Plot Summary
A ghost appears to
the night watchmen outside the royal castle in Elsinore, Denmark.
It does not speak until its third appearance, and then it only speaks
when alone with Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
The ghost very much resembles Hamlet’s recently deceased father, the
former King Hamlet – and he claims to be such – but Hamlet is not sure
whether to trust the apparition or not. The
ghost reveals a harrowing story of murder committed by Claudius, the King’s
brother who promptly assumes the throne after Hamlet Senior’s death.
Swearing himself to revenge, Hamlet is understandably irate to learn of
his father’s untimely murder, but as of yet he remains uncertain of the
ghost’s credibility. He resolves
to put on an “antic disposition” – to act like a madman – in hopes of
confirming Claudius’ guilt or innocence, and then in order to take necessary
action.
Further complicating the situation is Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, who
has remarried shortly after her husband’s death; Hamlet’s anger at her haste
is only magnified by her (in his mind) “poor” choice:
none other than his father’s brother, Claudius!
That makes Hamlet both son and nephew to Claudius, the new King of
Denmark, the same party guilty of his father’s blood.
Hamlet meanwhile becomes romantically involved with Ophelia, daughter to
the King’s advisor named Polonius. Both
Polonius and his son, Laertes, counsel Ophelia to resist Hamlet’s advances.
She does.
It is not long
before everyone at court has noticed a considerable change in Hamlet’s
behavior – he is no longer merely melancholic, but now his words quite often
fail to make sense. The King and
Queen attempt to figure out what ails him by employing two of his old friends,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as spies. Polonius,
thinking he has discovered the root of Hamlet’s sorrow, reports to the King
and Queen of Hamlet’s unrequited love for his own daughter, Ophelia.
Claudius and Gertrude are skeptical, and after witnessing a cruel
exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia, they are certain Polonius is dead wrong.
Something else, still unknown, plagues the young Hamlet.
In the most famous soliloquy of all drama (“To be, or not to be, that
is the question”), Hamlet wonders whether he is not better off dead; and while
he decides against committing suicide, he wonders whether he is not better off
taking no action at all. Eventually
he comes to realize it is his duty to revenge his father, like it or not, and so
he summons up stamina and courage to do the dark deed.
In the meantime a host of players have arrived at Elsinore, and they
agree to stage a piece called The Murder of Gonzago (alternatively called
The Mousetrap) at Hamlet’s behest.
Hamlet is still looking for confirmation of Claudius’ guilt, for he
still hasn’t made a decision on the ghost’s trustworthiness; he sees this
play-within-the-play as the perfect opportunity to “catch the conscience of
the King.” When a scene is played
before Claudius that too strikingly resembles his own murder of Hamlet Senior,
the King flees the performance in horror. Hamlet
is thereby instantly convinced of Claudius’ guilt and the ghost’s honesty.
His mother, distraught at what the play has done to her husband, calls
for Hamlet to reprimand him. En
route to his mother, Hamlet encounters the King alone, apparently at prayer;
Hamlet decides it is not yet high time to kill the King because he would have
made a final reckoning and thus go to heaven, not hell.
Next Hamlet and Gertrude talk in her chamber, but before long they are
interrupted by a voice behind the curtain.
Hoping to strike Claudius dead, Hamlet stabs blindly with his sword and
soon learns he has instead killed Polonius.
He then continues to converse with his mother, telling her how shameful
and adulterous her marriage to Claudius is.
As a consequence of Polonius’ murder, Hamlet is sent away to England by
Claudius in the hope he will recover his wits there.
Claudius also argues it is for Hamlet’s own good, to protect him
against the public outrage over Polonius’ death, but in fact it is Claudius’
own attempt at self-defense against a possible betrayal by Hamlet:
Claudius knows Hamlet knows that Claudius killed his brother, Hamlet’s
father. Furthermore, Claudius knows
he cannot rest safely until Hamlet is dead, so he ships Hamlet off with a sealed
letter to the King of England calling for Hamlet’s execution.
In the meantime, Laertes has learned of his father’s death and returns
from his studies in France to confront the King about it.
Claudius diplomatically redirects Laertes’ rage at Hamlet, promising
that justice (in the form of revenge) will be done soon enough.
Shortly thereafter the court learns of Ophelia’s unexpected death by
drowning, most likely a suicide. Laertes
is further incensed. Word then
comes that Hamlet will be arriving back in Elsinore the following day, a
puzzling piece of news to Claudius because he had assumed Hamlet was in England
awaiting decapitation. Hamlet has
somehow escaped.
Hamlet arrives just in time for Ophelia’s funeral.
There he scuffles with Laertes, protesting that he loved Ophelia more
than Laertes ever did; they nearly come to blows before being separated and sent
away. Claudius calms Laertes,
reassuring him that they will soon be able to implement their plan against
Hamlet. The previous night they
devised a scheme to secure Hamlet’s death that will involve a fencing match
between Laertes and Hamlet. Laertes
will secretly use a sharp blade instead of a blunted one – and he will douse
the tip with a poisonous potion – so that he can “accidentally” scratch
Hamlet during the match and thus bring about his death.
The King concocts a backup plan with a poisonous drink which, if need be,
Hamlet would unknowingly swallow during a rest in the match.
The next day arrives and the proposed fencing match is accepted by
Hamlet. Everything proceeds on
course until Gertrude, drinking to Hamlet’s health, inadvertently gulps down
the poison intended for her son. Laertes,
aware all is about to be spoiled, quickly stabs Hamlet; Hamlet, outraged,
manages to get Laertes’ sword and wounds him as well.
The Queen, crying foul play, dies. Laertes
points his finger at Claudius, whom Hamlet then promptly stabs to death.
Hamlet and Laertes reconcile before their own inevitable deaths.
Horatio, Hamlet’s close friend, is the only survivor of this
slaughterhouse eight, and so he must bear testimony of Claudius’ treachery to
the world. Denmark, now kingless,
passes into the hands of Fortinbras, a valiant soldier from Norway whom Hamlet
greatly admired.
