Hamlet

Hamlet-Plot

Written in about 1600 AD, Hamlet is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's tragedies. The term tragedy means that most if not all, of the main characters are dead by the end of the play and Hamlet is certainly no exception. When the play begins Hamlet's father King Hamlet of Denmark has recently and suddenly died .His mother Gertrude quickly married Hamlet's uncle Claudius and so Claudius is now the new King of Denmark. Hamlet is quite troubled and suspicious about all this but there is not much he can do about it. Until one night the soldiers keeping watch on the battlements of Elsinore castle tell him they believe they've seen the ghost of the old dead King. Hamlet waits on the battlements, eventually the ghost does come to him and explains that he was indeed murdered by Claudius. Naturally Hamlet wants revenge for his father but decides to get more details first. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, Marcellus a soldier. Hamlet does this by pretending he has lost his mind and then watching the reactions of all concerned. Hamlet has been wooing Ophelia the daughter of a courtier named Polonius but suddenly spurns her. Claudius, Polonius and a few of Hamlet's friends all spy on his actions trying to find out what's wrong with him. But they can draw no conclusions. Then in a famous sequence a group of traveling actors arrives at Elsinore castle. Hamlet writes his own play for them to perform. A play he calls the murder of Gonzago and it tells the same story as that of his father's death. He intends again to watch Claudius his reactions as the murder plays out before his eyes. Prince Hamlet states, the plays the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. Polonius demands that his daughter o philia, returned the letters and gifts that Hamlet has given her. But when she does, Hamlet rages at her and she leaves his presence quite distraught. Right after this is the performance of the play Claudius is highly insulted and agitated at the sight of the player King being murdered, by having poison poured into his ears. He runs from the room and when Hamlet sees that he is convinced that Claudius is guilty. Claudius is shaken and repentant at thinking he has been found out. When Hamlet finds him praying he is about to kill him but decides against it for he does not want the man to go to heaven. Which he would do if he died while praying yet a short time later. Hamlet discovers someone spying on him from behind a curtain he runs the man through with his sword thinking it's Claudius but it is Polonius. Afilias heartbroken to the point of madness by both her father's death and Hamlet's rejection of her. Her brother Laertes returns from France in a rage at Hamlet and challenges him to a duel. Then it has learned that poor Ophelia has fallen into a river and drown. so now Laertes has lost two members of his family. Once Ophelia is buried the duel begins. Unknown to Hamlet Laertes has a poison-tipped Foyle and Claudius has a goblet of poisoned wine for Hamlet should he win. In the scuffling both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned sword but Gertrude picks up the poisoned wine to offer a toast to her son and drinks i.t she collapses and dies. Laertes confesses the plot to Hamlet and Hamlet kills Claudius. in moments both ladies in Hamlet die of their poisoned wounds and now the entire Danish royal family lies dead. the kingdom is taken over by Prince Fortinbras of Norway. The story of Hamlet is primarily one of revenge gone terribly wrong and of how the revenge itself can so easily get out of control and end up costing far more than just the initial loss. Hamlet was not looking for justice but for revenge and in the end it took his life in that of several innocent people around him and ended in the loss of the kingdom as well. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays and has been made into several motion pictures as well.