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Hamlet, one of Williams Shakespeare’s famous tragedies spans across five different acts. The play itself was written between 1599 to 1601 taking place in and around the royal palace in Elsinore, a city in Denmark. The main protagonist Hamlet also known as the Prince of Denmark is illustrated mourning the death of his father, King Hamlet, the former deceased King who had passed away two months prior. From the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s mother Queen Gertrude takes marriage in hand with Hamlet’s Uncle, Claudius, because of these series of events, Claudius is now crowned as King. Though Hamlet, feeling disgusted from the incestral marriage and therefore tries to take matters into his own hands. Although before we are able to begin any further, the guards on the nightly watch witness the appearance of a ghost, one who resembles the former King Hamlet. Shortly after, they inform Hamlet’s good friend, Horatio, and he manages to convince Hamlet to wait for the appearance of this weird sighting. From the sighting of the ghost, Hamlet is then beckoned to follow and is revealed that his Uncle, Claudius is the real perpetrator and murder of King Hamlet. The ghost declares towards his son Hamlet to take vengeance for the murder by killing King Claudius, Hamlet vows to honour his late father’s wishes. Although, King Claudius soon figures out what Hamlet is plotting and begins to feel a sense of guilt, fright, and uneasiness. King Claudius, fearing for his life also devises a plan along with Laertes to murder Hamlet. In the end, the play Hamlet concludes with the scene of a duel between Laertes and Hamlet, in which the King, Queen, Hamlet’s opponent, and himself are all killed in the process. Throughout the play, the storyline faces various themes, such as indecisiveness, justice, revenge, madness, and doubt, though the play is considered a revenge plot, Hamlet introduces aspects including about the impossibility of certainty, the mystery of death, love, sanity, and betrayal.

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Hamlet - Act 2_ Rising Action - Google Docs

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In Act II, we are promptly presented in detail with another character known as Polonius. He is one of the lead characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius is regarded as a chief counselor of the play’s antagonist, King Claudius, as well as the father of Laertes and Ophelia. In the play, he plays a role where he is a sincere and caring father, though, in the book Hamlet, he is referred to as an old tedious fool. Immediately, Polonius sends a spy known as Reynaldo to keep an eye on Laertes who is currently studying abroad in France; here we observe he is reluctant to send his son abroad and constantly worries about Laertes to the point he sends a spy in his heed. Polonius is later confronted with the event of Ophelia entering the scene all deranged and chaotic. She specifies towards Polonius that Hamlet suddenly barged into her room all tousled and in a distraught state, clutching onto her wrists while in such a state of madness. On account of this Polonius proposes that Ophelia should remove all contact with Hamlet, from this he is sure that Hamlet is frantically infatuated with his daughter and that it was Ophelia's rejection that put him in this state of insanity. Polonius then decides it is best to schedule a meeting with King Claudius where they both later plan and concoct an arrangement to keep an eye on Hamlet while he interacts with Ophelia to see whether it is the truth he is indeed in a state where infatuation has caused him to be in this disorganized state. This act of Polonius demonstrates how he meddles with other characters in the play and the act of meddling is what eventually costs his life.

In Act II, we are introduced with Hamlet's school companions Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Gertrude believes it's a smart idea to send them to make sense of the reason for Hamlet's madness. When Hamlet initially meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he is dubious of their actual intentions in chatting with him, because of this he dodges their inquiries. Before long, a theater troupe shows up, and Hamlet quickly demands that the next night they shall perform out a specific play called, The Murder of Gonzago. Hamlet then requests to include a written passage in the play. By including this particular part Hamlet has written, will then therefore consequently show King Claudius genuine guilt from murdering the previous deceased King.

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In this Act, we are thrown into the scene where Polonius and Claudius are following through the plan to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as she returns the gifts he supposedly gave her. Before long Polonius and Claudius become confounded when Hamlet proclaims he doesn't cherish Ophelia. Hamlet rejects her while at the same time he throws insults, expressing her to go to a nunnery. From this, Claudius infers that the reason for Hamlet's madness isn't his fascination for Ophelia and concludes that he ought to send Hamlet away to England, but however this is also the same time where he feels a sense of threat and danger from Hamlet. Polonius manages to convince that Hamlet is actually in love with Ophelia and turns to Gertrude to see whether she can figure out if this is the truth.

Now it is time for the performance of The Murder of Gonzago, King Claudius pauses the play just after the scene in which poison is being poured into the King’s ear. From Claudius' frantic state, Hamlet is for certain and tells Horatio that Claudius did indeed murder his father. In the next scene, we see Claudius attempting to pray in the church, however, his guilty conscience prevents him from doing so and we can see he is unable to get rid of his guilt. As King Claudius is begging for forgiveness, Hamlet enters the scene with a sword and prepares himself to murder Claudius nevertheless, he has a moment of indecisiveness and realizes that if he kills Claudius whilst he is praying he might go to heaven and that is a thing Hamlet does not want.

In the end, Gertrude and Hamlet end up having a bitter fight in her bedchamber. However, when Hamlet hears a noise behind the tapestry he thinks it is possibly King Claudius and proceeds to stab the intruder. Although, it is Polonius who is the one behind the tapestry and this haste decision of Hamlet results in his death. After the death of Polonius, the ghost of King Hamlet appears again, reproaching Hamlet for his cruel words said against his mom, Gertrude. Even though she can't see the apparition, she is certain and now is persuaded that Hamlet is sure to be crazy.

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Hamlet - Act 1_ Inciting Action - Google Docs

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Hamlet - Act 4_ Falling Action - Google Docs

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During Ophelia's funeral, the two gravediggers discuss whether her death was a suicide or a natural one. They argue whether Ophelia deserves to be buried in a churchyard as well as follow-through traditional customs because her death looks like suicide. Based on religion, it is stated that suicides may not receive the traditional custom/Christian burial. As Hamlet and Horatio enter the scene, the gravedigger introduces him to a skull, Yorick. Here the skull serves as a representation as a relic that indicates what happens afterlife. It is an important part of the play where we see Hamlet gazing at “death” symbolically and contemplates its meaning. As Ophelia is being laid into the ground, Laertes jumps into his sister’s grave and gives her a final parting. It is soon after that Hamlet reveals himself and fights Laertes, expressing he cherished Ophelia beyond what forty thousand brothers could. After Hamlet’s appearances, Claudius assists Laertes to prepare the arrangement to finally kill Hamlet. It is announced that Hamlet had read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s letters on his way to England, he rewrote another letter in replacement of his former friends to be executed when they arrived and swapped the messages before escaping. During Hamlet’s duel with Laertes, both parties are injured, especially Hamlet as Laertes wounds him with a poison blade part of his concocted plan with Claudius. This is the final act where Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned drink that was meant for Hamlet. Claudius's initial plan of poisoning Hamlet falls apart and Gertrude collapses and meets her end. As the duel between Laertes and Hamlet further progresses, Hamlet accidentally gets into the possession of the poisoned sword and uses it to his advantage to also poison Laertes. As Laertes suffers a slow death, he confesses his plan that was concocted with Claudius and asks for his forgiveness. Hamlet then seeks his revenge on Claudius and ends up killing him with the poisoned drink. As Fortinbras enters the palace, he is faced with a dead royal family where he then declares himself as the next King of Denmark while Horatio lives on to share his story of Hamlet.

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In Act IV, Hamlet jokes with Claudius about Polonius’ death, though Claudius takes his joke as a negative annotation. While fearing for his own life, he orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England. Claudius has prepared letters indicating the English King to execute Hamlet when he arrives. Later on, Gertrude is informed about Ophelia's madness and the report of Polonius' death. Because of the state Ophelia is in, Laertes is quite upset and listens to Claudius’s explanation, as he informs that Hamlet is the one behind the murder of Polonius. This, therefore, convinces Laertes to join him against the final fight in Act V. Before long Hamlet is sent away to England a messenger arrives and delivers the news of Hamlet. They are informed that Hamlet has snuck onto a pirate ship that attacked them on their way to England, the pirates peacefully agreed to return Hamlet to Denmark. Quickly, King Claudius and Laertes concoct a plot on how to kill Hamlet without upsetting Queen Gertrude. The two men consent to orchestrate a duel. Laertes acquires a poisonous sword, and Claudius intends to give Hamlet a poisoned goblet. Gertrude then enters with news that Ophelia has drowned, thus reigniting Laertes' resentment/anger.

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The beginning of Shakespeare’s Hamlet begins with the introduction of the characters, where we are familiarized with Prince Hamlet, the son of the deceased King, Hamlet. We also come to learn that the setting of the play takes place in and around the royal palace in Elsinore, a city in Denmark. Further characters we are immediately made known are Claudius, the current King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle, and the play’s antagonist. Claudius is best known for being the villain of the play, he is very calculating, greedy, and ambitious which is driven through his lust for power and sexual desire. He is also a character that demonstrates the human feelings of guilt, as he was the real murderer behind the former King Hamlet. Gertrude also comes into the picture as we furthermore learn she is the Queen of Denmark, as King Claudius, both possess similar qualities where they lust for power and are greedy but also shallow characters who seek for status more urgently than sticking to moral qualities and the truth. Other important characters of the play include Hamlet’s close friend, who studied with the Prince at a university in Wittenberg. Horatio is introduced as a friend who is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play; this is evident in Act 5 where Horatio remains alive to tell the real truth of Hamlet’s story.

Act I begins with the recent dreadful event of Hamlet’s recently deceased father. The previous nights, the guards who are Marcellus and Barnado are stricken with the sight of a silent ghost resembling Hamlet’s deceased father. From these series of events, the two guards ask Horatio to stay watch on the third night, this results in him finally getting a glimpse of the ghost of the deceased, King Hamlet. Horatio manages to convince Hamlet to watch the next night, where he confronts his father’s ghost. The ghost then reveals that Claudius, the current King, is the one who murdered him and calls upon Hamlet, requesting to avenge him. Hamlet guesses that the ghost may be a message sent from the devil to delude him and entice him into murder. Act I of Shakespeare’s Hamlet sets the mood and stage with the characters, setting, plot, and tone throughout this five-act catastrophe. Hamlet begins with a grim atmosphere very quickly through the introduction of King Hamlet’s death, as well as the replacement of a new King, known as King Claudius. We learn that the rightful throne is stolen from Hamlet by his Uncle, and he has chosen to wed Hamlet’s mother, although this is soon expressed by Hamlet of his disgust and hatred towards King Claudius. The grim tone and harsh setting in contrast with the festivals and celebrations within the castle foretell of a tragedy that is to come upon the play.

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Character Analysis - King Claudius - Google Docs

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Character Analysis - Prince Hamlet - Google Docs

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Ophelia wept at the corner! Why did Hamlet drag her like crazy

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Hamlet (1996) Fencing Scene - Play of the Game