Hamlet

The story of Hamlet

The play is set in Elsinore. Hamlet, King of Denmark, is dead and has been succeeded, not by his son, Hamlet, but by his brother, Claudius. Soon after the funeral, Claudius marries his brother's widow, Queen Gertrude. The old king's ghost appears to an already distraught Hamlet to tell him that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost asks his son to revenge his death. Hamlet feigns madness.

Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, forbids his daughter, Ophelia, to see Hamlet, in part believing that that Hamlet's unbalanced state of mind is the result of repressed love. Spied on by Polonius and Claudius, Ophelia returns Hamlet's love letters and is violently rejected by him.

A company of travelling players arrives at the Danish Court. Hamlet asks them to perform a play, The Murder of Gonzago, hoping that its plot, which closely echoes what the Ghost has told him of his own murder, will force Claudius to betray his guilt. Hamlet's suspicions are confirmed. After the play, Hamlet is summoned to his mother's chamber, where he reviles her for her hasty marriage and accidentally kills Polonius, whom he supposed was Claudius, hiding behind a curtain. Claudius sends Hamlet to England, planning to have him murdered.

Laertes, Polonius' son, returns to Denmark from France demanding revenge for his father's death. Ophelia, maddened by grief, drowns herself. Hamlet returns from England and confronts Laertes and Claudius at Ophelia's funeral. Claudius plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet in a fencing match in which Laertes will have a poisoned sword. The plot miscarries and Laertes dies. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies. Hamlet, wounded by the poisoned sword, kills Claudius before he, too, dies.

Young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway enters and lays claim to the throne of Denmark.


			The play is set in Elsinore. Hamlet, King of Denmark, is dead and has been succeeded, not by his son, Hamlet, but by his brother, Claudius. Soon after the funeral, Claudius marries his brother's widow, Queen Gertrude. The old king's ghost appears to an already distraught Hamlet to tell him that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost asks his son to revenge his death. Hamlet feigns madness. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, forbids his daughter, Ophelia, to see Hamlet, in part believing that that Hamlet's unbalanced state of mind is the result of repressed love. Spied on by Polonius and Claudius, Ophelia returns Hamlet's love letters and is violently rejected by him. A company of travelling players arrives at the Danish Court. Hamlet asks them to perform a play, The Murder of Gonzago, hoping that its plot, which closely echoes what the Ghost has told him of his own murder, will force Claudius to betray his guilt. Hamlet's suspicions are confirmed. After the play, Hamlet is summoned to his mother's chamber, where he reviles her for her hasty marriage and accidentally kills Polonius, whom he supposed was Claudius, hiding behind a curtain. Claudius sends Hamlet to England, planning to have him murdered. Laertes, Polonius' son, returns to Denmark from France demanding revenge for his father's death. Ophelia, maddened by grief, drowns herself. Hamlet returns from England and confronts Laertes and Claudius at Ophelia's funeral. Claudius plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet in a fencing match in which Laertes will have a poisoned sword. The plot miscarries and Laertes dies. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies. Hamlet, wounded by the poisoned sword, kills Claudius before he, too, dies. Young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway enters and lays claim to the throne of Denmark.