Hamlet Summary

Something is amiss in Denmark -- for two successive nights, the midnight guard has witnessed the appearance of the ghost of Old Hamlet, the former King of Denmark who has recently died. The guards ring Horatio, a learned scholar and friend of Hamlet, !rince of Denmark, to witness this apparition. Though skeptical at first, Horatio sees the ghost and decides to report its appearance to Hamlet. "eanwhile, a new king of Denmark has een crowned# $laudius, Old Hamlet%s rother. $laudius has taken Old Hamlet%s widow, &ertrude, as his wife. 'e watch their marriage cele ration and hear a out a threat from the !rince of (orway, )ortin ras, which $laudius manages to avoid y diplomacy. Hamlet is in attendance at this wedding cele ration* he is hardly in +oyous spirits, however. He is disgusted y his mother%s decision to marry $laudius so soon after his father%s demise. Horatio tells Hamlet of the appearance of the ghost and Hamlet determines to visit the spirit himself. "eanwhile, the court adviser, !olonius, sends his son, ,aertes, ack to !aris, where he is living. ,aertes and !olonius oth -uestion Ophelia .sister and daughter, respectively/ a out her relationship with Hamlet. Ophelia admits that Hamlet has een wooing her. They tell her to avoid Hamlet and re+ect his amorous advances, emphasi0ing the importance of protecting her chastity. Ophelia agrees to cut off contact. That night, Hamlet accompanies the watch. The ghost appears once more. Hamlet -uestions the ghost, who eckons Hamlet away from the others. 'hen they are alone, the ghost reveals that $laudius murdered him in order to steal his crown and his wife. The ghost makes Hamlet promise to take revenge on $laudius. Hamlet appears to concur e1citedly. He has Horatio and the guards swear not to reveal what they have seen. 2ct Two finds us some indefinite time in the future. Hamlet has een ehaving in a most erratic and alarming way. $laudius summons two of Hamlet%s school friends, 3osencrant0 and &uildenstern, in order to discover the meaning of this strange ehavior. 3osencrant0 and &uildenstern%s attempts to discover the reason for Hamlet%s madness are met with evasion and witticism. "eanwhile, !olonius hatches a theory of his own# he thinks that Hamlet is insane due to Ophelia%s re+ection of his love. He arranges to test his theory y setting Ophelia on Hamlet when they are apparently alone and then o serving the proceedings with $laudius. Hamlet%s only consolation appears to e the coming of a troupe of players from 4ngland. Hamlet asks the player%s whether they could play a slightly modified version of a tragedy. 'e reali0e that Hamlet plans to put on a play that depicts the death of his father, to see whether $laudius is really guilty, and the ghost is really to e trusted. 5n 2ct Three, Ophelia approaches Hamlet when they are apparently alone* $laudius and !olonius hide ehind a tapestry and o serve. Hamlet ehaves e1tremely cruelly

toward Ophelia. The king decides that Hamlet is not mad for love of her ut for some other hidden reason. Hamlet prepares to put on his play, which he calls 6The "ouse Trap.6 2fter instructing the players in their parts, Hamlet retires to the audience, where $laudius, &ertrude, Ophelia, and !olonius have gathered, along with many others. 5n the course of the play, oth &ertrude and $laudius ecome e1tremely upset, though for different reasons. &ertrude is flustered y Hamlet%s veiled accusation that she was inconstant and hypocritical for remarrying after Old Hamlet%s death* $laudius is shaken ecause he is indeed guilty of his rother%s murder. $laudius decides that he must get rid of Hamlet y sending him to 4ngland. )ollowing the play, &ertrude calls Hamlet to her room, intending to erate him for his horri le insinuations. Hamlet turns the ta les on her, accusing her of a most grotes-ue lust and claiming that she has insulted her father and herself y stooping to marry $laudius. 5n the course of their interview, !olonius hides ehind a tapestry* at one point, he thinks that Hamlet is going to attack &ertrude and cries for help. Hamlet sta s !olonius through the tapestry, thinking he has killed $laudius. 'hen he finds that he has merely killed a 6rash, intruding fool,6 Hamlet returns to the usiness of 6speaking daggers6 to his mother. 7ust as &ertrude appears convinced y Hamlet%s e1coriation, the ghost of Old Hamlet reappears and tells Hamlet not to ehave so cruelly to his mother, and to remem er to carry out revenge on $laudius. &ertrude perceives her son discoursing with nothing ut air and is completely convinced of his madness. Hamlet e1its her room, dragging the ody of !olonius ehind him. 2fter much -uestioning, $laudius convinces Hamlet to reveal the hiding place of !olonius% ody. He then makes arrangements for Hamlet to go to 4ngland immediately, accompanied y 3osencrant0 and &uildenstern. $laudius writes a letter to the 4nglish court asking them to kill Hamlet immediately upon his arrival and places the letter with his two cronies. On their way to the ship, Hamlet and his entourage pass )ortin ras% (orwegian army en route to a !olish campaign. 8ack at 4lsinore .the Danish palace/, Ophelia has gone mad following her father%s death. She sings childish and awdy songs and speaks nonsensically. ,aertes soon returns to Denmark with a mo in tow, demanding an e1planation of !olonius% death. $laudius gingerly calms the young man and convinces him that Hamlet was the guilty party. ,etters arrive attesting to a strange turn of fortunes on the sea. Hamlet%s ship to 4ngland was attacked y pirates, who captured Hamlet and arranged to return him to Denmark for a ransom. Hamlet sends $laudius an aggravating letter announcing his imminent return. $laudius and ,aertes decide that Hamlet must e killed. They decide to arrange a duel etween ,aertes and Hamlet in which ,aertes% sword is secretly poisoned so as to guarantee Hamlet%s immediate death. 2s ackup, $laudius decides to poison a cup of wine and offer it to Hamlet during the contest.

7ust as 2ct )our comes to a close, more tragic news arrives. &ertrude says that Ophelia has drowned while playing in a willow tree y the river. 2ct )ive egins at a graveyard. Two gravediggers +oke a out their mor id occupation. Hamlet and Horatio arrive and converse with them. Soon, Ophelia%s funeral egins. 8ecause there are dou ts a out whether Ophelia died accidentally or committed suicide, her funeral lacks many of the customary religious rites. ,aertes om astically dramati0es his grief, prompting Hamlet to reveal himself and declare his e-ual grief at the loss of his erstwhile eloved. 2fter a short tussle, Hamlet and ,aertes part. ,ater, Hamlet e1plains to Horatio that he discovered $laudius% plot to have him killed in 4ngland and forged a new letter arranging for the deaths of 3osencrant0 and &uildenstern. 'hile they are conversing, Osric, a ridiculous courtier, approaches and proposes the duel etween ,aertes and Hamlet. Hamlet eventually accepts this challenge. The duel egins with Osric as referee. Hamlet wins the first two passes, prompting $laudius to resort to the poisoned drink. Hamlet refuses the drink. 5n his stead, &ertrude drinks a toast to her son from the poisoned cup. 2fter a third pass also goes to Hamlet, ,aertes sneak-attacks the prince and wounds him. 2 scuffle ensues in which Hamlet ends up with ,aertes% sword. He in+ures ,aertes. 7ust then &ertrude collapses. She declares that she has een poisoned. ,aertes, also dying, confesses the whole plot to Hamlet, who finally attacks $laudius, sta ing him with the poisoned sword and then forcing the poisoned drink down his throat. Hamlet too is dying. He asks Horatio to e1plain the carnage to all onlookers and tell his story. Hamlet dies. 7ust then, )ortin ras arrives at the court, accompanying some 4nglish am assadors who ring word of the death of 3osencrant0 and &uildenstern. 'ith all the immediate royalty of Denmark dead, )ortin ras asserts his right to the crown. He arranges for Hamlet to receive a soldier%s urial.