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Before the play begins: King Hamlet is murdered

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Before the play begins: King Hamlet is murdered

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Prior to the play's opening, King Hamlet of Denmark is killed by his brother Claudius, who pours poison in the king's ear while he sleeps in his garden. Claudius then quickly marries Queen Gertrude, King Hamlet's widow, and assumes the throne. Prince Hamlet, who was away studying at Wittenberg, returns home for his father's funeral only to find his mother has hastily remarried.

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The play opens with officers Bernardo and Marcellus, along with Horatio (Hamlet's friend), witnessing the ghost of the late King Hamlet walking the battlements of Elsinore Castle. They decide to tell Prince Hamlet about this supernatural occurrence, believing it to be an ominous sign.

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The court meeting after the passage of King Hamlet. King Claudius and his new wife Gertrude give a speech explaining their recent marriage. They talk about Norway demand to get their lands back.

Laertes, the son of royal adviser Polonius is granted a permission to go to France.

Then the attention is shifter towards Hamlet who is still in active mourning. Hamlet's feeling are met with dismissal "To give these mourning duties to your father.
But you must know your father lost a father,
That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound
In filial obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow"

Hamlet replies thay on the contrary, his uncle and mother aee "too much in the sun". But again is met with dismissal from his mother which turns their relationship even more sour.

Afterwards Horatio reports about the ghost to Hamlet

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Act 1, Scene 3-5: The Ghost's Revelation and Hamlet's Vow

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Act 1, Scene 3-5: The Ghost's Revelation and Hamlet's Vow

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Hamlet meets with his father's ghost, who reveals that Claudius murdered him and demands that Hamlet avenge his death. The ghost specifically asks Hamlet not to harm Gertrude, leaving her judgment to heaven. Hamlet swears Horatio and the guards to secrecy about the ghost and decides to put on an 'antic disposition' (pretend madness) to disguise his true intentions while he determines the truth of the ghost's claims.

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Below is the passage we (Ani, Mariam, Tsovinar and Zhenya) find important

Laertes: Think it no more

For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews and ⟨bulk,⟩ but, as this temple waxes,

The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will; but you must fear,
His greatness weighed, his will is not his own,
⟨For he himself is subject to his birth.⟩

It highlights Hamlet impotence to make decisions on his own since there is another power governing over him: his origin or birth. Due to being born in the royal family, he involuntarily became subject to not exercising his will for himself since one decision reflected through action will have far-reaching consequences not only for the royal family but also the entire state of Denmark. We might think that being a prince gives one the upper hand to be able to exert power. However, in this case Shakespeare communicates to us about the “invisible” power that is above Hamlet.

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Act 2: Hamlet's 'Madness' and the Arrival of the Players

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Act 2: Hamlet's 'Madness' and the Arrival of the Players

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Polonius, the king's counselor, believes Hamlet's strange behavior stems from his love for Ophelia (Polonius's daughter). Claudius and Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's former friends, whom they've summoned to spy on him. A traveling theater troupe arrives, and Hamlet conceives a plan to test Claudius's guilt by having them perform a play depicting a murder similar to King Hamlet's.

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In the opening of the 2nd scene of the 2nd act, Polonius instructs his servant Reynaldo to go to Paris and spy on Laertes. He orders Reynaldo to suggest some little vices and temptations to see if Laertes will agree. Then, Ophelia enters the room, telling her father about Hamlet’s odd behavior:

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.

Polonius, assuming that Hamlet’s madness is caused by love, decides to go and report this to the King and Queen.

“... I will go seek the King.
This is the very ecstasy of love...”

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Act 2: Scene 2 (Maria D, Astghik P, Tamara Kh, Anna N, Eliza B)

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Act 2: Scene 2 (Maria D, Astghik P, Tamara Kh, Anna N, Eliza B)

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This part includes the players who have arrived at Elsinore. By Hamlet’s command, they have to perform the fall of Troy and the brutal killing of King Priam by Pyrrhus. He wants to test his uncle’s guilt. In the play, the King is killed by poison: the King’s brother pours it in his ear as he sleeps. Afterwards, the brother marries his wife. This is exactly how Hamlet imagines his father’s death.

Lines of Guildenstern: “But we both obey, And here give up ourselves in the full bent To lay our service freely at your feet, To be commanded” The King Claudius and the Queen Gertrude want Hamlet’s childhood friends, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, to spy on him. They need to find out what is troubling Hmalet. Hence, those two would spend more time together with their son. Guildenstern’s speech demonstrates his eagerness to help. The author effectively shows how Hamlet is isolated, as even his own friends do not stay loyal and believe he has gone mad. Claudius uses their “friendship” as a tool of manipulation. Maybe that is when rewriting the letter, Hamlet did not regret causing their death.

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Act 3, Scene 1: The 'To be or not to be' Soliloquy

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Act 3, Scene 1: The 'To be or not to be' Soliloquy

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In one of literature's most famous speeches, Hamlet contemplates suicide and the nature of existence. This soliloquy reveals his deep philosophical questioning and existential crisis. Afterward, he harshly rejects Ophelia, telling her to 'get thee to a nunnery,' as Claudius and Polonius spy on them. Claudius, recognizing that Hamlet is not merely lovesick, begins to see him as a threat.

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Hamlet stages 'The Murder of Gonzago' (which he calls 'The Mousetrap') for the court. The play depicts a murder similar to King Hamlet's. When the player-king is poisoned in the ear, Claudius abruptly rises and leaves the room, confirming his guilt in Hamlet's eyes. This pivotal moment convinces Hamlet that the ghost told the truth.

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Hamlet finds Claudius alone, seemingly praying, but decides not to kill him yet, fearing that killing Claudius during prayer would send his soul to heaven. Later, while Hamlet confronts his mother in her chambers about her hasty marriage, he hears someone behind the arras (tapestry). Thinking it's Claudius spying, Hamlet stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius instead. The ghost appears again to remind Hamlet of his purpose, but only Hamlet can see it, leading Gertrude to believe her son is truly mad.

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Act 4: Ophelia's Madness and Hamlet's Exile

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Act 4: Ophelia's Madness and Hamlet's Exile

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After Polonius's death, Claudius sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, carrying sealed orders for the English king to execute Hamlet upon arrival. Meanwhile, Ophelia, devastated by her father's death and Hamlet's treatment, goes mad. Laertes, Polonius's son, returns from France seeking revenge for his father's death. Hamlet discovers Claudius's plot, alters the letters to order the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead, and returns to Denmark.

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Hamlet "Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We
fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves
for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is
but variable service—two dishes but to one table.
That’s the end."

King Claudius has Hamlet under the guards. He demands the whereabouts of Polonius's body. Hamlet tells the King that Polonius's body is at the supper being eaten by the King. Hamlet once again critiques the court and royal family and their inhumane ways of keeping the power. Hamlet eventually revels wheres the body. The King tells Hamlet to leave for England and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy for him. While along Claudius states his hope that Hamlet will killed.

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Act 4, Scene 7 - Act 5, Scene 1: Ophelia's Death and the Gravedigger Scene

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Act 4, Scene 7 - Act 5, Scene 1: Ophelia's Death and the Gravedigger Scene

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Gertrude reports that Ophelia has drowned, possibly by suicide. Hamlet returns to Denmark and encounters gravediggers preparing a grave. He reflects on mortality while holding the skull of Yorick, his father's former jester. When Ophelia's funeral procession arrives, Laertes jumps into her grave in grief. Hamlet, revealing himself, claims he loved Ophelia more than 'forty thousand brothers,' and he and Laertes briefly fight.

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HAMLET
I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
KING  O, he is mad, Laertes!
QUEEN  For love of God, forbear him.

This passage has caused a dilemma in my mind since Hamlet eventually gets to uncover his true feelings and love toward Ophelia while his previous conduct does not communicate the same thing. When Ophelia was alive, he teased her but when she passed away, he suddenly began to mourn for her. This phenomenon begs the question of not appreciating someone until they are gone.

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Act 5, Scene 2: The Fatal Duel and Final Tragedy

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Act 5, Scene 2: The Fatal Duel and Final Tragedy

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Claudius arranges a seemingly friendly fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes, but it's actually a plot to kill Hamlet. Laertes uses a poisoned sword tip, and Claudius prepares a poisoned cup as backup. During the duel, Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup and dies. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned blade, but in the scuffle, the swords are exchanged, and Hamlet wounds Laertes with the same poisoned weapon. Before dying, Laertes reveals Claudius's plot. Hamlet, now fatally poisoned, stabs Claudius and forces him to drink the remaining poison. As Hamlet dies, he names Fortinbras (the Norwegian prince) as Denmark's new ruler. Horatio survives to tell Hamlet's story, and Fortinbras orders a soldier's funeral to honor the fallen prince.

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Act 5 Scenes 1 and 2 (Mariam, Ani, Nare, Alina)

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Act 5 Scenes 1 and 2 (Mariam, Ani, Nare, Alina)

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2 Gravediggers joke about death while digging. Hamlet and Horatio join them, and Hamlet finds Yorick's skull. After they find out that Ophelia died, Hamlet and Laertes fight and agree to a duel. Claudius' scheme works, and Hamlet dies, but with Hamlet, he, his wife, and Laertes also die.

[Laertes

He is justly served;

It is a poison tempered by himself.

Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.

Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,

Nor thine on me!

[Laertes Dies.]

Hamlet

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 — oh, I could tell you ...

But let it be. Horatio, I am dead.]

In this passage Hamlet and Laert fogive each other, and die free of any negative feelings of human nature. This shift in Hamlet's mental state is very important. He now thinks sympathetically about others. His death is not heroic, but he did achieve his goal of avenging his father, and that is why his death is not shameful too. It is just tragic, because he had to go down, watchin his mother die, and knowning that his death is also inevitable.

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Hamlet about the actors: Narek Karapetyan 

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Hamlet about the actors: Narek Karapetyan 

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Now I am alone.

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!

For Hecuba!

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,

That he should weep for her? What would he do,

Had he the motive and the cue for passion

That I have? He would drown the stage with tears

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,

Make mad the guilty and appal the free,

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed

The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,

Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,

And can say nothing; no, not for a king,

Upon whose property and most dear life

A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?

Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?

Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?

Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,

As deep as to the lungs? who does me this?

Ha!

'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be

But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall

To make oppression bitter, or ere this

I should have fatted all the region kites

With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!

Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!

O, vengeance!

I found this interesting because of Hamlet reflecting on something that most people would easily overlook. He took something usual like acting and turned it into a deep reflection about himself. I also like how clearly one of his main traits is depicted here, that being the desire of honesty and authenticity. He's shocked at how real an actor makes his performance, despite the actor not being related to his character. This is so painful for him because he's surrounded by liars the entire play.