ipl-logo

Hamlet: A Brief Summary

712 Words3 Pages

Prince Hamlet is in shock to know his mother Gertrude has already remarried, prior to having been summoned back to Denmark from Germany to attend his father’s funeral. The queen had been married to Claudius, the late king’s brother, and the usurper to the throne.

A ghost walks in the walls of Elsinore Castle in Denmark on a dark winter night. It was first discovered by a pair of watchmen, then by Horatio, a scholar. The ghost resembles the late King Hamlet. Horatio and the watchmen brought Prince Hamlet to see the ghost. The ghost declared that he was murdered by Claudius, and ordered the prince to seek revenge on the man who killed him to steal the throne and married his wife, and then disappeared.

Prince Hamlet was devoted to avenge …show more content…

He had the actors to perform a murder scene that he had been told by the ghost as to how his uncle killed his father. When the moment of murder arrives, Claudius got out of the room, implying that he is really guilty, as Hamlet and Horatio have agreed on. Hamlet went to kill his uncle but then didn’t. Claudius, now fearing for his own safety, ordered to send Hamlet to England …show more content…

Hamlet scores the first hit, but didn’t drink from the king’s proposed goblet. Instead, the queen takes a drink from it and instantly died due to the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, but Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. Laertes got wounded by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink the rest of the poisoned wine.
Before his death, Hamlet proclaims to pass the throne to Prince Fortinbras of Norway. He also requested Horatio to tell accurately the events that have happened at Elsinore. With his last breath, he releases himself from the prison of his words: "The rest is silence." Fortinbras instructs that Hamlet be carried away in a manner fit for a slain

Show More
Related

  • What Are The Similarities Between Hamlet And Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1552 Words  | 7 Pages

    The play begins by having Hamlet's uncle marry Hamlet's recently-widowed mother in order to become the new King of Denmark. Hamlet, while mourning the death of this father, is disappointed at his mothers lack of loyalty at the same time. The guards of Denmark's Elsinore castle see a ghost that resembles Hamlet's deceased father and decide to tell Hamlet. In act 1 scene 5 the ghost appears to Hamlet, stating that he is the ghost of his father, and that Hamlet's uncle murdered him. This is a huge turning point in the play as Hamlet swears vengeance for his father.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Insanity In Hamlet

    1154 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the play Hamlet continues to act insane and even dies with the act continuing. Even after Hamlet gathers all the evidence that proves Claudius is the murder, Hamlet continues to behave in a strange way. When he mistakenly murders Polonius he does not react as a sane person would. This act enrages Laertes, who then wants to avenge his father’s death. Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Laertes, with the help of Claudius conspires to kill Hamlet.

    Read More

  • What Does Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Mean

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    He tells them that Hamlet will be given the opportunity to think about his crimes and that Hamlet will not be punished. Claudius tells them that Hamlet is trying to protect his secret of killing the old king. When Hamlet is first brought before Claudius, he doesn't tell the Claudius where the body is. Hamlet waits for his own opportunity to inform Claudius of Polonius' whereabouts. Claudius then sends someone to retrieve the body.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Figurative Language Essay

    785 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.” 2) The soliloquies that Hamlet provides over the sequence of the entire play allows us to distinguish what Hamlet was thinking about and display how he was losing his sanity.

    Read More

  • Hamlet: The Aristotelian Tragic Hero

    1358 Words  | 6 Pages

    Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, centers around Hamlet’s contemplation of killing his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death. His decisions and values determine his fate. However, Hamlet’s intended action to avenge his father’s death is continuously postponed due to his moral dilemma. However, this moral dilemma causes him to make the decisions he does, and therefore, demonstrates the theme of his uncertainty versus his faith. Not only does faith stop him from taking alternative routes to achieve his goal, but his uncertainty causes him to either delay his revenge or make the wrong decisions.

    Read More

  • Narcissistic Personality Disorder In Hamlet By Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1583 Words  | 7 Pages

    From the very beginning of the drama, a ghost walks the parapet of Elsinore Castle in Denmark and asks for Hamlet for revenge. Horatio, a friend of Hamlet, saw a ghost who resembled the dead king of Denmark who wanted to take revenge of his unlawful death. His brother Claudius not only inherited the throne illegally by killing his own blood brutally and got married the widow queen, Gertrude to save the throne. Claudius was a power monger and he got that by hook or crook.

    Read More

  • How The Royal Family Were Ruined By Corruption In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

    1447 Words  | 6 Pages

    After the ghost and Hamlet come into contact, the spirit tells Hamlet the truth behind his suspicious death. Overcome by greed, Claudius wanted the throne for himself to sulk up the riches and treasures, which is what makes him act out on a plan to take over the throne by going into King Hamlet's quarters while he sleeps and then dripping poisonous fluid down his ear which then kills the king. After the Death of King Hamlet, Claudius then takes Hamlet's rightful spot on the throne and marries his brother's spouse Queen Gertrude. This information is critical to understanding how the events of greed and corruption came to be at the beginning of the story and how they unfold to affect the royal family and the royal court of Denmark. After hearing this information, Hamlet is distraught and panics; he recollects his thoughts, then decides to plan a way to avenge his father by pretending to be mad in front of the people around him, effectively fooling them.

    Read More

  • Madness Of Insanity In Hamlet

    1153 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare tells the tale of a troubled man in his masterpiece, Hamlet. Imagine your beloved father dying and your mother marrying his brother shortly after. You’re left to grieve on your own. Instead of consoling you, your mother and uncle have a wedding and begin to share the same bed. This is what Hamlet suffers through in the play.

    Read More

  • Fate Of Fate In Hamlet

    1029 Words  | 5 Pages

    After the sighting of the ghost, Shakespeare introduces a grieving Hamlet, and the happy couple, Claudius and Gertrude. Claudius gives a rousing speech to the court which creates a supporting group for his rule, yet he still can not get Hamlet to fall in line with the rest of the crowd. Old Hamlet’s murder still preoccupies Hamlet’s mind, so Claudius decides to take a drastic measure to win Hamlet to his side. Claudius states to the entire court and Hamlet that, “[He is] the most immediate to our throne, and with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son do I impart to [him]” (Hamlet 1.2 113-116). By naming Hamlet as his heir, Claudius sets up the ending of the play perfectly.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Ghost In Hamlet

    1678 Words  | 7 Pages

    King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.

    Read More

  • Flaws In Hamlet

    799 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over Thinking and Its Effects On Society Everyone has flaws and flaws are great to have as it increases diversity, but sometimes flaws some flaws can lead to destruction. In the story of Macbeth the tragic flaw of unchecked ambition that created a monstrous Macbeth and multiple murders of innocent people, leading to Macbeth’s unruly power and greed. While in the story of Hamlet the tragic flaw of overthinking and Hamlet’s procrastination resulted in a domino effect of unnecessary deaths because he was unable to think quickly and follow through with his plan. The flaw of over thinking and inaction results in a world where no one can accomplish what needs to be done and our world can no longer progress at a faster rate.

    Read More

  • Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Act 4 Of Hamlet

    916 Words  | 4 Pages

    On a cold night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernardo and Marcellus discuss a ghost resembling the late King Hamlet which they have recently seen, and bring Prince Hamlet's friend Horatio as a witness. After the ghost appears again, the three vow to tell Prince Hamlet what they have witnessed. As the court gathers the next day, while King Claudius and Queen Gertrude discuss affairs of state with their elderly adviser Polonius, Hamlet looks on glumly. During the court, Claudius grants permission for Polonius's son Laertes to return to school in France, and sends envoys to inform the King of Norway about Fortinbras. Claudius also scolds Hamlet for continuing to grief over his father, and forbids him from

    Read More

  • Hamlet Act 1

    169 Words  | 1 Pages

    Act 1, Scene 1 introduced Marcellus and Bernardo who are guards for the Danish King who have encounter a ghost twice. They seek Horatio who believe they are hallucinating an there's no such thing as a ghost. He agrees to joined them on their guard duty so he can see the ghost for himself. When the clock strikes twelve the ghost appears and they all cannot believe how much it looks like their dead king Hamlet. Marcellus and Bernardo encourage Horatio to speak to the ghost,but the ghost disappears.

    Read More

  • How Is Hamlet Intelligent

    575 Words  | 3 Pages

    When he learns Claudius is responsible for the death of his father, he intends to reveal this newfound information to not only Gertrude, but the rest of the characters. He is smart enough to know that she will not believe him based solely on his encounter with the ghost, and must create a trap where Claudius will reveal his guilt on his own. When the players arrive at the castle, he alters their script to mimic the king’s murder and “catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.567). During the performance, Claudius shows signs of guilt and worry, making Hamlet’s plan a success and proving his

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of A Jungian Lens In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1221 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hamlet himself is unaware that he behaves instinctively as a killer and doesn’t realize that his actions are morally wrong, and the reader can easily take from this that Hamlet is truly in the right and that the actions he takes are justified due to his problematic relationships. Claudius tells Gertrude, “When sorrows come, they come not in single spies, but in battalions” to remind her that bad things normally happen in quick succession after long periods emotional rest (IV, v, 61-62). In Act 1, the Ghost says, “Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange, and unnatural” when Hamlet is becoming gung-ho about murdering his father’s killer (who he does not yet know is Claudius). Hamlet is pushing the Ghost toward telling him about the murder so that he feels like he has the right to move forward with his plan of revenge.

    Read More

More about Hamlet: A Brief Summary

Open Document