Hamlet Summary/Analysis

Author:
Hamlet was written by William Shakespeare.  It has become one of Shakespeare's most famous Tragedies.  Shakespeare has left many parts of Hamlet up for interpretation and the different sides have argued by many literary critics.  Although not a whole lot is know about Shakespeares life, his works have left a lasting influence on English literature.

Setting:
The play takes place in the Elsinore which is a castle in Denmark.  This is where the royal family lives. The setting allows for the characters to easily spy on one another by hiding and eavesdropping.  Elsinore is portrayed as a play of lies, deception, and corruption throughout the play.


Plot:
Two watchmen and Horatio standing guard outside of Elsinore see a ghost.  Horatio tries to talk to the ghost, but the ghost is silent.  Horatio thinks that the it is a ghost of Hamlet, the king who has recently died.  They decide to tell Hamlet, the dead king's son about what they have seen.  The next morning Claudius gives a speech about his marriage to Gertrude and talks about how Fortinbras wants the land back that Hamlet's father captured from his father.  After the speech, Claudius grants permission for Laertes to return to France for school.  Then Claudius goes to console Hamlet about his father's death and reminds him that he is next in line to hold the position of king.  Claudius also states that he doesn't want Hamlet to return to Wittenberg because he wants to keep him closer to home.  Later Horatio and the two guards tell Hamlet about the ghost they have seen and how it looks like Hamlet's father.

When Laertes is about to leave for France, he tells his sister, Ophelia, to be carful with her relationship with Hamlet.  After he leaves Polonius also warns Ophelia about Hamlet and says he doesn't want Ophelia to associate herself with Hamlet anymore.  Later while keeping watch, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus see the ghost just after midnight.  Hamlet goes to follow the ghost against the others' recommendations.  Horatio and Marcellus follow Hamlet shortly after.  The ghost of Hamlets tells Hamlet how Claudius killed him and urges him to avenge his death.  When the sun rises, the ghost disappears and Horatio and Marcellus find Hamlet.  Hamlet refuses to tell them what the ghost says but he tells them they must keep quiet about their findings and that he will start acting completely crazy, but not to reveal anything about how he is just acting.

After Polonius sends a servent to spy on Laertes and see if he is doing anything he isn't suppose to, Ophelia comes in and tells Polonius how Hamlet is beginning to act crazy since she began to not spend nearly as much time with him.  Polonius thinks it Hamlet is in love with Ophelia and that is why Hamlet is acting crazy.  Later Claudius commands Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two old friends of Hamlet, to go talk to Hamlet and find out why he has been acting strangely.  Later Polonius tells Claudius his theory and they plan on spying on Hamlet when he is talking to Ophelia.  When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to talk to Hamlet, Hamlet realizes that they are working with the king and he feels betrayed by them.  Hamlets plans to make the king watch a play that reenacts Claudius's acts against his father and see if he looks guilty while watching it.

Later while alone Hamlet talks to himself about whether or not to commit suicide in the "To be, or not to be" speech.  When Ophelia comes towards him, she tells him she wants to end their relationship.  Hamlet denies that he ever liked her and then gets very angry at her and tells her to go to a nunnery.  Claudius decides that he send Hamlet to England hoping that getting away from Elsinore will help him get better.  That night, Hamlet tells Horatio what the ghost told him and to watch Claudius closely during the play.  When the actor in the play pours poison in the king's, Claudius stops the play which reveals to Hamlet that the king is guilty.  Later when Claudius is praying for forgiveness Hamlet comes into the room planning to kill the King.  Hamlet decides he can't kill Claudius while he is praying because he think that it wouldn't avenge his father's death properly.

Later that night Hamlet enters his mother's chamber with Polonius hiding.  Gertrude tries to scold Hamlet for his behavior, but Hamlet calls her out for what she did to his father by marring Claudius.  Hamlet becomes very angry and violent which scares his mother causing Polonius to speak.  Hamlet hears him and stabs him through a curtain thinking it was the king.  Hamlet continues to scold his mother for marrying Claudius until the ghost returns.  Gertrude can't see the ghost leading to her thinking that Hamlet has gone mad.  Soon after Hamlet leaves with Polonius's body.  Gertrude goes to tell the king about what happened and he decides to send Hamlet to England immediately.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet after he has buried the body he goes with them to see the king.  Claudius sends Hamlet off to England along with a order for England to kill Hamlet.

Ophelia has gone mad.  She sings songs while passing out flowers and may be implying that she is pregnant.  Laertes enters very angry about his fathers death and then becomes even more angry when he sees what has happened to Ophelia.  Claudius explains that he is innocent to Laertes and explains that it was Hamlet who killed his father.  Claudius is then informed that Hamlet's ship was taken by pirates and will be returning.  Claudius then comes up with the plan to kill Hamlet in a dual with a sword that has a poisoned tip and that he will have a cup with poisoned wine as a backup plan.  Then everyone finds out that Ophelia has drowned in the river.

The two gravediggers provide some comic relief before Hamlet and Horatio enter and speak to the gravediggers. When they see Ophelia's funeral beginning Hamel and Horatio hide and watch and soon realize that it is Ophelia's funeral.  When Laertes jumps into the grave Hamlet comes out from his hiding spot and describes his love for Ophelia. Hamlet and Laertes fight in her grave, but are pulled appart.  Not very long afterwards, Hamlet leaves angrily with Horatio.

The next day Hamlet explains to Horatio how he switched the kings letter with one of his own ordering Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be killed.  Hamlet then accepts the fencing dual with Laertes which will begin shortly.  Hamlet tries to apologize to Laertes, but Laertes refuses to forgive him.  They then begin their match and Hamlet wins the first two points, but refuses to drink from the poisoned cup, but Gertrude drinks from instead.  During next round Laertes hits Hamlet and draws blood, but then end up switching swords after and Hamlet strikes Laertes.  The queen yells out to Hamlet that the cup was poisoned as she falls and dies.  Laertes admits that the tip of the sword was poisoned and that the king is to blame for everything.  Hamlet then forces the king to drink the poisoned wine.  Hamlet and Laertes forgive each other before Laertes dies and then Hamlet tells Horatio that he must tell everyone what really happened and that Fortinbras should be the next King of Denmark.  Hamlet dies right before Fortinbras enters.  They declare that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead and Horatio says that they need to gather everyone and explain what has happened.  Fortenbras then says that Hamlet should be honored and taken away like a soldier and the play ends.

Important Characters:

Hamlet- He is the prince of Denmark who tries to avenge his father's murder throughout the play.  He is much smarter than the other characters and is constantly manipulating all of them besides Horatio.  Hamlet is sort of all over the place, sometimes he acts very impulsively and other times he is hesitant and passive.

Hamlet (ghost)- He his Hamlet's dead father who was killed by Claudius.  The ghost urges Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius which sets up the plot of the play.

Horatio-  He is Hamlet's only true friend and somebody that Hamlet really trusts.  He helps Hamlet with his plots against the king.

Claudius- He is Hamlet's uncle and marries Gertrude after he kills Hamlet's father.  He is the King of Denmark. Claudius is driven by his need for power and is constantly scheming different ways to maintain and gain more power.

Gertrude- She his Hamlet's mother who does the ends up marring her dead husbands brother. She isn't a strong woman and she tends to dance around the issue instead of trying to fix the problem.  Gertrude really loves Hamlet be she is unable to realize how marrying Claudius really hurts Hamlet and she is unable to take strong actions to fix her relationship with Hamlet

Ophelia-  She is Hamlet's lover who is portrayed as an innocent young girl, but the events of the play reveal that she might not be so innocent after all (and maybe pregnant) depending on the interpretation fo the play.  By the end of the play she goes mad and she strongly hints that she has had sex with Hamlet.  She ends up drowning which can be interpreted as her killing herself.

Laertes- He is Ophelia's brother and goes to school in France.  He loves his sister dearly and he doesn't think her and Hamlet's relationship is a good thing for Ophelia.  After his father's death and Ophelia goes mad, he becomes very angry and wants revenge which leads to his downfall.

Polonius- He is the father of Ophelia and Laertes.  He also is concerned about Hamlet's and Ophelia's relationship being bad for Ophelia.  He is also is Claudius' advisor.  He is killed while spying on Hamlet for Claudius.

Fortinbras- He his the prince of Norway and Hamlet's foil.  Fortinbras decides to hold off his revenge of his fathers death and ends up being rewarded for it in the last scene of the play.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-  These are two of Hamlets old friends from school who betray Hamlet's trust by spying on him for the king.  Claudius believed that since they were close to Hamlet they would be able to figure out what was going on with him.  This really angered Hamlet who eventually has then killed by the English.

Narrative Voice/Author's Style (including tone and point of view):
The third person point of view jumps from character to character giving the reader a sense of what all the characters are doing and scheming about.  The characters inner thoughts and emotions are described through their monologues while they are alone and through their very descriptive and emotional lines. Shakespeares style involves very elaborate langue filled with description and multiple meanings.  The tone in the beginning of the play emphasized the grief and morning of Hamlet losing his father.  Once Hamlet spoke to his father the tone shifted from grief to anger and revenge which remained the major tone of the rest of the play.

Imagery: Imagery is used throughout the play especially during the scenes where the characters out on watch see the ghost.  Figurative language is used to describe how the moon, wind, and darkness.  Because it is very windy and dark this helps create an ominous mood which sets the stage for the ghost to come.  Horatio also describes the moon as being eclipsed, which according to Horatio is a bad omen.

Symbolism: Poison is used as a symbol of corruption and deception.  Claudius who represents greed and corruption in the play poisons Hamlet's father and indirectly poisons Hamlet and is responsible for the death of Gertrude and Laertes because it was his idea to use the poisoned sword and wine.   Yorick's skull is a symbol of death and in particular the wonder involved with death.  Hamlet questions what will happen if he kills himself throughout the play and the skull helps Hamlet realize what will be left of you after you die.  There are also many allusions to historical events where similar things have happened.  The most used reference is Julius Caesar's death.

Symbolism:

Quotes:
"But know, thou noble youth, / The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown"(Shakespeare 1.5.38-40)

This quote is where the ghost of Hamlet's father is describing how it was Claudius who poisoned him and the snake that was described as killing him is really Claudius.  This is the turning for Hamlet's character because when the ghost tells him the truth about his fathers death, Hamlets grief becomes anger.  This anger drives Hamlet's desire for revenge eventually leading to his downfall.



"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles" (Shakespeare 3.1.57-59)

This quote is from Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" speech.  It is describing the dilemma of whether it is better to put up with all your problems and suffer or end all your problems by just killing yourself.  Hamlet is describing a moral issue that is widely debated.  It is a significant line because it shows the pain Hamlet is feeling as well as showing his strong desires to end that pain.  It also helps show how Hamlet's willingness to die why is evident in the last scene.


"Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. / I am justly killed with mine own treachery" (Shakespeare 5.2.305-306)

Laertes is saying how he got caught in his own trap and he has been killed by his own evil actions.  This line shows how Laertes realizes that he was wrong to act on his anger and desire for revenge.  It also reinforces the message of the play that nothing good comes from revenge.



Theme:
Revenge is a selfish emotion that should not be acted upon.


Hamlet and his foil Fortenbras both have their fathers killed and are hungry for revenge.  Hamlet acts on his revenge by plotting to kill the king and eventually killing him in the end while Fortenbras never acts on his emotion so he ends up being rewarded at the end of the play.  All the characters who deliberately act on their desire for revenge are killed in the play (Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes). The people who go along with these revenge plots also end up dying (Gertrude,  Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Ophelia).  Because the use of poison goes horribly wrong in the final scene, it shows what happens when deceit is mixed with revenge.  The dark and violent tone of the play along with the corrupt setting of Elsinore lets the anger and treachery among the characters build, until they begin to seek their revenge which is what leads to Elsinore's downfall as a castle ruled by Hamlet's family.