hamlet

• Context: 


  the tragedy in Hamlet may stem from the death of Shakespeare's son, Hamnet.
• Context


  The story could be based on the idea of fratricide - the killing of one's brother - for personal gain: the biblical tale of Cain and Abel.
• Context


  Thomas Kyd, 'The Spanish Tragedy,' many elements of The Spanish Tragedy, such as the play within a play used to trap a murderer and a ghost intent on revenge,  appear in Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Thomas Kyd is frequently proposed as the author of the hypothetical Ur-Hamlet that may have been one of Shakespeare's primary sources for Hamlet.)
• Hamlet 


  Gentle, deep-thinking, loving, loyal man, intelligent, quick-witted, appreciative of his standing, and self-aware. Consumed with grief after the death of his father. Audiences get as tangled in his thinking as he is.
• Polonius


  Counselor to the king, father of Laertes and Ophelia. His tendency toward action without thought is a contributing factor that leads towards his death.
• Claudius


  King of Denmark, married to Gertrude. Deceitful, corrupt, jealous and controlling. Carries himself well, nature is cordial and reserved but feels forced.
• Horatio


  Loyal friend to Hamlet. Trusted ally and logical thinker. Represents a halfway point between Hamlet and those who act without thinking. Because he is not so close to all that transpires, he is able to witness the events and lives to tell tell the tale to the world.
• Laertes


  Comes to the royal court seeking permission to return to France from the king. Gentle, loving older brother, tells Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet because the good of the country often trumps individual desires for a person like Hamlet.
• Ophelia


  Hamlet's love interest, young, bright, and gentle. Depth of relationship with Hamlet difficult to discern, undoubtedly devoted to him. Obvious inexperience in love and Hamlet's determination to drive her away all figure into her misery and death.
• Gertrude


  Queen to Claudius, loves her son, it is a driving force.
• Ghost


  Tells Hamlet his death was not natural, murdered by Claudius, urges Hamlet to avenge his death by killing his brother.
• Act 1, Scene 1


  Ghost appears to Barnardo, Marcellus, and Horatio. Horatio leaves to inform Hamlet.
• Act 1, Scene 2

  Claudius holds court at Elsinore, thanks everyone for support of death of King Hamlet and his marriage to Gertrude. Gives Laertes permission to go back to France. Gertrude and Claudius chide Hamlet for mourning his father, sign of weakness. Hamlet contemplates suicide because of his fathers death and his mother hasty marriage. Bernardo, Horatio, and Marcellus inform Hamlet about the ghost.
• Act1, Scene 3


  Laertes tells Ophelia not to take Hamlet's attention too seriously. Polonius echoes these warnings dismissing Ophelia's claims about his love being sincere, forbids her from seeing Hamlet.
• Act 1, Scene 4

  Hamlet stunned by ghost's appearance, confirms its his father, begs the ghost to speak to him. ghost beckons Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus attempt to hold him back, but he refuses.
• Act 1, Scene 5

  Follows ghost, tells Hamlet he must avenge his death, it wasn't a serpent that killed him, but in fact it was his brother who poured poison into his ears as he slept. Tells him to not touch his mother and leave her to the heavens.
• Act 2, Scene 1

  Polonius sends Reynoldo to spy on Laertes. Ophelia tells him Hamlet came to her disheveled and confused, she refused his letters and denied any contact. Polonius convinced that by telling her to avoid him, he has gone mad with love and urges her to tell the king.
• Act 2, Scene 2

  Claudius and Gertrude hire Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet and figure out why he is acting so strange. Polonius tells the king and queen, reading one of the letters of Hamlet admitting his love, decide to lay a trap of Hamlet and Ophelia meeting and them watching from afar. Hamlet interrogates his friends as to why they are here, figures out they are there to spy on him. Finds out company of players have arrived, excited and he informs them to perform The Murder of Gonzago with his own lines to catch Cladius' reaction and catch him guilty.
• Act 3, Scene 1

  King and Queen ask Hamlet's friends, there is little to report. Polonius, Ophelia, and Claudius plan the meeting. Hamlet catches Ophelia whilst he is contemplating suicide, he is suspicious of her motives, denies that he loves her, orders her to a nunnery and leaves.
• GuildensternAct 3, Scene 2

  Hamlet's The Mousetrap begins to catch the King off guard, instructs Horatio to watch the King's reaction. One of the scenes recreates his fathers murder. Claudius leaps to his feet and leaves. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet to speak to the Queen.
• Act 3, Scene 3

  Claudius plans with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to send Hamlet away to England. Claudius contemplates the murder, seeks forgiveness, wonders if he can be forgiven but keep his power he retained. Hamlet finds Claudius attempting to pray, contemplates killing him but decides against it as killing him whilst he is repenting would send him straight to heaven.
• Act 3, Scene 4

  Polonius instructs Gertrude on speaking with Hamlet, hides behind tapestry. Hamelt verbally spars and gets angry with his mother, she cries out as does Polonius. Hamlet stabs him through the tapestry, killing him. Hamlet tells his mother Claudius killed the former king. Ghost appears and reminds him to leave his mother alone. Gertrude cant see or hear him and is convinced of Hamlet's madness.
• Act4, Scene 1


  Gertrude tells Claudius that HAmlet has killed Polonius. King orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England at once with forged papers ordering Hamlet's death
• Act 4, Scene 2

  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet, insist to tell them where Polonius' body is, runs verbal taunts around them, demands he go with them to the king, sprints away.
• Act 4, Scene 3


  When Claudius asks the whereabouts of the body, answered in riddles until Hamlet gives up and tells him. Hamlet taken to England.
• Act 4, Scene 4


  Headed for ship, pass Fortinbras. Hamlet stops and compares himself to him, rebukes himself for his failure to seek revenge for murdered father unlike Fortinbras who is in the same position and has already exacted his revenge.
• Act 4, Scene 5

  Ophelia acting strangely, disturbed state, singing and talked in a disconnected way. Claudius and Gertrude both shocked. Laertes secretly returned from France, angry and convinces his followers to wait outside. Demands answers from the king about his father. Laertes anger is overwhelmed by grief at the sight of his sister.
• Act 4, Scene 6


  Horatio given letters from Hamlet, one for him and the rest for the King. Hamlet's ship overtaken by pirates and he alone was taken. Asks Horatio to get the letters to the king and have them deliver Hamlet to Horatio.
• Act 4, Scene 7

  Hamlet informs Claudius via the letters that he is back in Denmark and wants to meet the next day. Laertes and Claudius devise a plan for a fencing match, Laertes will use a poisoned foil and Claudius will have a poisoned drink waiting for him. Queen enters with news that ophelia has drowned.
• Act 5, Scene 1

  Gravediggers preparing a grave for Ophelia which is unknown by Hamlet. Hamlet handed Yorick's skull. Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes appear with a coffin, dawns on Hamlet that this is Ophelia's funeral. Laertes jumps into grave asking to be buried with her, Hamlet jumps in and proclaims his sorrow. Hamlet and Leartes fight, separated. Hamlet professes his love for Ophelia and admiration for Laertes and runs off. Followed by Horatio.
• Duel begins


  1. Hamlet hits Laertes

  2. King cheers Hamlet on with a false display of affection

  3. King drops poisoned pearl into Hamlet's cup of wine

  4. King offers cup to Hamlet and he refuses

  5. Gertrude reaches for the drink

  6. Claudius attempts to stop her but she insists and drinks the poison

  7. Laertes finally hits Hamlet

  8. Foils are exchanged and Hamlet hits Laertes with the poisoned foil
• Queen drinks the poisoned drink

  Queen exclaims drink has been poisoned and dies
• Laertes is poisoned


  Laertes reveals Claudius is to blame
• Hamlet: 'Bids his mother goodbye after forgiving Laertes and collapses'
• Horatio goes to drink the poison


  Hamlet stops him and tells him to live to tell the tale of his life
• Fortinbras arrives and sees the carnage, asks that Hamlet be borne away with the honour of a soldier
• 'O...that the Everlasting had not fix'd/His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!'


  Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

  just discovered his mother's remarriage to Claudius, believes it is incestuous and betrayal to his father.
• 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark'


  Marcellus, Act 1, Scene 4

  after seeing ghost, notes something terrible must be happening if king's ghost come back to haunt the land.
• 'One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.'


  Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5

  in his soliloquy, places blame for his current situation on Claudius and his mother.
• 'How strange or odd some'er i bear myself'


  Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5

  pretends to have gone mad so he wont be suspected of killing his uncle.