hamlet synopsis

            Hamlet is the son of the great king of Denmark. Hamlet is a story full of death, revenge, and madness. Starting from the very beginning, the king’s brother, Claudius, murders him so that he can take over the kingdom and marry Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. One day Hamlet’s father’s ghost visits him to tell him that he should get revenge for his father’s murder.  To be absolutely sure of his father’s murder, Hamlet arranged a play of the scene of his father’s death for his uncle to watch. Hamlet observed his uncle’s reaction and sure enough his uncle became very uncomfortable to the point where he grew angry and left the room. Later that night when Hamlet went to talk to his mother, the Lord Chamberlin, Polonius snuck in to spy on Hamlet. Mistaking Polonius for Claudius, Hamlet stabs him and he dies.

When Polonius’s son and daughter learn of their father’s death they become very upset. Ophelia is so saddened that she drowns herself in the river. While Laerters is very angered at Hamlet and wants revenge by Hamlet’s death. Claudius finds out that Hamlet knows about his murder and plans a way to murder Hamlet with Laerters. They plan to have Laerters and Hamlet have a fencing match with his family to watch. At this fencing match Laerters will poison his sword so that when Hamlet is nicked by Laerters’ sword he will die. Claudius will also poison Hamlet’s drink to be absolutely sure he will die. Evil plans backfire when Gertrude accidently drinks hamlet’s drink and dies. Then Hamlet and Laerters get tangled in each other’s swords. Laerters dies and quickly before his death, Hamlet stabs Claudius, forces him to drink the rest of the poison and he dies too. Now all in a fit of revenge the main characters are dead.

act 5: journals

I am so tired of all this death, first my father and now my dear Ophelia. I’m done with this; I’m just tired of life. They all think I’m crazy, even that so called gravedigger thinks I was sent to England to recover from my madness. The truth is I’m not crazy they are. They just make me mad. I bet no one would even care to remember me when I pass, just as everyone has poor old Yorick. Oh just as how someone so noble as Alexander the Great could once rule the world and now his ashes could be turned into meaningless dust.

Sincerely,

Hamlet

Oh my Lord, I can’t believe what just happened. Where do I begin? What am I supposed to tell the people? I have to tell them the truth, that the late king Hamlet was really murdered by his own brother Claudius. So Claudius could be king and marry Hamlet’s mother. They will probably wonder who will be king now that the whole royal family is dead including Lord Polonius and his children. I myself am not even sure what the future holds for Denmark.

Until next time,

Horatio

famous hamlet quotes

Old English Text

“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” Hamlet quote (Act III, Sc. I)

“This above all: to thine own self be true.” Hamlet quote (Act I, Sc. III)

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (Act II, Sc. II)

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking it makes it so.” (Act II, Sc. II)

Modern Text

“The question is: is it better to be alive or dead?” (Act III, Sc. I)

“And, above all, be true to yourself.” (Act I, Sc. III)

“There is a method to his craziness”

“Nothing is really good or bad, it is just what someone thinks about it.”

The quote, “The question is: is it better to be alive or dead?” is extremely important to our play. All throughout the play Hamlet is depressed over his father’s death and his family’s situation and is contemplating suicide. Hamlet is very upset and feels betrayed because his mother re-married his father’s brother less than a month after his father’s death. Hamlet is thinking that it will be better to commit suicide and just escape the whole situation. The second quote, “And, above all, be true to yourself,” is said when Polonius is giving advice to his son, Laerters. Polonius is warning him to always stay true to himself and not let others affect him or change who he is. “There is method to his craziness” is important to the play because Hamlet seems to be losing his mind throughout the whole play but Polonius understands that he is still being logical and is thinking through things. “Nothing is really good or bad, it is just what someone thinks about it” is another famous quote. It is significant to the play because the characters have a lot of different opinions in the play and it’s their different opinions on people that affect who are friends or foes.

hamlet literacy terminology

Flashback – an account of an event that happened before the beginning of the story. By revealing significant thoughts or experiences of a character’s life, a flashback can help readers understand a character’s present situation.
 -“Now, Hamlet, hear. ‘Tis given out that sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me… But know, thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.” – The Ghost (Hamlet, Act 1 scene 5)
- This flashback tells us that Hamlet’s father didn’t die from a snake, but was really killed by the new king, Claudius and Hamlet eventually seeks to avenge his father’s death and plans to kill his uncle.

Dramatic Irony – when a reader or viewer knows something that the character does not know.
- “And that he calls for a drink, I’ll have prepared him, a chalice for the nonce, Whereon but sipping, If he had by chance escape your venomed stuck, our purpose may hold there.” – Claudius (Hamlet, Act 4, scene 7)
- After hearing this, the audience will know that Claudius and Laertes plan on poisoning Hamlet. Laertes is going to poison his sword, but incase he fails, Claudius will have Hamlet drink from a goblet that has been poisoned. Hamlet doesn’t know about either plan that they have to kill him.

Mood – is the feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates.
- “Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted color off, and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not forever with thy vailѐd lids seek for thy noble father in the dust.” – Gertrude (Hamlet Act 1, scene 2)
- The mood that Shakespeare is trying to create here is sorrow for Hamlet. It makes the reader feel bad for him because he is still grieving over his father’s death.

Surprise Ending – is an unexpected twist in the plot at the end of a story.
- “Let four captains bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage, for he was likely, had been put on, to have been proved most royally…Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this becomes a field, but here shows amiss. Go, bid the soldiers shoot.” – Fortinbras (Hamlet Act 5, scene 4)
- This was the last lines of the play Hamlet. It was a twist to have all the main characters die, even Hamlet. Fortinbras ended up becoming King of Denmark at the end and that was a surprise ending.

act 4 journals

This has gone way too far! I can’t even believe my eyes; my baby boy has murdered, the good old man, Polonius. What’s worse is he doesn’t even seem to care. His madness has taken over so much that he is a coldhearted killer. I do not understand why he is so mindless. Oh God, what should I do with him?

Mournfully,

Gertrude

I am glad it was Polonius instead of me; if I had been there Hamlet would have killed me in his rage of madness. He is not only a threat to me but to everyone. What will the people think? They will blame me for not confining and restraining this mad man. He can’t run loose anymore; I have to get rid of him so I will send him off to England.

Until next time,

Claudius

Hamlet Song Representation

 

I think the song “My Immortal” by Evanescence is a good representation of Hamlet. The song talks about a person who has “left” or died just like Hamlet’s father. Both Hamlet and the character of the song have trouble trying to move on after their loss. The lyrics, “Your voice it chased away, all the sanity in me” suggests that the person in the song is insane just like Hamlet was insane and had gone mad. Just as Hamlet was depressed over his father’s death so was the character of the song; shown in the lyrics, “These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real”.

Hamlet Themes

 

Hamlet Themes: Death

Death is a major theme in Hamlet. It appears all throughout the story. Even from the very beginning Hamlet’s father was murdered and it was the start of all the madness in this play. Hamlet knows that his uncle Claudius killed his father and he wants revenge by killing Claudius. Mistaking Polonius for Claudius, Hamlet stabs him and Polonius dies. So then Laerters, Polonius’s son, wants to kill Hamlet. The third death happens when Ophelia becomes depressed and drowns herself. Claudius finds out that Hamlet knows about his father’s death and tries to poison Hamlet’s drink but his wife accidently drinks it instead and dies. All while Hamlet and Laerters are fencing and end up stabbing each other. Quickly, before Hamlet’s death he forces Claudius to drink the left over poison and then he dies. Now all of the main characters are dead.

Hamlet Themes: Hesitation

            A major theme that occurs in Hamlet would be hesitation. Many of the characters hesitate when they plan to do something. Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius a few times. At first, he wasn’t sure if Claudius was actually guilty of killing his father. He hesitated again after he found out that Claudius was guilty. When he was looking for him, he found Claudius praying and was afraid he would go to heaven if he had killed him then. Claudius also hesitated during the play. It took him awhile to figure out a way to kill Hamlet and he was changing his plans a lot. Claudius didn’t want his citizens to find out what he had done, so he was slow at coming up with ideas on how to get rid of Hamlet. Laerters hesitated on killing Hamlet too. After he had found out that Hamlet had killed his father, he wanted to get revenge and kill him right away but Claudius talked him into waiting. Therefore, there were many points in the play when characters hesitated.