Late at night, guards on the battlements of Denmark's Elsinore castle are met by Horatio, Prince Hamlet's friend. The guards describe a ghost they have seen that resembles Hamlet's father, the recently-deceased king. Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, married Hamlet's recently-widowed mother, becoming the new King of Denmark. Hamlet continues to mourn for his father's death and laments his mother's lack of loyalty. 

At that moment, the Ghost reappears, and the guards and Horatio decide to tell Hamlet. When Hamlet hears of the Ghost from Horatio, he wants to see it for himself. 

 

The Ghost appears to Hamlet, claiming indeed to be the ghost of his father. He tells Hamlet about how Claudius, the current King and Hamlet's uncle, murdered him, and Hamlet swears vengeance for his father. Hamlet decides to feign madness while he tests the truth of the Ghost's allegations.

After the dialogue between Hamlet and his father’s ghost, Hamlet says his famous soliloquy “To be or not to be”. 

 

Elsewhere, Laertes warns his sister, Ophelia,to be away from Hamlet and thinking too much of his attentions towards her. 

Act II

Ophelia follows her brother’s advice and rejects Hamlet. She tells her father that she has seen Hamlet behaving very strangely as if he has lost his mind. Claudius and Polonius think that Hamlet has gone  crazy because of his unrequited love for Ophelia. Claudius summons Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, old friends of Hamlet to find out what's got into him. 

Their arrival coincides with a group of travelling actors that Hamlet seems to know well. Hamlet writes a play which includes scenes that mimic the murder of  Hamlet's father: The murder of Gonzago.

Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet as he talks to Ophelia. He treats her badly and appears to be raving, further convincing Polonius that his madness has been caused by Ophelia’s rejection of him. Claudius however believes that his stepson’s behaviour is caused by sadness rather than insanity and decides to send him to England.

Act III

At the performance, Hamlet watches Claudius closely to see how he reacts. The play provokes Claudius, and he interrupts the action by storming out. He immediately resolves to send Hamlet away. Hamlet is summoned by his distressed mother, Gertrude, and on the way, he happens upon Claudius kneeling and attempting to pray. Hamlet reasons that to kill the King now would only send his soul to heaven rather than hell. Hamlet decides to spare his life for the time being. 

Polonius hides in Gertrude's room to protect her from her unpredicatable son. When Hamlet arrives to scold his mother, her hears Polonius moving behind a tapestry. He stabs the tapestry and kills Polonius.

Act IV

Hamlet is sent to England, supposedly as an ambassador, during his journey, Hamlet discovers Claudius has a plan to have him killed once he arrives.

Ophelia is fallen in madness, because of her secret love for Hamlet. Horatio brings Ophelia to see the queen because he is worried about her mental state.

Laertes, who has returned to Elsinore after hearing of his father’s death, finds her sister has gone mad. Claudius tells him that Hamlet is responsible and he asks Laertes to help him murder Hamlet. They decide that Laertes will challenge Hamlet to a duel and to ensure that Hamlet dies they have two back-up plans: they will poison the tip of Laertes’s sword and Claudius will prepare a poisoned chalice of wine.

Ophelia drowns while she were hanging flowers on a branch. The branch broke and she fell into water.

Act V

A duel is arranged between Hamlet and Laertes. During the match, Claudius conspires with Laertes to kill Hamlet. The plans go wrong when Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup and dies. Then both Laertes and Hamlet are wounded by the poisoned blade, and Laertes dies. 

Hamlet, in his death throes, kills Claudius. Hamlet dies, leaving only his friend Horatio to explain the truth to the new king, Fortinbras, as he returns in victory from the Polish wars.