s soliloquies (“to be or not to be,” for example) express this debate and his frustration with himself over his inaction. He is also reminded of it at multiple points – when he sees the actors work themselves up over a fictional plot and when he sees Fortinbras invading Poland for so little gain, for instance.