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Hamlet Review!
Courtesy of: The Hamlet Homies
Ali, Anne, Lillian, Austin, Paola, Kayleigh, Carlos
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Setting
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Act One:
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Scene 1: Battlements of Elsinore. The ghost brings in the power of
supernatural.
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Scene 2: Introduces Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet.
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Scene 3: Laertes is telling Ophelia goodbye by the ship.
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Scene 4: At the battlements to see the ghost.
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Scene 5: Hamlet is talking to the ghost alone in a separate area of the
battlements.
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Setting Continued…
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Act Two:
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Scene 1: Polonius sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy
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Scene 2: Longest scene
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R and G come to Hamlet “concerned”
Actors arrive
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Act Three:
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Scene 1: Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia.
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Scene 2: The play. R & G summon Hamlet to Gertrude’s chamber.
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Scene 3: Claudius on his knees praying.
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Scene 4: Gertrude’s chamber. Polonious’ body is dragged out
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Setting Continued…
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Act Four:
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Scene 1: Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius. R & G go to find
Hamlet.
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Scene 2: Hamlet brought to where Claudius is.
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Scene 3: R & G are meant to guide Hamlet to England.
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Scene 4: Hamlet discusses plan of attack with Fortinbras as he is going to England.
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Scene 5: Ophelia is crazy, kills herself. Laertes returns from Paris.
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Scene 6: Letter from Hamlet about his adventures at sea.
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Scene 7: Claudius and Laertes pair up together to kill Hamlet.
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Setting Continued…
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Act Five:
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Scene 1: Gravedigger scene. Theme of death very heavy in this scene.
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Scene 2: The Duel. Everyone dies. Gertrude, Laertes, Hamlet, and
Claudius all gone.
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Major Characters
Hamlet is:
-round/dynamic
-the “melancholy Dane”
-untrusting and suspicious of all as a result of being betrayed by those he loves.
- a tragic hero (someone in a very high station in life who, due to a tragic flaw,
falls from that position)
-a smart alec & quick witted. Also thoughtful and intelligent (this is why he
vacillates for so long during the first acts).
-untrusting with women.
- at first sensitive and loving Hamlet
because of the betrayal he experiences.
“mad,” cruel, vengeful Hamlet
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Major Characters
King Claudius is:
-round/static
-Hamlet’s major antagonist.
-a shrewd, lustful, conniving king.
- a contrast to the other males in the play. Other important men in Hamlet are
concerned with ideas of justice, revenge, and morality; Claudius cares only about
maintaining his own power.
-a corrupt politician who uses skillful language and speech to manipulate others.
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Major Characters
Queen Gertrude is:
-flat/static
-much less well-developed than the other characters.
- dependent upon men and concerned with the social sphere.
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perhaps disloyal to her husband.
Polonius is:
-round/static
- overly pedantic and self-righteous
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controlling over his children.
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Loooooong winded. (Brevity is the soul of wit!)
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shallow, with a false sense of intelligence.
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a bit smarmy. He wants to be “in” with the royalty.
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Major Characters
Ophelia is:
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round/dynamic.
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A hopeless romantic.
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Determined to obey her father and her brother.
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Driven mad by love for her dear Hamlet.
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Innocent and trusting.
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Minor Characters
Laertes is:
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flat/static
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Passionate and quick to take action (see a foil to Hamlet?)
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Protective brother of Ophelia and devoted son of Polonius.
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In France for the majority of the play.
Horatio is:
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flat/static
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A clear foil to Hamlet; calm, rational and steadfast.
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An extremely loyal friend to Hamlet. He serves as his confidant and is loving and supportive from beginning to
end.
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Minor Characters
Fortinbras is:
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flat/static.
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The young Prince of Norway.
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attempting to avenge his father’s death at the hand of King Hamlet. (see another foil to
Hamlet? Action vs. inaction)
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Brave and confident.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are:
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Flat/static
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Super smarmy. They are all about being in the good graces of the king, even if it means lying
to their childhood friend.
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Not true friends to Hamlet.
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Minor Characters
You should know who these are, but they are much less well developed and play
less pivotal roles in the play.
The Ghost - Reincarnate of Hamlet’s recently deceased father. The ghost calls
upon Hamlet to avenge his murder at the hand of his brother, Claudius. Because
of contemporary ideas about ghosts, Hamlet speculates that the ghost might be a
devil sent to tempt him into murder. The question of what the ghost is or where
it comes from is never definitively resolved.
Francisco - A soldier and guardsman at Elsinore.
Osric - The foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with Laertes.
Marcellus and Bernardo - The officers who first see the ghost walking the
ramparts of Elsinore and who call Horatio to witness it. Marcellus is with Hamlet
when Hamlet first sees the ghost.
Reynaldo - Polonius’s servant, who is sent to France by Polonius to check up on,
and spy on, Laertes.
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Tone
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For the most part the tone or mood in Hamlet is dark and introspective.
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Some good words to identify this tone vary from dark, ironic, melancholy,
passionate, contemplative, desperate, violent, and depressive.
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It is through tone that you can feel Hamlets constant anxiety and uncertainty.
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Examples of Tone: Shakespeare sets the tone in the play's beginning line –
"Who's there!" That's what Bernardo says one dark night on the castle
battlements. Through diction the guards appear to be edgy, fearful, and
anxious.
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Hamlet Soliloquies: When Hamlet delivers all those introspective and tortured
soliloquies about mortality, betrayal, and the futility of life, he creates a
somber atmosphere that allows us to see the world from his point of view.
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Plot Overview
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Something is amiss in Denmark -- for two successive nights, the midnight guard has witnessed the
appearance of the ghost of Old Hamlet, the former King of Denmark who has recently died. The
guards bring Horatio, a learned scholar and friend of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, to witness this
apparition. Though skeptical at first, Horatio sees the ghost and decides to report its appearance to
Hamlet.
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Meanwhile, a new king of Denmark has been crowned: Claudius, Old Hamlet’s brother. Claudius has
taken Old Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, as his wife. We watch their marriage celebration and hear about a
threat from the Prince of Norway, Fortinbras, which Claudius manages to avoid by diplomacy. Hamlet
is in attendance at this wedding celebration; he is hardly in joyous spirits, however. He is disgusted by
his mother's decision to marry Claudius so soon after his father's demise. Horatio tells Hamlet of the
appearance of the ghost and Hamlet determines to visit the spirit himself.
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Meanwhile, the court adviser, Polonius, sends his son, Laertes, back to Paris, where he is living. Laertes
and Polonius both question Ophelia (sister and daughter, respectively) about her relationship with
Hamlet. Ophelia admits that Hamlet has been wooing her. They tell her to avoid Hamlet and reject his
amorous advances, emphasizing the importance of protecting her chastity. Ophelia agrees to cut off
contact.
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That night, Hamlet accompanies the watch. The ghost appears once more. Hamlet questions the ghost,
who beckons Hamlet away from the others. When they are alone, the ghost reveals that Claudius
murdered him in order to steal his crown and his wife. The ghost makes Hamlet promise to take
revenge on Claudius. Hamlet appears to concur excitedly. He has Horatio and the guards swear not to
reveal what they have seen.
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Plot Continued…
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Act Two finds us some indefinite time in the future. Hamlet has been behaving in a most erratic and
alarming way. Claudius summons two of Hamlet's school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, in
order to discover the meaning of this strange behavior. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's attempts to
discover the reason for Hamlet's madness are met with evasion and witticism. Meanwhile, Polonius
hatches a theory of his own: he thinks that Hamlet is insane due to Ophelia's rejection of his love. He
arranges to test his theory by setting Ophelia on Hamlet when they are apparently alone and then
observing the proceedings with Claudius.
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Hamlet's only consolation appears to be the coming of a troupe of players from England. Hamlet asks
the player's whether they could play a slightly modified version of a tragedy. We realize that Hamlet
plans to put on a play that depicts the death of his father, to see whether Claudius is really guilty, and
the ghost is really to be trusted.
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In Act Three, Ophelia approaches Hamlet when they are apparently alone; Claudius and Polonius hide
behind a tapestry and observe. Hamlet behaves extremely cruelly toward Ophelia. The king decides
that Hamlet is not mad for love of her but for some other hidden reason.
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Hamlet prepares to put on his play, which he calls "The Mouse Trap." After instructing the players in
their parts, Hamlet retires to the audience, where Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius have
gathered, along with many others. In the course of the play, both Gertrude and Claudius become
extremely upset, though for different reasons. Gertrude is flustered by Hamlet's veiled accusation that
she was inconstant and hypocritical for remarrying after Old Hamlet's death; Claudius is shaken
because he is indeed guilty of his brother's murder. Claudius decides that he must get rid of Hamlet by
sending him to England.
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Plot Continued…
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Following the play, Gertrude calls Hamlet to her room, intending to berate him for his horrible
insinuations. Hamlet turns the tables on her, accusing her of a most grotesque lust and claiming that
she has insulted her father and herself by stooping to marry Claudius. In the course of their interview,
Polonius hides behind a tapestry; at one point, he thinks that Hamlet is going to attack Gertrude and
cries for help. Hamlet stabs Polonius through the tapestry, thinking he has killed Claudius. When he
finds that he has merely killed a "rash, intruding fool," Hamlet returns to the business of "speaking
daggers" to his mother. Just as Gertrude appears convinced by Hamlet's excoriation, the ghost of Old
Hamlet reappears and tells Hamlet not to behave so cruelly to his mother, and to remember to carry
out revenge on Claudius. Gertrude perceives her son discoursing with nothing but air and is completely
convinced of his madness. Hamlet exits her room, dragging the body of Polonius behind him.
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After much questioning, Claudius convinces Hamlet to reveal the hiding place of Polonius' body. He
then makes arrangements for Hamlet to go to England immediately, accompanied by Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. Claudius writes a letter to the English court asking them to kill Hamlet immediately
upon his arrival and places the letter with his two cronies. On their way to the ship, Hamlet and his
entourage pass Fortinbras' Norwegian army en route to a Polish campaign.
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Plot Continued…
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Back at Elsinore (the Danish palace), Ophelia has gone mad following her father's death. She sings
childish and bawdy songs and speaks nonsensically. Laertes soon returns to Denmark with a mob in
tow, demanding an explanation of Polonius' death. Claudius gingerly calms the young man and
convinces him that Hamlet was the guilty party.
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Letters arrive attesting to a strange turn of fortunes on the sea. Hamlet's ship to England was attacked
by pirates, who captured Hamlet and arranged to return him to Denmark for a ransom. Hamlet sends
Claudius an aggravating letter announcing his imminent return. Claudius and Laertes decide that
Hamlet must be killed. They decide to arrange a duel between Laertes and Hamlet in which Laertes'
sword is secretly poisoned so as to guarantee Hamlet's immediate death. As backup, Claudius decides
to poison a cup of wine and offer it to Hamlet during the contest.
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Just as Act Four comes to a close, more tragic news arrives. Gertrude says that Ophelia has drowned
while playing in a willow tree by the river.
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Act Five begins at a graveyard. Two gravediggers joke about their morbid occupation. Hamlet and
Horatio arrive and converse with them. Soon, Ophelia's funeral begins. Because there are doubts about
whether Ophelia died accidentally or committed suicide, her funeral lacks many of the customary
religious rites. Laertes bombastically dramatizes his grief, prompting Hamlet to reveal himself and
declare his equal grief at the loss of his erstwhile beloved. After a short tussle, Hamlet and Laertes
part.
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Plot Continued…
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Later, Hamlet explains to Horatio that he discovered Claudius' plot to have him killed in
England and forged a new letter arranging for the deaths of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. While they are conversing, Osric, a ridiculous courtier, approaches and
proposes the duel between Laertes and Hamlet. Hamlet eventually accepts this challenge.
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The duel begins with Osric as referee. Hamlet wins the first two passes, prompting
Claudius to resort to the poisoned drink. Hamlet refuses the drink. In his stead, Gertrude
drinks a toast to her son from the poisoned cup. After a third pass also goes to Hamlet,
Laertes sneak-attacks the prince and wounds him. A scuffle ensues in which Hamlet ends
up with Laertes' sword. He injures Laertes. Just then Gertrude collapses. She declares that
she has been poisoned. Laertes, also dying, confesses the whole plot to Hamlet, who finally
attacks Claudius, stabbing him with the poisoned sword and then forcing the poisoned
drink down his throat. Hamlet too is dying. He asks Horatio to explain the carnage to all
onlookers and tell his story. Hamlet dies.
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Just then, Fortinbras arrives at the court, accompanying some English ambassadors who
bring word of the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. With all the immediate royalty
of Denmark dead, Fortinbras asserts his right to the crown. He arranges for Hamlet to
receive a soldier's burial.
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Themes & Motifs
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Madness – Hamlet's disposition sparked the debate: Does Hamlet truly go "mad" or is it
all an act? It is one of many unanswered questions raised by the play. Nevertheless, the
complexity and ambiguity of Hamlet's mental state and erratic behavior is compelling and
seems to speak to the play's overall atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt. Of course, there
is a practical advantage to appearing mad. In Shakespeare's source for the plot of Hamlet
feigns madness in order to avoid the suspicion of the fratricidal king as he plots his
revenge. His performance of madness, rather than aiding his revenge, almost distracts him
from it, as he spends the great majority of the play exhibiting very little interest in pursuing
the ghost's mission even after he has proven, via "The Mouse Trap," that Claudius is
indeed guilty as sin. Hamlet is not the only person who goes insane in the play. Ophelia's
madness serves as a clear foil to his own strange antics. She is truly, unambiguously,
innocently, simply mad. Whereas Hamlet's madness seems to increase his self-awareness,
Ophelia loses every vestige of composure and self-knowledge, just as the truly insane tend
to do.
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Incest – The motif of incest runs throughout the play and is frequently alluded to by
Hamlet and the ghost, most obviously in conversations about Gertrude and Claudius, the
former brother-in-law and sister-in-law who are now married. A subtle motif of
incestuous desire can be found in the relationship of Laertes and Ophelia, as Laertes
sometimes speaks to his sister in suggestively sexual terms and, at her funeral, leaps into
her grave to hold her in his arms. However, the strongest overtones of incestuous desire
arise in the relationship of Hamlet and Gertrude, in Hamlet’s fixation on Gertrude’s sex
life with Claudius and his preoccupation with her in general.
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Themes & Motifs Continued…
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Sons Seeking Revenge: Young Fortinbras seeks revenge against Elsinore because King Hamlet had
killed the father of Fortinbras, King Fortinbras. Hamlet seeks to avenge the murder of his father, King
Hamlet, by Claudius, the king’s brother and Hamlet’s uncle. Laertes seeks revenge against Hamlet for
killing his father, Polonius, the lord chamberlain.
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Empty Existence: Time and again, Hamlet bemoans the uselessness and emptiness of life. He would
kill himself if his conscience would let him. He considers taking his life, as his “To be, or not to be”
soliloquy” reveals. But as a Roman Catholic, he cannot go against the tenets of his religion, which
forbids suicide.
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Themes & Motifs Continued…
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Revenge- There are three major revenge situations.
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Hamlet avenging his father, Laertes avenging his father and Fortinbras avenging his
father.
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Fortinbras and Laertes are both avenging there fathers and have set mission to do so.
Fortinbras succeeds in taking over Denmark and Laertes plans to kill Hamlet for
Polonius' death.
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In the other hand Hamlet delays on his revenge causing many things to happen
before the main event. Such as the deaths of Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude.
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Hamlet delays his revenge to to establish Claudius' guilt in act 3, scene 2. Then in the
next scene hamlet stops himself because he doesn't want Claudius to go to heaven.
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Hamlet delaying of his plot to kill Claudius does not only destroy the people around
him but at the end himself as well.
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Themes & Motifs Continued…
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Corruption/Decay:
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In the opening act Marcellus states that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark"
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A disease has taken over Denmark as a result of Claudius' crime.
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What Marcellus says foreshadows the corruption of every person, Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, etc
resulting in there deaths
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The image decay is first used at
first soliloquy about suicide.
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Imagery of disease, and foreshadowing of what is to come when Francisco says "I am sick at
heart"
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Shakespeare tries to show the that the sun, just like Claudius, can spread corruption.
the end of the first act when Hamlet shows depression in his
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Themes & Motifs Continued…
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Hamlet realizes the sun as a corrupting force when he tells Polonius "the sun breed
maggots in a dead dog"
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Hamlet is also corrupted from a caring man who is already messed up for his fathers death
to a man who was forced into making a decision he cannot easily make.
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A disease with no cure haunted each character in Hamlet. Which was corruption and it all
started with the spread of the disease with Claudius killing King Hamlet.
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Important Quotes!
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“O that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew…” – Hamlet; Act one
Scene two. This marks the first time that readers are introduced to Hamlet’s ponderings on suicide.
This line, and the rest of the soliloquy this quote was taken from, states that suicide seems like a
pleasant alternative to life in a painful world.
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“Frailty, thy name is woman!” – Hamlet; Act one Scene two. This quote reveals Hamlet’s intense
disgust at his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius, his uncle.
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“The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the wedding tables” – Hamlet; Act one scene two.
This slightly hyperbolized line shows to readers how quickly Queen Gertrude remarried.
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“Something is rotten in that state of Denmark.” – Marcellus; Act one Scene four. After Hamlet follows
his father’s ghost, Marcellus makes this comment. The ghost is a visible symptom of the infection in
Denmark that Claudius's crime has created.
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“O, cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!” – Hamlet; Act one Scene five. After discovering
that his uncle was the reason for his beloved father’s death, Hamlet is not hungry for vengeance but
instead curses his existence and the fact that in order to avenge his father he must kill his uncle.
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Important Quotes Continued…
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“O, what a rogue and pleasant slave am I….What would he do had he the motive and cue for passion
that I have? He would drown the stage with tears…” – Hamlet; Act two Scene two. In this quote, taken
from his second soliloquy, readers are shown that Hamlet perceives himself as a coward for not having
taken any action against his father’s murderer. When in reality his hesitation comes from the fact of
his revulsion toward extracting that cold and calculated revenge.
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“They play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” – Hamlet; Act two Scene two.
Because ghosts in Shakespeare's time had the tendency to take on the form of someone’s beloved and
beguile them into committing a sinful crime, Hamlet needed further proof of his Uncle’s guilt. This
can also be seen as another form of hesitation.
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“To be or not be, that is the question…” – Hamlet; Act Three Scene one. This continues the question
of suicide asking whether to live or not to live. This quote and the remainder of the speech highlights
major themes of the play including, suicide and death, and thought and action.
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“Get thee to a nunnery.” – Hamlet; Act three Scene one. Speaking to Ophelia, Hamlet expresses pent
up anger towards the women in his life. His mother betrayed him by remarrying so soon after his
fathers death and Ophelia, who was forced to surrender all contact with him, betrayed his love.
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“Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.” – King Claudius; Act three Scene one. This quote
reveals that Claudius believes that Hamlet is slightly insane, but maintains his suspicions of Hamlet’s
knowledge of his crime.
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Important Quotes Continued…
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“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below, words without thoughts never to heaven
go.” – Claudius; Act three Scene two.
This reveals the theme of guilt throughout the
play. It shows that although Claudius attempts to pray for forgiveness, they are just empty
words. There is no real feeling of remorse behind his thoughts.
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“Alas poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio.” – Hamlet; Act five Scene one. This is Hamlet’s
meditation on life, and his views of death as an equalizer.
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“Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angles sing thee to thy rest.” – Horatio; Act five
Scene two. Hamlet’s faithful friend Horatio, marks the end of Hamlet’s life with these
sweet words. Horatio was charged with the task of retelling his story.