Hamlet is the prince of Denmark.

His father was

, but he died before the play begins. Hamlets uncle, Claudius, has taken over as king and
Hamlets mother, Gertrude.

At the beginning of the play, a ghost appears to some soldiers. He looks just like Hamlets father,
the dead king. agree to tell Hamlet about it.

Claudius tells Hamlet he has to stop acting so sad about his fathers death. Hamlet says he will.
When hes by himself, he says that his mother married Claudius.

Hamlets girlfriend is Ophelia. Her father, Polonius, and her brother, Laertes, try to convince her
that Hamlet doesnt love her. They point out that because hes a prince, he whoever he wants.
They think hes more likely to seduce her than marry her. Ophelia agrees not to talk to Hamlet
anymore.

Hamlet sees the ghost, who says he is Hamlets father. He also says that Claudius

him by pouring poison in his ear. Hamlet swears to take revenge. He mentions to the soldiers
that in the future he may find it useful to act as if .

Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet came to see her after she returned his love letters, and he
seemed insane. His clothes were messed up, he was trembling and pale, and he looked scared.
Polonius now thinks Hamlet did love Ophelia, and hes gone mad because she

him.

Claudius and Gertrude ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, some friends of Hamlets from
school, to with him and try to find out why hes been acting crazy.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to cheer Hamlet up by telling him that a group of actors has
arrived at the castle. Hamlet decides hell have the actors

that mimics the murder of his father. He wants to see if Claudius reacts to it and shows his guilt.
He says the ghost might actually be a lying . Claudiuss reaction to the play will clear up the
mystery.

Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius want to test the theory that Hamlet is acting crazy because
hes lovesick, so they spy on a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet is very nasty to
Ophelia and tells her she should
. After hearing this, Claudius decides Hamlet is not in love. He does think Hamlets obsessed
with something, and since he thinks Hamlet poses a threat to him, he decides to England.

That evening, the actors perform the play Hamlet requested. When Claudius sees a scene
where a king is murdered by having poison poured in his ear, he becomes

that he gets up and leaves. Hamlet sees this reaction as proof that Claudius did indeed murder
his father.

When Claudius is by himself, he admits he murdered Hamlets father. He for forgiveness, but
he cant seem to make himself do it. Hamlet comes into the room behind him with a sword, but
he decides not to kill him, because he thinks Claudius will go straight

if he dies while hes praying, and he wants him to go to hell.

Hamlet goes to see his mother, not knowing that she has given Polonius permission to hide
behind a tapestry and listen to their conversation. Hamlet makes her sit down and tells her
shes not leaving until he shows her how bad she really is. Gertrude

and calls out for help. Hearing her, Polonius calls out for help too, and Hamlet, thinking its
Claudius behind the tapestry, stabs Polonius through the cloth and kills him.

Hamlet tells his mother how awful it is that

with Claudius. He doesnt come right out and say that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, or that
he thinks Gertrude knew about it. He focuses more on how his father was than Claudius, and
tries to make his mother promise not to sleep with Claudius anymore. She tells Hamlet that hes
making her feel guilty.

The ghost enters and scolds Hamlet for taking so long

. Hamlet sees the ghost, but his mother doesnt, and she thinks hes crazy. Hamlet leaves,
hauling away Poloniuss body.

Claudius sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When hes by himself, he
says hes given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed letters ordering the king of England to put
Hamlet

immediately after opening the letter.Ophelia loses her mind following her fathers death.
Laertes returns to Denmark, leading a noisy crowd of supporters. He blames Claudius for his
fathers death and his , and threatens to overthrow him. Claudius manages to persuade Laertes
that Hamlet is really to blame.
Horatio gets a letter from Hamlet saying that the ship he was on was attacked by a

. Hamlet was taken prisoner by himself and brought back to Denmark. Claudius and Laertes also
receive a letter from Hamlet in which he says hes arrived back to Denmark alone and will come
to see Claudius the next day. Now that they know Hamlet didnt die in England, they start a
new way to kill him that will look like an accident. Gertrude brings the news that Ophelia
drowned in a stream.Two gravediggers talk and joke while digging Ophelias grave. Hamlet gets
into a conversation with one of them. He doesnt know yet that Ophelia is dead. Claudius,
Gertrude, and Laertes arrive to

Ophelia. They lay her in the ground, but before they can throw earth on her, Laertes leaps into
the grave

one more time. Hamlet inally realizes who theyre burying and starts swearing that no one
loved Ophelia more than he did. He jumps into the grave too, and he and Laertes fight until
theyre pulled apart.

Hamlet tells Horatio that on the way to England, he the letter that would have sentenced him
to death, and wrote a replacement letter telling the king of England to put Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern to death. He managed

during the pirate attack, and then he returned to Denmark. A courtier named Osric interrupts
them to invite Hamlet to a fencing match with Laertes, to be held in front of the king and queen.
Hamlet agrees. Before the match, Laertes

the tip of his sword, and Claudius poisons a cup of wine. Hamlet gets the first hit, and Claudius
says hes going to give him a precious pearl as a reward. Then he drops the pearl in the
poisoned cup and offers it to Hamlet. But Hamlet says hes not ready to drink yet.Hamlet gets
the second hit. Gertrude picks up the poisoned cup and drinks from it before Claudius

her. Laertes finally gets a hit, wounding Hamlet with the poisoned sword, and they both and
start grappling with each other. In the scuffle they exchange swords, and Hamlet wounds
Laertes with the poisoned one. Gertrude collapses and says shes

. Laertes confesses to Hamlet that he poisoned the sword and says theyre both going to die. He
blames Claudius for the scheme. Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and forces him
to drink from the poisoned cup. Claudius Then Laertes dies, asking Hamlet for forgiveness as he
expires. Hamlet dies after telling Horatio to remain behind and tell the truth about everything
that happened. Fortinbras, a prince of Norway, arrives with his army on a visit to Claudius.
When he sees that the whole royal family is dead, he claims

for himself.