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In Act 1, scene 6, two guards spot the ghost of King Hamlet. Later, King Claudius and his wife Gertrude ask Prince Hamlet to stay in Denmark a little longer. When Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost of his father, they follow it to hear what the ghost has to say. The ghost tells Prince Hamlet, “Now, Hamlet, hear. Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.” (Act 1, scene 6, 35-40). Once the ghost reveals that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet’s journey to get revenge for his father begins. This is the inciting incident because it kicks starts the revenge plan.

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In sum, Act 2 involves Laertes being sent away to school, and his father, Polonius, sending him money. Suddenly, Ophelia arrives to tell Polonius how strange Hamlet was acting with her. Her father thinks Hamlet is acting strangely because he’s madly in love with her. Nevertheless, Claudius and Gertrude try to determine why Hamlet is acting oddly by conjuring Hamlet’s childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Gertrude said, "Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz. And I beseech you instantly to visit My too much changèd son. Go, some of you, And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is." (Act 2, scene 2, 35). Later, actors arrive and Hamlet decides to create a play to see if Claudius is guilty of murdering his father. Scene 2 is where the rising action starts due to the espionage and betrayal of characters.

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Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet while he talks about life and death and argues with Ophelia. They decide he is a danger and plan to ship him to England. During the Mousetrap play, Claudius unknowingly reveals that he murdered King Hamlet and goes to pray. Hamlet has an opening to kill Claudius but elects not to send him to Heaven. Polonius spies on Gertrude and Hamlet’s conversation. Hamlet hears Polonius and stabs him through the curtain, thinking it is Claudius., "How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!" (Act 3, scene 4, 20-25). The ghost reminds Hamlet he must kill Claudius and stay on track, "Do not forget. This visitation
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose." (Act 3, scene 4, 110-115). This is the rising action because this is the first murder that has occurred as a result of Hamlet's revenge plan. Hamlet forgets his morals and takes on violent thoughts and actions. This is where the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius dangerously intensifies.

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Claudius finds out about the death of Polonius and decides to send Hamlet to England to die, "And, England, if my love thou hold’st at aught—As my great power thereof may give thee sense, Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red
After the Danish sword and thy free awe". (Act 4, scene 3, 60). Ophelia goes mad because of her father's death and her brother, Laertes, returns from France seeking revenge. Hamlet comes back to Denmark after his ship was attacked by pirates. Claudius and Laertes plan to kill Hamlet with a poison dagger and poisonous wine. This act is falling action because it deals with the consequences of Polonius’s death, like Ophelia’s madness, Hamlet being sent away, Laertes returning, etc.

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To conclude the play, Act 5 involves Hamlet and Laertes fighting in Ophelia’s grave. They decided to duel. Laertes’s poisonous sword gets swapped with Hamlets and the 2 of them are poisoned by it. Gertrude drinks the poisonous wine intended for Hamlet. Once Hamlet realizes what happened to his mother, he stabs Claudius with the poisonous sword and makes him drink the wine. Before dying, Hamlet asks Horatio to tell the story of what happened today. “Heaven make thee free of it. I follow thee.—I am dead, Horatio.—Wretched queen, adieu!—You that look pale and tremble at this chance, That are but mutes or audience to this act, Had I but time (as this fell sergeant, Death, Is strict in his arrest), O, I could tell you— But let it be.—Horatio, I am dead. Thou livest. Report me and my cause aright To the unsatisfied.” (Act 5, scene 2, 30-35). If Hamlet would have easily killed Claudius while he was praying, then the lives of every other royal-including himself-could have been avoided. Hamlet is the reason everyone died, it was his inaction and madness that killed his family. The last act is the end because Claudius's plan is revealed (all along he has been trying to kill Hamlet) and all of the characters die. Yet, after the sacrifice and the many deaths, the main problem has not been solved. This was all about revenge, but what good is revenge if you cannot live to experience the result. Hamlet wanted to avenge his father, and he did so, but not in the way he wanted, not in the way it would truly count towards anything good.

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1. “O my offence is rank it smells to heaven” (Act 3, Scene 3, 40) After the Mousetrap play, Claudius confesses to all his sins and begs forgiveness from Heaven. What he doesn’t know is that Hamlet is nearby, contemplating whether or not he should kill him. Although Claudius is praying for forgiveness, a lot of what he says is contradicting his actions. Even though he asks forgiveness for the murder of his brother, he still took the crown and Gertrude and the title of King with a smile. If he truly felt this awful about what he had done, then why did he enjoy the consequences so much. Does that not make him more guilty of the crime? On the other hand, he is vulnerable (easy target for Hamlet to kill) and emotional in this scene. He shows a side of himself that the audience hasn’t seen before, a side that is more human than the rest of him.

2. “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ourselves.” (Act 1, scene 2, 5). King Claudius explains to Gertrude, Polonius, Laertes, Hamlet, and Ophelia that although the death of his brother is tragic, the kingdom must move on. In saying so, he shows how selfish and arrogant he is. His brother just died (by his hand) and Claudius inherited the benefits of a wife and a kingdom. He is heartless and insensitive. Family must mourn each other's death, yet he killed his brother and doesn’t even show any respect towards his funeral (since he married Gertrude right away).

3. “'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, To give these mourning duties to your father. [...] To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever In obstinate condolement is a course Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief.” (Act 1, scene 2, 90). King Claudius tells his son/nephew that his insistence on mourning his father is pointless. Gertrude is also trying to convince Hamlet to stop being moody. A good father would understand what his son was going through and try to help him to transition in a new life. But, seeing as Claudius is not Hamlet’s true father and is also a bad father, he forces him to move forward and disregards his feelings.

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1. In Act 1, the ghost of King Hamlet appears by the castle. Hamlet follows him and was told about the murder of his father, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. [...] Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.” (Act 1, scene 5, 25). This is where the course of revenge was set into action. Once Hamlet learned that his incestual uncle, Claudius, was the cause of King Hamlet's murder, all he could think of was avenging his deceased father. This is where Hamlet went from moody to mad. Already he is hungry for revenge, this hunger will build to the point where he goes crazy and loses control of himself, his words, and his actions.
2. After discovering he must smite Claudius, Hamlet acts rather odd with Ophelia. She explains, "My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled, Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle; Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosèd out of hell To speak of horrors—he comes before me. [...] He took me by the wrist and held me hard. Then goes he to the length of all his arm, And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face As he would draw it. Long stayed he so.” (Act 2, scene 1, 80-90). In his unusually messy and dirty wardrobe and his abnormal behavior, Ophelia tells her father Polonius how strange Hamlet has acted. This is where the rest of the royal family start to get the idea that Hamlet may be crazy (or that he is just crazy in love with Ophelia).
3. Watching the players act with such emotion makes Hamlet contemplate his inaction and cowardliness for not avenging his father “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wann'd, Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!” (Act 2, scene 2, 510-520). Hamlet starts feeling ashamed that it has taken him so long to act on his revenge. If a simple actor can conjure tears and deep emotion in his performance, then shouldn’t Hamlet have been able to act for the justice his father deserved. The comparison of a petite play as opposed to a life goal strikes Hamlet with embarrassment.

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The most significant theme in Hamlet is one of madness. A quote from each act can summarize the madness portrayed by Hamlet.

Act 1 After talking with the ghost of King Hamlet, Hamlet explains to Horatio and Marcellus, “But come, Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on), That you, at such times seeing me,” (Act 1, scene 5, 170). This establishes that already Hamlet is understanding that he is going a little mad. Since the very beginning, Hamlet was mad with revenge and the course of action he must take. In the whole play, Hamlet was mad because of what the ghost said. Madness is the most important theme because it is what shaped Hamlet's character.

Act 2 Guildenstern has been sent to accumulate any information from Hamlet. In their conversation, Hamlet said, “You are a fishmonger.” (Act 2, scene 2, 165-170), and, “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (Act 2, scene 2, 350). The term fishmonger was used to describe a pimp (which is an abnormal word in the royal family). This further shows how Hamlet is using words to seem crazy. The second quote is used to emphasize how even Hamlet is aware of his craziness. Although maybe his idea of what is crazy or not is different from others, he is only half aware of everything he says or does.

Act 3  Hamlet's monologue portrays a lot of the thoughts he is contemplating. Hamlet says, “To die, to sleep—No more—and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come” (Act 3, scene 1, 60-65). Later he says, “Ecstasy? My pulse as yours doth temperately keep time And makes as healthful music. It is not madness That I have uttered. Bring me to the test, And I the matter will reword, which madness” (Act 3, scene 4, 145). Not many people-especially not in the 1600's-thought of the meaning of life and death as Hamlet does. The quote elaborates on how much madness can seep into a persons brain and change their perspective on life and people.

Act 4 Hamlet explains to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that "The body is with the King, but the King is not with the
body." (Act 4, scene 2, 23-24). Immediately they think he is mad. Hamlet is referring to the difference between the principle idea of the King and the actual body of the King. This further establishes Hamlet's use of words and odd phrases to frame his madness.

Act 5 The gravedigger explains to Hamlet why he was sent to England. He said, “Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there, or, if he do not, it’s no great matter there.” (Act 5, scene 1, 130). At Ophelia's funeral, Hamlet expresses his love to her. Gertrude exclaims, "This is mere madness. And thus a while the fit will work on him. Anon, as patient as the female dove When that her golden couplets are disclosed, His silence will sit drooping.” (Act 5, scene 1, 265). Hamlet was explaining how much he would do for Ophelia and how greatly he loves and mourns her. Although Gertrude talks about him like he is bipolar. She said he is crazy now and will be normal in a minute.

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4. In the to be or not to be speech, Hamlet contemplates the cowardliness of living and the peace of death, “To be, or not to be? That is the question—Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them?” (Act 3, scene 1, 55-90). Hamlet embraced his madness. He thinks of all the troubles and pain people suffer through in life and calls them cowards for not ending it all and enjoying the sleep that is death.  Since he is comparing the pros and cons of living and dying, Hamlet could be experiencing thoughts of suicide. Madness can drive people over the edge, maybe he thinks that death will be easier than all he is doing.
5. While Claudius is praying for Heaven’s forgiveness, Hamlet debates whether or not he should kill him. Hamlet thinks, “Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned.” (Act 3, scene 3, 75). After everything Hamlet's been through-losing his mind and driving himself crazy with revenge-here he is, hesitating to accomplish the most important goal in his life. He’s waited so long for this moment yet Hamlet still manages to find excuses to postpone the killing. I think this just shows how much of an overthinker he is. If he would have had a clear mind, he would see the opportunity, and take it.
6. Looking at the gravediggers handle the bones of the dead with a casual expression, Hamlet is suddenly struck with a thought, "It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?” (Act 5, scene 1, 60-70). Past leaders like Julius Caesar’s and Alexander the Great’s bones would have been dealt with in the same manner. Hamlet realizes that it doesn’t matter what they did or what they achieved. In the end, they will turn to dust and become nothing. This is when Hamlet comes to terms with his soon approaching death.

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4. “Oh, ’tis too true! How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience! The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plastering art, Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it Than is my deed to my most painted word. O heavy burden!” (Act 3, scene 1, 55) “We are oft to blame in this, 'Tis too much proved, that with devotion’s visage And pious action we do sugar o'er The devil himself.” (Act 3, scene 1, 45-50) Right before the to be or not to be speech, Claudius and Polonius were planning to hide in a room and use Ophelia as bait to find out more about Hamlet's madness. In his inner thoughts, the audience learns that Claudius feels guilty due to Polonius saying people pray to God to hide their sins. Claudius knows the only reason he prays to God is for forgiveness. He knows that he has sinned, more than the average person. He feels guilty because he realizes he masks his sins with the holy words of God.
5. “Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety—Which we do tender as we dearly grieve For that which thou hast done—must send thee hence With fiery quickness. Therefore prepare thyself.” (Act 4, scene 3, line 40) “And, England, if my love thou hold’st at aught—As my great power thereof may give thee sense, Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red After the Danish sword and thy free awe” (Act 4, scene 3, 60). After accidentally killing Polonius, Claudius tells Hamlet he is sending him off to England because he is sick in the head and must be protected. But when Hamlet leaves to the ship, Claudius writes to the King  of England that Hamlet is to be killed immediately. From this, we learn that Claudius is a liar. He just told Hamlet that he loved and cared for him and that this trip to England is for his good. Two seconds later he reveals that he wants his son to be assassinated. No father, nay, no person you even care for in any way should be this cold to you in times of desperation and grief. Claudius is heartless and a cold-blooded murderer.