Shakespeare's Hamlet Plot Summary

Hamlet sees an opportunity to kill Claudius, but does not think it will be revenge to kill him while he is praying because he would go straight to heaven and would not suffer. So Hamlet walks away and goes to meet Queen Gertrude in her room. While he is in there he sees movement behind the curtain. He yells “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (Act 3, scene iv) and stabs his sword through the curtain. Hamlet hopes that it was Claudius that was hiding behind the curtain, Instead he stabs Polonius who is now dead due to Hamlet. Hamlet was so eager to kill Claudius because of the opportunity presented to him before that he stabbed the movement behind the curtain without thinking. King Claudius realizes that Hamlet is trying to get him killed. To avoid his death he sends Hamlet away with his two friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who have a letter. Hamlet knows that the letter says that he will die when they get to land. He is angered that his friends would work with his murderer of an uncle, so he switches the letters. This letter makes sure that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die instead of him. He tells Horatio when he returns home, “And many suchlike “as’s” of great charge, That, on the view and knowing of these contents, Without debatement further, more or less, He should the bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving time allowed” (Act 5, scene ii). Hamlet was so enraged

Growing up as the next in line for the crown, Hamlet was the son of Queen Gertrude and Old King Hamlet; however, Hamlet came home from school to find out that his father was murdered and his mother was now married to Old King Hamlet’s brother. While outside with the guards late at night, the men encountered a ghost,

He, wanting to determine why Hamlet has been acting mad, decides to spy on him when he is with Queen Gertrude. When talking to Gertrude before Hamlet has entered, Polonius states, "He will come straight. Look you lay home to him. / Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with / And that your Grace hath screened and stood between / Much heat and him. I'll silence me even here. / Pray you, be round with him" (III.iv.1-7). Hearing Hamlet coming, Polonius hides behind a tapestry. Hamlet enters and is rude to his mother. He tells her that she has offended King Hamlet by marrying Claudius. When Gertrude asks Hamlet if he has forgotten who she is, he replies with "No, by the rood, not so. / You are the Queen, your husband's brother's wife, / And (would it were not so) you are my mother" (III.iv.19-21). Hamlet then tells his mother to sit, and that he is going to hold up a mirror so she can see who she truly is. When Gertrude asks Hamlet if he is going to murder her, Polonius cries out for help from behind the tapestry. This leads to Hamlet thinking that Claudius is the one hiding, so he thrusts his sword into the tapestry, killing Polonius. Polonius' death leads to many further struggles between characters. When his children, Ophelia and Laertes, hear the news of their father's death, they do not take it well. Ophelia goes mad. She begins singing songs about her father's death - "He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and

Laertes plots for vengeance due to Hamlet killing his father and second-handedly killing his sister, Ophelia. Hamlet, who is still a self-absorbed narcissist, is beyond clueless to Laertes intentions for fighting. In the end, Hamlet is cut with the poisonous sword, Laertes is stabbed with the poisonous sword, Gertrude drinks from the poisonous cup, and King Claudius finally gets what he deserves after Hamlet, as he’s dying, stabs him and forces him to drink the poison. Hamlet, who suffered through a road of vengeance, finally kills Claudius at the last possible second. All of Hamlet’s family and friends die because of his inability to be a man of action and a man of thought at the times when they are opportune. His delay of killing Claudius led him to become invested in his own issues and become the domino effect for the death of others. His moral ambiguity is questioned even at the end of the play because he killed Claudius at the last possible second. In Shakespeare’s tragedies, like Hamlet, Hamlet desire for vengeance ultimately corrupts the morals and decisions he makes further affecting the people around him as he is so self-involved. Hamlet’s morals suffer because he never once looked within himself to understand where he went wrong. Hamlet’s moral ambiguity creates this significance to the play by emphasizing the fact that

He knew that his Uncle Claudius was guilty to the murder of his brother. While trying to get revenge for his father, he killed Polonius by stabbing him through the curtain. He thought Polonius was Claudius behind the curtain. After killing Polonius, Hamlet doesn’t react in the way a normal person would. Hamlet hides Polonius under the stairs. This act of madness leads to the death of Ophelia. Ophelia drowns herself from being stressed out and overwhelmed by the death of her father. The killing of Polonius makes Laertes want revenge on Hamlet for his father. Hamlet’s act of madness contributes to a lot of deaths throughout the

The speech of Hamlet “O that this too sullied flesh would melt, … But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.” (1.2.129-159) is where we can see Hamlet’s sadness towards his mother, Gertrude and his uncle Claudius and feels disappointed about their decision of getting married. Hamlet is seen to be too upset after his father’s death. It’s not even a month has passed and he gets to hear another news about his mother Gertrude and uncle, Claudius getting married. In the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2, King Claudius gives a speech to his courtiers, telling them about his recent marriage to Gertrude, mother of Hamlet and his brother’s widow. Claudius says that he mourns his brother but has chosen to balance Denmark’s mourning with delight of his marriage. He also mentions in his speech that young Fortinbras has written to him, rashly demanding the surrender of the lands King Hamlet won from Fortinbras’s father, and dispatches Cornelius and Voltimand with a message for the King of Norway, Fortinbras’s elderly uncle.

Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is about a prince who deeply misses his dad that was murdered. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude didn't really seem to mind her husband's death and remarries. She marries Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother. Hamlet does not like that his mother married Claudius. Hamlet sees his father's ghost and finds out that Claudius had murdered King Hamlet. Hamlet decides to kill Claudius, but let Heaven take care of Gertrude. Hamlet accidentally mistakes Polonius for Claudius and kills him. At the end of the play Hamlet is dueling Laertes, Polonius’s son. They are dueling because Laertes is upset that Hamlet killed Polonius. Laertes has poison on his sword to kill Hamlet and hits Hamlet with it. Laertes falls over a staircase accidentally and dies. Gertrude drinks from a cup to celebrate Hamlet winning two out of the three strikes against Laertes but the cup was poisoned and she dies. Claudius attempts to run away because he knew he had now killed Gertrude and Hamlet throws a sword at him which pins him to the throne chair and then a chandelier falls and hits Claudius. Then Hamlet runs over and opens Claudius’s mouth and

Hamlet was a play by William Shakespeare crippled with death and immorality. The play opens with the main character's, Hamlet's, father's death. Several men are outside the kingdom when they meet a ghost. After deciding to tell Hamlet about the ghost, it is finalized that the ghost is Hamlet's deceased father. Hamlet then decides to see the ghost for himself. The reader is also introduced to Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, who has reached the throne and also married the deceased King Hamlet's wife. Later, Laertes and Ophelia are introduced. Laertes warns Ophelia against relations with Hamlet. They are then joined by Polonius who, after Laertes leaves, also warns

So far, the reader sees Hamlet as a young man that has lost his mentor and seems quite devastated. Shakespeare adds a twist to the play when Hamlet encounters his dead father’s ghost who speaks to him, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. ”(Act I Scene V, Line 25).

The story opens up with the guards and Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, seeing the ghost of Hamlet’s father and attempting to speak to it. Afterwards, Horatio speaks of the possibility that the ghost is hinting at a possible revenge attack from Fortinbras of Norway on their kingdom. This could be possible foreshadowing and setting-up of future events to take place. After this sighting, the story shifts towards the wedding between Hamlet’s uncle and Hamlet’s mother. During this wedding, we are first introduced to Hamlet. Hamlet displays his grief

In the play, Hamlet’s father reveals himself as a ghost and instructs him to seek revenge on his uncle, Claudius. To discretely kill Claudius, Hamlet must put on an act to seem crazy. He also receives help from his friend Horatio along the way. Once Hamlet starts acting strange his girlfriend, Ophelia, is

The play, Hamlet opens with the ghost of the late King Hamlet appearing to the guards. before the play began, the King was found dead in the palace gardens. The appearance of the late King's ghost suggest the murder of the King. When the ghost appears to Hamlet, Hamlet learns that his father was murdered by his brother, Claudius. Within the First Act, readers are able to conclude that the murderer by Claudius

The play Hamlet is a fable of how the ghost of a slain king comes to haunt the living with disastrous consequences. A rancorous ghost and a brother 's murder, lead the gloomy setting of Hamlet 's Denmark. Hamlet story opens with an encounter between young Hamlet, his dad 's ghost as well as the prince of Denmark. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that its murderer was his brother Claudius, who then rapidly wedded his widowed queen, Gertrude. As a result, the ghost presses Hamlet to seek vengeance on the man who stole his throne as well as his queen to which Hamlet consents.

Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius when he is praying, but does not because he is fearful that Claudius will go to heaven despite his crimes. Hamlet is admirable in not killing Claudius while praying because Hamlet wants a revenge worthy of his father and himself. While keeping up his act, Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia dies and Claudius and Laertes construct a death plot against Hamlet. Claudius and Laertes plan ironically spins out of control and them both himself killed and the queen killed. Although Hamlet also dies in the process, Hamlet justly kills Claudius with the poisoned dagger and the poisoned drink. The final image of most of the characters on the stage being dead provides a superficial pessimistic ending. However, the ability for Hamlet to maintain his honor when all odds were against him provides a great sense of hope in the audience. Also, the exchange of forgiveness from Laertes to “noble Hamlet” also provides an optimistic ending. Upon the arrival of prince Fortinbras, Hamlet is given a soldier’s funeral of the highest honors which allows for a promising ending.

Hamlet is the main character and protagonist in the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. He is the son of Queen Gertrude and King Hamlet, who was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet is a very unique individual and handles many situations in unusual ways. Hamlet is an extremely intriguing and complex character that appears to change with every different perspective.