Hamlet Summary and Analysis

AUTHOR 

Hamlet was written by an William Shakespeare: an English poet and playwright from the 16^th Century often regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. His plays are famous for ending in tragedy.  There are often subliminal relationships among men or women as Shakespeare was rumored to be bisexual himself. 

SETTING

Elsinore: court of Denmark in the 11th -12th century area during the late medieval period. The setting is described as dark, bleak, not very family friendly.  The setting reflects the idea that Elsinore is a place of lies, gossip and deception.   

PLOT 

The story begins with Horatio and several castle guards seeing the ghost of Old Hamlet, the late King of Denmark. King Claudius had previously killed his brother known as Hamlet, and married his wife, Gertrude. Horatio tells Hamlet of the ghost that he has seen which leads Hamlet to seek out his father’s ghost in the the night. Old Hamlet's ghost tells him about how he was murdered by Claudius and instructs him to get revenge. This is the beginning of Hamlet’s madness and makes him obsessed with killing Claudius. Hamlet decides to “fake” madness and makes his good friend Horatio sware to tell no one of his plan. Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, is stuck between Hamlet who is going crazy and her father Polonius who recently discovered their romance together. As Ophelia's brother Laertes goes back to school in France, Polonius tells the Queen and King all about the romance by reading Ophelia’s letters to Hamlet out loud to the court. The King and Queen have also asked Hamlet’s childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet as the King is worried Hamlet is plotting to overthrow him.  Many of the characters are suspicious of Hamlet's madness at this point.             

Hamlet then decides to put on a play that blatantly represents his father’s murder and the marriage of his Uncle and mother.  Hamlet seems to be putting this play on to make sure that Claudius was the murderer.  While the play is going on Claudius gets very upset and leaves.  The made Hamlet positive that he killed his father.  Hamlet is then told that Gertrude wishes to speak to him. On his trip to his mother’s bedroom Hamlet sees Claudius praying.  He knows that this would be a great time to kill him but decides that he can’t kill him Claudius now because then he would be sent to heaven. During Hamlet's talk with his mother he notices something moving behind the curtain and thinks it is Claudius spying. He took this opportunity to stab at the curtain in an attempt to kill Claudius but it turned out he stabbed Polonius instead.  Soon after this incident his father’s Ghost appears. For some reason Gertrude can't see her old husbands ghost so she thinks Hamlet has gone mad.

The King desperately wants to get rid of Hamlet because he thinks he is going to overthrow him but he knows that everyone in Denmark loves him so he  sends him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Back in Elsanor, Laertes returns and Ophelia commits suicide after going mad because of Hamlet.  Laertes is very mad at Hamlet so he decides he will get revenge.  Hamlet Returns unharmed from England without Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (who he killed), and soClaudius conspires with Laertes to kill him in a round of fencing. Before the battle, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes and Laertes accepts his apology.  Claudius concocted a poisoned glass of wine that he plans on serving to Hamlet if Laertes does not successfully kill him with the poisoned lance.  Hamlet does really well in the competition so the Queen decides to drink in his honor.  She unfortunately grabbed the cup of wine with poison in it and died.  Hamlet is then cut by Laertes' envenomed sword and then rips it from him and cuts him in return. Before dying, Laertes confesses the plan to Hamlet and tells him that Claudius is to blame.  Hamlet then kills Claudius in a fit of rage. Knowing that Hamlet is dying, Horatio wants to kill himself but Hamlet doesn’t allow it as he wants Horatio to tell his story.  Hamlet’s final request is for Fortinbras to take over the throne.  Because Fortinbras respected Hamlet very much he held a grand burial for him.

CHARACTERS

Hamlet: The main character and protagonist.  He is a prince of Denmark and heir to the throne. Hamlet recently returned from college and is very scholarly.  He seems to be far more intelligent than the other characters.  Through his intellect he is often able to manipulate the other characters in the play with his language. He often “tests” the other characters to determine their loyalty.  He feels betrayed by Claudius and seeks to avenge his father.

Claudius: The King of Denmark, and Hamlet’s uncle.  He is the antagonist of the play.  He is the villain and represents the corruption in Denmark.  He killed his brother to gain control of the throne. He is conniving, calculating, ambitious, and selfish.  

Ophelia: Polonius’ daughter and Laertes’ sister.  She a beautiful young woman that Hamlet has fell in love with.  She is sweet and innocent.

Laertes: Ophelia’s brother and Polonius’ son, and a foil to Hamlet.  He is passionate and quick to action.  When Ophelia and Polonius both die (as a result of Hamlet) he is vulnerable and the King convinces him to do his dirty work.  Laertes shows he is a good person during the final battle scene as he forgives Hamlet, tells him the truth, and feels very guilty for the act he committed.

Horatio: Hamlet’s closest friend who studied with him at the University in Wittenberg.  He is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play.  Some critics even argue that his relationship with Hamlet is more than that of friends.

Polonius: An advisor to Claudius, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes.  He comes off as pompous, conniving, and snake-like. He tries to groom his children to continue his legacy.   He spies on many characters throughout the play such as Laertes, who he spies on to make sure he stays on the right path.  He also spies on Hamlet in the bedroom scene with Gertrude. He wanted to make sure that his daughter Ophelia married Hamlet so that she would inherit the Queenship later.  He is a very disloyal character who goes behind the backs of others to get what he wants, power.  This ultimately leads to his demise.

Gertrude: The Queen of Denmark, and Hamlet’s mother.  She married her deceased husband’s brother (Claudius), considered incest at the time. She a weak woman who seems to depend on the affection/status that men bring her. She seems to be representative of the way women during this time period were treated -- like a commodity. She does not seem to seek the truth behind old Hamlet’s death however she seems to love young Hamlet deeply.

Fortinbras: The prince of Norway, and foil to Hamlet.  His father (also called Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlet’s father.  Fortinbras seeks not to avenge his father, but to defend his father’s honor through an attack on Denmark.  He has a wise uncle whom he listened to and this ended up saving his life.  He is the only non-corrupt leader who can take over the Danish throne.

STYLE 

There is no narrator in this play, however Shakespeare uses the dialogue of the characters to give messages to the audience and emphasize meaning. Hamlet is the biggest example of this. His dialogue often includes double entendres that tell the audience about the other characters, what is going on in his own mind, and foreshadow future events. 

THEME

A major theme of this play is that no individual should seek revenge.  Fate should be left up to God and not taken into one’s own hands. This is apparent because all of the characters that seek revenge end up being killed by one another.   The only honest leader, Fortinbras, does not seek revenge for his father and as a result he ends up successful.

QUOTES 

1.)   "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". (Act 1, scene IV) 

This line is spoken by Marcellus as he debates with Horatio whether or not to follow the ghost.  The line shows that the ghost is a bad omen and foreshadows what is to come in Denmark.  The line seems to express that there is corruption in the government (murder and incest among the royal family).  The ghost is a symbol of the  "rotten" and corrupt ways of the state and King Claudius.

2.)    “I am justly kill’d with mine own treachery”. (Act V, scene II)  

This is an important quote by Laertes because it expresses a theme of the play. The word “justly”  implies that Laertes is aware that this was the fate that he deserved for conspiring against Hamlet with Claudius.  He lied and betrayed Hamlet, and as a result  was killed by the weapon that he had envenomed.