Transcript of the Hamlet Summary Video from SparkNotes
(http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/video/hamlet)
Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark; his father was the King, but he died before the
play begins. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, has taken over as King and married Hamlet’s
mother, Gertrude. At the beginning of the play, a ghost appears to some soldiers. He
looks just like Hamlet’s father, the dead King. The soldiers agree to tell Hamlet all about
it.
Claudius tells Hamlet he has to stop acting so sad about his father’s death.
Hamlet says he will, but when he’s by himself, he says he’s disgusted that his mother
married Claudius.
Hamlet’s girlfriend is Ophelia. Her father Polonius and her brother Laertes try to
convince her that Hamlet doesn’t love her. They point out that because he’s a prince,
he can’t marry whoever he wants. They think he’s more likely to seduce her than marry
her. Ophelia agrees not to talk to Hamlet anymore.
Hamlet sees the ghost, who says he is Hamlet’s father. He also says that
Claudius murdered 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 he’s crazy.
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 really did love Ophelia and
he’s gone mad because she rejected him. Claudius and Gertrude ask Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, some friends of Hamlet’s from school, to spend time with him and try to
find out why he’s 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 he’ll
have the actors perform a play 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
devil. Claudius’ reaction to the play will clear up the mystery.
Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius want to test the theory that Hamlet is acting
crazy because he’s lovesick, so they spy on a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia.
Hamlet is very nasty to Ophelia and tells her she should go become a nun. After
hearing this, Claudius decides Hamlet is not in love. He does think Hamlet’s obsessed
with something, and since he thinks Hamlet poses a threat to him, he decides to send
him 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 so upset 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 Hamlet’s father. He tries to
pray for forgiveness, but he can’t 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 to heaven if he dies while he’s 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 she’s not leaving until he shows her how bad she really is.
Gertrude gets frightened and calls out for help. Hearing her, Polonius calls out for help,
too, and Hamlet, thinking it’s Claudius behind the tapestry, stabs Polonius through the
cloth and kills him.
Hamlet tells his mother how awful it is that she’s sleeping with Claudius. He
doesn’t come right out and say that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, or that he thinks
Gertrude knew about it. He focuses more on how much better his father was than
Claudius and tries to make his mother promise not to sleep with Claudius any more.
She tells Hamlet that he’s making her feel guilty. The ghost enters and scolds Hamlet
for taking so long to get revenge. Hamlet sees the ghost, but his mother doesn’t, and
she thinks he’s crazy. Hamlet leaves, hauling away Polonius’ body.
Claudius sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When
he’s by himself, he says he’s given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed letters
ordering the King of England to put Hamlet to death immediately after opening the letter.
Ophelia loses her mind following her father’s death. Laertes returns to Denmark,
leading a noisy crowd of supporters. He blames Claudius for his father’s death and his
sister’s insanity 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
pirates. Hamlet was taken prisoner by himself and brought back to Denmark. Claudius
and Laertes also receive a letter from Hamlet, in which he says he’s arrived back to
Denmark alone and will come to see Claudius the next day. Now that they know
Hamlet didn’t die in England, they start plotting 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 Ophelia’s grave. Hamlet gets into
a conversation with one of them. He doesn’t yet know that Ophelia is dead. Claudius,
Gertrude, and Laertes arrive to bury Ophelia. They lay her in the ground, but before
they can throw earth on her, Laertes leaps into the grave to hug her one more time.
Hamlet finally realizes who they’re 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
they’re pulled apart.
Hamlet tells Horatio that on the way to England, he stole the letter that would
have sentenced him to death and wrote a replacement telling the King of England to put
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death. He managed to get free 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 poisons the tip of his sword, and Claudius poisons a
cup of wine. Hamlet gets the first hit, and Claudius says he’s going to give him a
precious pearl as a reward, and he drops the pearl into the poisoned cup and offers it to
Hamlet, but Hamlet says he’s not ready to drink yet. Hamlet gets the second hit.
Gertrude picks up the poisoned cup and drinks from it before Claudius can stop her.
Laertes finally gets a hit, wounding Hamlet with the poisoned sword, and they both get
mad and start grappling with each other. In the scuffle, they exchange swords and
Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned one. Gertrude collapse and says she’s been
poisoned. Laertes confesses to Hamlet that he poisoned the sword and says they’re
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 dies. Laertes
dies, saying he’s sorry for what he’s done. Hamlet tells Horatio to remain behind and
tell the truth about everything that has happened. Then, he dies.
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 the kingdom for himself.
(Closing Credits)