The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince
of Denmark
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(OR EDWARD DE VERE, EARL OF OXFORD…)
The big ideas
 Trust.
 The standards we hold people to
 Machiavellian politics – being one way, but acting
another (false pretense)
 Revenge or justice – what’s the difference?
 Uncertainty – how sure do you have to be about
something before you act upon it?




Before you give a guilty verdict?
Before you give a death sentence?
“Beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Appearance vs. Reality
 The difficulty of knowing the truth about others




Guilt / innocence
Motivations
Feelings
Sanity / insanity
 School   real life.
 Or theory   real life. How close are they?
 Think physics – are your calculations 100% correct?
 Real people – predictions, knowledge of others. Are your
theories ever wrong?
 Suicide.
 Why do some people kill themselves?
 What happens after we die?
 Do people who commit suicide automatically go to hell?
Other things you should know
 Ere = before
 E’en = even. Is’t = is it.
 Denmark = country & the king.
 Same thing.
 Norway, same thing.
 Us/we – royal 1st person
 No Fear Shakespeare on sparknotes.com
Act 1
Act 1, Scene 1
 Scene: On the castle platform
 It is time for the night guards to change shifts.
Barnardo is on guard duty.
 Marcelus and Horatio come to the platform.
Marcellus is an army officer and Horatio is a friend
of Hamlet.
 They have come to watch the castle with Barnardo
because Barnardo has seen a ghost!
 Barnardo wants Horatio to see the ghost, too.
 Horatio and Marcellus ask Barnardo if the ghost has
appeared yet.
 Barnardo starts to say no, then the ghost appears!
 Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo think that the
ghost looks like Hamlet's father, the late king.

The ghost is dressed like a soldier.
 Horatio tries to talk to the ghost. The ghost does not
speak. Then, the ghost goes away.
 Horatio tries to figure out why the ghost of the late
king has come to the castle.

He wants to find out if the ghost has a message for them.
 The ghost appears one more time.
 Then, the sun begins to come up and the ghost goes
away.
 Horatio says that he must tell prince Hamlet about
the ghost.


Prince Hamlet is very upset about the death of his father.
Prince Hamlet must know about the ghost that looks like his
father.
Act 1, Scene 2
 Scene: In the castle, the king is before a large crowd
 The King and Queen speak to everybody else about
anything else before they speak to Hamlet.


They should speak to him first because of his rank as the
Prince.
This is an obvious slap in the face.
 Hamlet is in a corner by himself, very upset because
his father, the King, recently died.
 Hamlet is also angry at his mother, the Queen.
 She has remarried his father's brother, Claudius.
 Incest!
 She and Claudius were married just two months after
Hamlet's father died.


Hamlet's uncle is now the King of Denmark.
Shouldn’t Hamlet be king? Just sayin’…
 Claudius has an advisor named Polonius.
 Polonius has a son named Laertes, who goes to
school in France and came home when Claudius
became King.


Now, Laertes wants to go back to school.
He must ask permission from his father and the King.
 The new king and the queen act worried about
Hamlet.
 They want him to get on with his life.
 Claudius tells Hamlet that he must prepare to be a
king someday.

Slap in the face – Hamlet should be king now.
 Being sad might show people that Hamlet is weak.
 Hamlet's friend, Horatio, finds him.
 Horatio says that he came for the funeral of the late
king, Hamlet's father.
 Hamlet makes a joke about staying for his mother's
wedding to the new king, Claudius.
 Horatio tells Hamlet that he saw a ghost in the
castle.


He tells Hamlet that the ghost looked like his father.
Hamlet wants to see the ghost.
Act 1, Scene 3
 Laertes gets ready to go back to school in France.
 He says goodbye to his sister, Ophelia.
 He really cares about Ophelia, so he advises her that
Hamlet cannot ever marry her.


He is a prince and she is not from a noble family.
He says to be careful.
 Ophelia believes that Hamlet loves her.
 Laertes does not want Ophelia to be hurt.
 Laertes’ father, Polonius, likes to make many speeches.
 He gives Laertes some advice before he leaves for France.
 He warns him to be careful of what he says and does.



He tells him not to dress too fancily because clothes "oft make the
man.“
He tells him not to borrow or lend money. He tells his son that
sometimes you will lose the money and the friend.
"This above all," he says, "to thine own self be true!“
 After Laertes leaves, Ophelia tells her father that she
loves Hamlet.
Act 1, Scene 4
 That night, Hamlet meets with Horatio and
Marcellus to see the ghost.
 Marcellus says, “Something is rotten in the state of
Denmark.”
 The ghost motions to ask Hamlet follow him so they
can speak Hamlet alone.
 Marcellus and Horatio do not want Hamlet to go
alone.

They think that the ghost may trick Hamlet.
 Hamlet does not listen to them and follows the ghost
to another part of the platform.

He wants to hear what the ghost has to say to him.
Act 1, Scene 5
 The ghost tells Hamlet that he is the ghost of
Hamlet's dead father.
 He says that Claudius murdered him.

Claudius put poison in his ear while he slept.
 Claudius stole his crown and his wife, the queen.
 Then, the ghost tells Hamlet that he must "avenge"
his death.
 The ghost wants Hamlet to tell people that Claudius
killed him, but he does not want anything bad to
happen to Queen Gertrude.
 Hamlet hears his friends calling to him, and the
ghost goes away.
 Marcellus and Horatio find Hamlet. They ask him to
tell them about the ghost.
 Hamlet does not tell them the whole story. He asks
them not to tell anyone what they saw.
 Then, Hamlet tells Horatio that he will pretend to be
mad so that he can spy on Claudius and Gertrude. In
this play, "mad" means that someone cannot control
the way they act anymore.
Act 2
Act 2, Scene 1
 Polonius has two plans.
 Plan #1: Laertes.
 He gives letters and money to his messenger,
Reynoldo. He wants Reynoldo to take the letters and
money to Laertes in France.
 Then, he tells the messenger to spy on Laertes – to
learn the truth by lying.
 Plan #2: Hamlet.
 Polonius told Ophelia not to answer any of Hamlet's
letters. He told Ophelia to pretend that she does not
like Hamlet.
 Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet came to visit her.


She said that his clothes looked very messy.
Hamlet was not making sense when he spoke to her.
 Polonius thinks that Hamlet is upset about Ophelia.
 He thinks that Hamlet is mad.
 Polonius will tell Claudius that Hamlet is mad.
Act 2, Scene 2
 Now the king and queen have a plan.
 They invite two old friends of Hamlet named
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to the castle.
 They ask the friends to spy on Hamlet for them.

They want to know how Hamlet behaves with others in the
castle.
 Polonius comes in and tells the king and queen that
Hamlet is acting mad.

He says that it is because Ophelia will not see him anymore.
 The queen believes that Hamlet is upset about his
father's death.
 She hopes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can
tell her more about Hamlet.
 At first, Hamlet is happy to see his old friends.
 He asks them why they have come to the castle,
calling the castle his prison.
 First, his friends lie to Hamlet about why they are
here.
 Then, they admit to Hamlet that the king and queen
have asked them to spy on Hamlet.

This makes Hamlet upset, and he knows he can’t trust these
two.
 Then, a group of actors (players) arrive at the castle.
 Hamlet gets an idea about a play…
 Hamlet asks the actors to put on a play, but he wants
to add some lines to the play.


The new lines will show how his father was killed.
He wants to see how the king behaves when he sees the play.
 Hamlet says, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch
the conscience of the King.“

If the king is upset by the play, it will help Hamlet verify what
the ghost told him.
Act 3
Act 3, Scene 1
 When Hamlet is alone, he thinks about killing
himself.
 He thinks aloud, “To be, or not to be, – that is the
question.”
 Hamlet is worried about what happens after death –
“To die. To sleep, perchance to dream…”
 He chooses to stay alive because he doesn’t know
what comes next.
 Polonius and the King want to spy on Hamlet.
 They have Ophelia walk into the room where Hamlet
is thinking while they hide and listen to them.
 Hamlet knows that they are spying on him. Hamlet
pretends to be angry with Ophelia because he knows
that the king and Polonius asked Ophelia to help
them spy on him. Hamlet tells Ophelia that he does
not love her. He calls her “two-faced.”
 Understandably, this makes Ophelia very upset.
 Polonius and the King think that he must be mad to
say such things.
 The King wants to send Hamlet away.

He thinks that Hamlet knows about his spying.
 Polonius wants to spy on Hamlet one more time.
 He wants to hide in Queen Gertrude's room to hear Hamlet
talk to his mother.
 The King agrees to this plan.
Act 3, Scene 2
 Hamlet told the players to put on a play about a king
that was poisoned.

This is how Hamlet's father was murdered.
 Hamlet invites Claudius to see the play, and the king
and queen agree to go.
 Hamlet wants to see how the king acts when he sees
the play.

He asks Horatio to watch the king's reaction to the play.
 The king gets very upset by the play. He gets up and
runs out.
 Now he knows that the ghost was telling the truth.


Notice how happy Hamlet is when he learns the truth about
something.
Even if it’s something horrible, like his father’s death – he
knows.
Act 3, Scene 3
 Hamlet plans to kill Claudius.
 When he goes to do it, he finds Claudius praying.
 Hamlet thinks about what will happen after he kills
the king.
 Hamlet waits because he believes that if he kills him
while he is praying, he will send Claudius to heaven.
 Hamlet would rather kill Claudius when he is sinning
so he’ll be sure to go to Hell.
 Hamlet decides to wait to kill Claudius.
 But at the end of the scene, Claudius says…

D’oh!
Act 3, Scene 4
 Polonius thinks that Hamlet is upset about Ophelia.
 But Claudius thinks that Hamlet knows how he
killed King Hamlet.
 They both think that they need to get rid of Hamlet.
 Claudius plans to send Hamlet away to England.
 He tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take
Hamlet to England.
 Claudius plans to have Hamlet killed in England.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not know about this.
 Polonius tells Hamlet that the queen wishes to see
him right away
 Polonius will spy on Hamlet when he goes to see his
mother, the queen.
 Hamlet goes to see his mother. She is worried about
Hamlet.
 Hamlet is upset that she married Claudius.

He wants her to see that Claudius is trash compared to his father.
 Talking about his uncle makes Hamlet angry.
 Then, he sees the ghost again.


The ghost reminds him not to hurt Gertrude.
Gertrude can’t see the ghost. Is the ghost really there, or is Hamlet
insane?
It’s tough to say. Others could see the ghost before…
 But it chose not to talk to them… Maybe it’s choosing not to be visible
so as not to shock Gertrude.

 Polonius is hiding behind a curtain.
 Because of something she says, Polonius is afraid
that Hamlet will hurt Gertrude.
 He calls out for help.
 Hamlet hears someone behind the curtain and stabs
him with his sword, thinking it is Claudius.
 Hamlet kills Polonius!

Very important: Notice what Hamlet says before he knows
whom he killed.
Act 4
Act 4, Scene 1
 The queen tells the Claudius that Hamlet has killed
Polonius.

She says that Hamlet has gone mad.
 Claudius, however, believes Hamlet was trying to kill
him.
 He tells the queen that they must make up a story
about Polonius so they don’t get blamed for his
death.
 Then, Claudius says that Hamlet must leave the
country.

He tells the queen that this will keep Hamlet safe.
 Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get
Hamlet and Polonius' body.
Act 4, Scene 2
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet.
 Hamlet knows they are following the king's orders,
and he does not tell them what he did with Polonius.
 He also makes fun of them by speaking in riddles.


He seems insane.
But he’s also very upset that his friends are working for his
enemy, Claudius.
Act 4, Scene 3
 Claudius realizes he cannot put Hamlet in jail for
killing Polonius.


The people of Denmark love Hamlet.
Putting him in jail would cause "a riot.“
 Claudius makes it look like he cares about Hamlet.
 Guildenstern and the guards bring Hamlet to
Claudius.
 Hamlet will not tell what he did with Polonius.

He acts insane again by speaking in riddles.
 Claudius tells Hamlet that he is sending him to
England.

He says that he will be safe in England.
 Then, Claudius makes plans to have the King of
England kill Hamlet.
Act 4, Scene 4
 On the way to England, Hamlet sees Fortinbras’s army
from Norway.
 They are on their way to Poland to take some land.
 Hamlet sees how the army is ready to die for something
so small as this bit of land they’re going to fight over.
 He compares his own “delay” to that of Fortinbras.


He asks himself why he can’t do what the ghost asked him to do
when it is far more important.
Hamlet accuses himself of “procrastinating.” But why did he delay
Claudius’s death?

And remember how he tried to kill Claudius… but it was Polonius…?
Act 4, Scene 5
 A messenger tells the queen that Ophelia is acting
strangely.


Hamlet has been treating her very differently.
Then her father, Polonius, was killed – by Hamlet.
 Ophelia is goin’ crazy.
 Her songs are weird…
 But they may reveal
 Laertes learns that his father has died and returns to
Denmark from France.


He goes to see Claudius, and he basically brings a mob that
supports him.
His arrival is described as flood waters overtaking flat ground.
 But, Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet killed
Polonius.
 Next, Laertes sees Ophelia.
 Ophelia is so upset that she does not know her own
brother.
 Laertes blames Hamlet for killing his father and for
making his sister go insane.
 Claudius says he’s innocent and that he’ll let Laertes
get revenge.
Act 4, Scene 6
 Hamlet's friend, Horatio, gets a letter from Hamlet.
 He learns that Hamlet's ship was attacked by pirates
and he was abducted by them.
 Hamlet escaped by making a deal with the pirates.

They agreed to take him back to Denmark.
Act 4, Scene 7
 Claudius convinces Laertes that he’s not to blame for
Polonius’s death.
 Laertes still wants revenge/justice.
 Then, Claudius receives a letter from Hamlet.

Hamlet tells Claudius that he is returning to Denmark.
 Claudius is upset that Hamlet isn’t dead yet, and
Laertes is happy to have the opportunity to kill
Hamlet.
 Claudius comes up with a plan.
 He tells Laertes that they can kill Hamlet and make it
look like an accident.


Claudius will set up a fencing match.
Laertes' sword will be sharp and dipped in poison.


A small cut on Hamlet will kill him.
If this plan does not work, Claudius will poison a cup of wine
which he will give to Hamlet.
 Then the queen bursts in and tells them that Ophelia
is dead.
 Ophelia drowned herself in a stream.
 Laertes is enraged.
Act 5
Act 5, Scene 1
 Two gravediggers (“clowns”) are digging a grave for
Ophelia.
 They talk about whether or not she committed
suicide or not.


If she did, she wouldn’t be buried on church ground.
But these guys can’t figure out how she could accidentally
drown herself.
 They also tell some jokes and riddles.
 Hamlet meets Horatio in the background of the
graveyard.
 The gravediggers dig up some bones, and Hamlet
gets all philosophical about life and how death is the
same for everyone, no matter his rank or wealth or
importance.
 Hamlet and one of the gravediggers speak in a battle
of wits.

This gravedigger is the only guy in the whole play who gets the
better of Hamlet in a battle of words.
 Next, the gravedigger digs up a skull.
 Hamlet knew the person in this grave.
 His name was Yorick, and he was a court jester when Hamlet
was young.
 Hamlet thinks more about death, but now it’s really
personal since he knew Yorick.
 Then, a group of people enter the graveyard.
 Hamlet and Horatio hide.
 These people have come to bury Ophelia.
 Hamlet is very upset to learn that Ophelia has died.
 He stays hidden.
 At the graveside, Laertes is very upset about the
burial. He wants his sister to have a more formal
funeral. (“What ceremony else?”)
 The priest explains that she really deserves to be
buried in a bunch of rocks with no funeral, but he
was commanded to do more.

Probably Claudius commanded this to appease Laertes.
 The Queen says she wishes that Ophelia could have
been Hamlet's wife.
 Laertes gets angry and says that Hamlet broke
Ophelia's heart and killed their father.

These things made her so upset that she drowned herself.
 Laertes jumps into the grave, saying he wants to be
buried with his sister.
 Hamlet comes out of hiding and leaps into the grave
as well.
 He tells Laertes that he really loved Ophelia.
 Laertes and Hamlet begin to fight but are separated.
 They argue about who loved Ophelia by comparing
what they’d do to prove it, including how much dirt
they want to be buried on them with Ophelia’s body.
Act 5, Scene 2
 Hamlet tells Horatio about the letter he found from
Claudius asking the King of England to kill Hamlet
when Hamlet gets to England.
 He adds how he wrote a new letter to the King of
England about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern…
 He tells Horatio that he wants to kill Claudius for
murdering his father, marrying his mother, and
plotting to have him killed.
 A messenger, Osric, tells Hamlet that Claudius has
planned a fencing match.
 Hamlet and Osric have a battle of words using overly
polite words, and Hamlet accepts the challenge.
 Hamlet then tells Horatio that he has a bad feeling
about this.
 He also hints that he won’t press the issue with
Claudius but will be ready to kill him when there’s an
opportunity.
 Before the match, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for their
fight in the graveyard, Polonius’s death, and Ophelia’s
death.

He blames his “madness” and says that Hamlet is not Laertes’
enemy.
 Hamlet and Laertes choose their swords, but Laertes gets
a new sword (the sharp, poisoned one).
 Laertes and Hamlet begin their sword fight. Hamlet
strikes the first two hits.
 Claudius does not want to wait any longer.


He offers Hamlet the cup with the poisoned wine.
Hamlet asks him to wait a little while.
 When Claudius sets the cup down, the queen takes it
and drinks.


She is poisoned.
As it was a cup the king poured for Hamlet, she will know
what’s goin’ on here.
 Laertes is starting to feel bad about this plan now
that the queen has been poisoned and Hamlet is
treating him nicely.

He thinks that he should stop fighting with Hamlet.
 In the next round, Laertes cuts Hamlet with the
poisoned sword.
 Then, they drop and switch the swords in the scuffle.

Hamlet cuts Laertes with the poisoned sword.
 The queen warns Hamlet of the poisoned drink.
 Then, she dies.
 Laertes tells Hamlet about the poisoned swords.
 He tells Hamlet that it was Claudius' plan to poison him with
the sword or the drink.
 Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword.
 Then, he makes Claudius drink the poisoned wine.

Claudius dies.
 Laertes and Hamlet forgive each other as they are dying.
 Horatio is so upset that he tries to drink the poison.


Hamlet stops him.
He wants Horatio to tell the truth about all that has happened
because of Claudius.
 Then, Hamlet dies.


He believes Fortinbras of Norway will be the next king of Denmark.
He approves of that.
 Now, Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Laertes and Hamlet
are all dead.
 Horatio cries about his friend saying, "Goodnight
sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy
rest.“
 Fortinbras and his Norwegian army arrive victorious
from the battle with Poland.


Fortinbras declares his sadness but willingness to be made
king of Denmark.
He tells his men to treat Hamlet’s body like that of a hero.