Hamlet (Summary)

 

Summary      (Act 1 Scene 1)

Late at night, on the ramparts of Elsinore, Barnardo arrives to relieve his fellow sentinel Francisco of his post. As Barnardo approaches Francisco in the dark, both men are suspicious of one another, even though Francisco assures Barnardo his watch has been uneventful. As Francisco prepares to leave and go to bed, Barnardo urges him to tell Marcellus, another sentinel, and Horatio, a nobleman, to join him at his post. Right at that moment, Horatio and Marcellus arrive, announcing themselves as they enter as friends of Denmark and the king. They ask Francisco—slightly jealously—if he’s done for the night, then bid him goodbye as he exits.

Marcellus and Horatio sleepily greet Barnardo before asking him if the “thing” has “appeared again.” Marcellus says that even though he and Barnardo have seen the “dreaded sight twice,” Horatio refuses to believe it’s real. Marcellus explains that’s why he’s brought Horatio along tonight—to see the “apparition” that has plagued the nightly watch. Horatio is skeptical that anything will appear, and so Barnardo begins telling him the story of the ghost. He has barely begun his tale when, surely enough, 

Marcellus and Barnardo marvel at the apparition, which is “in the same figure like the king that’s dead.” Marcellus urges Horatio, an educated “scholar” to speak to the ghost. Horatio confesses that he is full of “fear and wonder” as he gazes upon the ghost, which he, too, believes looks just like the dead King of Denmark. Horatio begins shouting at the apparition, demanding to know who—or what—it is, and ordering it to speak for itself. The ghost, however, begins moving away from the men wordlessly. Barnardo and Marcellus lament that Horatio has offended the ghost.

After the ghost exits, Barnardo remarks upon how pale Horatio looks, and asks the man if he’s all right. Horatio admits that he is shaken. He says that if he hadn’t seen the ghost with his own two eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. He is mesmerized and perturbed by how much the ghost looks like the king—even down to his armor. Horatio says he believes the ghost’s appearance “bodes some strange eruption to our state.” In other words, he believes something bad is about to happen in Denmark.

Marcellus says he agrees with Horatio—he and the other sentinels have noticed how strict their schedule of nightly watches has become and have seen the forces within Elsinore building cannons, buying weapons, and readying ships. Horatio confesses that he has heard rumors swirling around the castle. He talks of how the deceased King Hamlet killed the King of Norway, Fortinbras, in a duel—which meant that, according to an agreement between the kings, Denmark absorbed certain Norwegian lands. Now, Horatio says, he has heard that Fortinbras’s son—also named Fortinbras—has gathered up an army and plans to sail for Denmark, retake his father’s lost lands, and restore glory to Norway. Horatio says that they should all take the portent of the ghost very seriously and heed its warnings.

Just then, the ghost reappears. As it heads for Horatio, Horatio orders it to stop. The ghost stops short and spreads his arms wide. Horatio begs the ghost to use its voice—if it has one—and warn them about what is to befall Denmark. He asks it to communicate any other unfinished business it might have, even if it’s not warning the men of war, so that they might help it achieve peace. A rooster crows, and Marcellus and Barnardo get worried that the approaching dawn will drive the ghost away. They talk about how they might stop the ghost from leaving, but their plans are no good—the ghost departs again.

All three men lament having lost the chance to communicate with the ghost. Horatio urges Marcellus and Barnardo to accompany him to Hamlet’s quarters to tell the prince of what they’ve seen. Though the ghost of King Hamlet would not talk to them, Horatio bets it will talk to its son.

Summary      (Act 1 Scene II)

Inside the walls of Elsinore, Claudius—the new king of Denmark—is holding court. With him are his new wife Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and the queen; Hamlet himself; Claudius’s councilor Polonius; Polonius’s children Laertes and Ophelia; and several members of court. Claudius delivers a long monologue in which he laments the death of his brother, King Hamlet—but states that it is high time to move on and start focusing on the future. In this spirit, Claudius says, he has married his former sister-in-law Gertrude and become the new king. He tells the court that he is aware of Fortinbras’s designs on Denmark but is not planning on kowtowing to the Norwegians’ demands—Claudius is determined to keep Denmark strong.

Two courtiers, Voltemand and Cornelius, enter the room to take a letter from Claudius. Claudius announces that he has written to the new King of Norway—Fortinbras’s uncle, an “impotent and bedrid” man who has no idea of what his nephew is planning—to make sure that Fortinbras is put to a stop. Claudius charges Voltemand and Cornelius with hastily delivering the letter to the King of Norway. The courtiers leave, promising the demonstrate their loyalty through the speed of their journey.

Claudius says that he knows Laertes has a request for him, and tells the young man to ask for anything he wishes—Polonius is so important to Claudius that Claudius will do whatever Laertes asks.  Laertes asks the king’s permission to return to France. After making sure that Laertes has his father’s permission, as well, Claudius grants Laertes leave to go back to France.

Claudius then turns his attention to his “cousin” and “son” Hamlet, asking why “the clouds [of grief] still hang” on him. Hamlet cheekily retorts that he is, on the contrary, “too much in the sun.” Gertrude speaks up and urges Hamlet to stop dressing in black and begin treating Claudius like a “friend” and father. It is “common,” Gertrude says, for loved ones to die. Hamlet stonily replies that “it is common.” 

Claudius speaks up and accuses Hamlet of mourning out of “impious stubbornness.” Such outward displays of grief, Claudius says, are “unmanly” and undignified. Claudius echoes Gertrude, assuring Hamlet that death is normal, and to mourn it so is a kind of crime against nature. He urges Hamlet to stay in Denmark as a high-ranking member of court rather than return to Wittenberg to resume his studies. Gertrude, too, begs Hamlet to stay. Hamlet replies to Gertrude that he will obey her. Claudius remarks upon how wonderful it is that Hamlet has chosen to stay, and asks Gertrude to come drink with him in celebration. Claudius, Gertrude, and the other members of court all exit to go be merry—except Hamlet, who stays behind.

In a lengthy monologue, Hamlet laments how “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable” life has become for him since his father’s death two months ago. He is furious that his mother has remarried so quickly and deems her new marriage to his father’s brother “incestuous.” Though Hamlet is tormented by the strange twists and turns his family’s lives has taken, he knows he must “hold [his] tongue” and not make any trouble.

Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo enter and greet Hamlet. Hamlet clearly hasn’t seen Horatio, his friend from Wittenberg, in a while, and is surprised and overjoyed at the sight of him. He asks Horatio what he’s doing in Elsinore, and Horatio replies that he came to attend King Hamlet’s funeral. Hamlet retorts that if Horatio was here for the funeral, he must have seen the wedding, too. Hamlet again laments how quickly his mother remarried, and sadly states that the world will never again see a man like his father. Horatio states that he saw Hamlet’s father just last night.

Horatio begins telling Hamlet about how a ghost which bears a striking resemblance to Hamlet’s father has appeared to Marcellus and Barnardo three nights in a row, and assures Hamlet that the men are correct in what they’ve seen. Hamlet is amazed by the news and asks to know more details about the ghost. The men tell him that the king was dressed in full armor—but had his visor up and looked very pale. Hamlet says he wants to join the men on their watch tonight, and thanks them for their friendship as they exit the room. Alone, Hamlet wonders what the ghost has to tell him—and whether it will bring word of “foul play” and “foul deeds.”

Summary      (Act 1 Scene III)

As Laertes prepares to sail back to France, he bids goodbye to his sister, Ophelia, and warns her not to gamble her “honor” by falling in love with Hamlet—a broody man bound to the will of his country. Laertes condescendingly advises Ophelia to mind her reputation, keep her virginity intact, and stay far away from Hamlet and the “danger of desire.” Ophelia says she’ll keep Laertes’s words close to her heart—but cheekily urges him to follow his own advice upon returning to France.

Polonius enters to give Laertes’s departure his blessing. He gives his son some fatherly advice, warning the young man to make many new friends—but not to let anyone get too close without proving their trustworthiness—and also urging him to stay out of quarrels, to dress well, to never borrow nor lend money, and, “above all: to thine own self be true.” Laertes bids his father and sister goodbye one final time, reminding Ophelia to remember the things he told her before heading down to the docks.

After Laertes leaves, Polonius asks Ophelia what her brother told her. Ophelia tells him that Laertes gave her some advice about Hamlet. Polonius says he’s noticed that Hamlet and Ophelia have been spending a lot of time together, then asks Ophelia to tell him what’s going on between the two of them. Ophelia says that Hamlet has “made many tenders of his affection” to her. Polonius scoffs at Hamlet’s “tenders,” and tells Ophelia that she would be a fool to believe Hamlet cares for her. Ophelia insists that Hamlet is true to her, but Polonius warns his daughter that Hamlet is too young—and has too much freedom—to be true. Polonius urges Ophelia not to waste any more of her time with the prince. Ophelia promises to obey her father.

Summary      (Act 1 Scene IV)

That night, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus stand on the ramparts of Elsinore in the bitter cold, waiting for the ghost to appear. Sounds of Claudius and his courtiers feasting and drinking merrily echo from inside the castle, and Hamlet tells his friends that Claudius’s constant revelry is “soil[ing]” Denmark’s reputation, blotting out all that is good in the country.

The ghost suddenly appears, and Horatio urges Hamlet to address it. Hamlet begins speaking to the apparition, begging to know if it truly is the ghost of his father. He asks the ghost to tell him why it has chosen to leave its tomb and wander the grounds of Elsinore in full armor. In response, the ghost motions for Hamlet to follow it. Though Marcellus and Horatio urge Hamlet not to go with the ghost, Hamlet says he will follow it—he doesn’t value his life in the first place, he says, and thus has nothing to lose.

Horatio begs Hamlet at length not to follow the ghost, as it may have devious designs on Hamlet’s life and might try to lead him into the sea. When Horatio and Marcellus try to physically restrain Hamlet, he orders them to unhand him—then draws his sword when they refuse to listen. He threatens to turn them into ghosts themselves if they don’t let him follow the apparition where it leads. Marcellus and Horatio stand down and let Hamlet follow the ghost away—but resolve to follow close behind just in case danger befalls their prince. Marcellus remarks that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Summary      (Act 1 Scene V)

Hamlet follows the ghost as it leads him along, but soon grows tired. He orders the ghost to speak to him, refusing to follow it any farther. The ghost assents and turns to speak to Hamlet. The ghost tells the prince that it is nearly time for it to return to purgatory, but before it goes, it has something important to say. Hamlet promises to listen well. The ghost makes Hamlet swear to seek revenge for what the ghost is about to tell him, and Hamlet urges the ghost to go on.

The ghost tells Hamlet that it is indeed the spirit of his father. He begins speaking of the horrors of purgatory, but laments that everything he wants to say cannot be told to “ears of flesh and blood.” The horrified Hamlet listens, rapt, as the ghost urges him to seek revenge for the late king’s “foul and most unnatural murder.” Hamlet urges the ghost to tell the tale of the king’s murder as quickly as it can, so that he can immediately go and get revenge.

The ghost tells Hamlet that though everyone at court has been told that the king died after being bitten by a serpent while sleeping in the orchard, in reality, “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.” In other words, the ghost confirms that the “incestuous” and “traitorous” Claudius killed the king by pouring poison in his ears while he slept in the garden. The ghost begs Hamlet not to let Claudius get away with murder—or turn the throne of Denmark into “a couch for luxury and damnèd incest.” The ghost charges Hamlet to avenge him before vanishing. Though the ghost is gone, Hamlet vows aloud to do all the ghost has asked of him.

Horatio and Marcellus at last catch up with Hamlet and breathlessly ask him what the ghost had to say. Hamlet is reluctant to tell them, though, for fear that they’ll betray his secret. Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus not to ask him any more about what the ghost said—and not to tell anyone in Denmark about what they’ve seen the last several nights. Both men swear their secrecy. Hamlet asks them to swear upon his sword. When Marcellus protests that they’ve already sworn, the voice of the ghost calls out, demanding the men swear secrecy again. Horatio and Marcellus hastily agree to lay their hands upon Hamlet’s sword and swear.

Hamlet invites Horatio and Marcellus to touch his sword and swear that no matter how strangely Hamlet acts in the coming days—and he may, he predicts, begin acting very strangely—they must not let on that they know anything about the ghost or his visit with Hamlet. The ghost calls out again for the men to swear to Hamlet’s demands. Hamlet urges the ghost to rest, and laments that he must be the one to set his father’s unfinished business right. Satisfied with Marcellus and Horatio’s vows of loyalty, Hamlet urges them to follow him back to the castle. 

Summary      (Act 2 Scene I)

Inside Elsinore, Polonius gives his servant Reynaldo money and notes to take France. Polonius tells Reynaldo what he expects him to do on his mission abroad—Reynaldo is to gather information on what Laertes is up to in Paris by infiltrating the fringes of Laertes’s social scene and finding out, from young Danes and Parisians in his orbit, what kind of man Laertes is turning out to be.

Polonius suggests that Reynaldo pretend to be a casual acquaintance of Laertes and try to gossip with his friends about Laertes’s problems with drinking, gambling, and women in order to gauge their responses to these assertions and discern whether Laertes really does have problems with these vices. Polonius is proud of his clever scheme to spy on his son, though the old man seems to have trouble keeping track of his own logic as he lays out the plan for Reynaldo. 

Just as Reynaldo exits to board a ship to France, Ophelia enters looking pale and in a state of fright. Polonius asks her what has happened, and she tells him that just now, as she was sewing alone in her room, Hamlet entered unannounced and uninvited with his shirt unbuttoned and his stockings hanging around his ankles. Ophelia remarks that Hamlet looked “as if he had been loosed out of hell.”

Ophelia goes on to state that Hamlet grabbed her by the wrist and stared at her for a long while before gently releasing her with a sigh and departing her room without dropping his eyes from her face. Ophelia says she fears Hamlet really is in love with her. Polonius suggests Ophelia go with him to see Claudius, so that they can inform him of the “violent” affection Hamlet has developed for Ophelia.

Polonius asks if Ophelia has done anything to upset or offend Hamlet, and she replies that she took Polonius’s earlier advice to heart—for the last several days, she has been sending back Hamlet’s letters and refusing to speak with him. Polonius fears that being rejected by Ophelia has driven Hamlet mad. Polonius curses his own advice and hurries Ophelia away to go meet with the king.

Summary      (Act 2 Scene II)

Claudius and Gertrude warmly welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s childhood friends, to Elsinore. Claudius explains that in light of Hamlet’s recent “transformation” in the time since his father’s death, the purpose of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s visit is to spend time with Hamlet, “draw him on to pleasures,” and report back to Claudius and Gertrude about whether there’s anything more sinister bothering Hamlet. Gertrude speaks up and promises to reward the two friends handsomely for helping her and Claudius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to help the king and queen, and say they hope they’ll be able to be “pleasant and helpful” to Hamlet. An attendant escorts them from the room to go find the prince. 

Polonius enters with two pieces of good news. He tells Gertrude and Claudius that the ambassadors from Norway, Voltemand and Cornelius, have returned safely and in good spirit—and then goes on to tell them he has “found the very cause of Hamlet’s lunacy.” Claudius asks for Polonius to tell them both what’s wrong with Hamlet, but Polonius suggests they meet with the ambassadors first.

Polonius fetches Voltemand and Cornelius and brings them into the hall. Claudius asks them for the latest news from Norway. Voltemand reports that the king has put a stop to Fortinbras’s schemes. Fortinbras has sworn to keep the peace with Denmark, and as a reward for his loyalty, Fortinbras’s uncle has rewarded him with money—and the opportunity to use the soldiers he originally gathered against Denmark to invade Poland instead. Voltemand produces a letter from the king of Norway asking Claudius to allow Fortinbras’s army to pass through Denmark on the way to Poland. Claudius thanks Voltemand and Cornelius for their service and sends them away, promising to read the letter, consider it, and reply.

With Voltemand and Cornelius gone, Polonius moves onto the next topic at hand: Hamlet’s madness. Polonius produces a letter given to him by his daughter. In the letter written by Hamlet, the young prince professes his intense love for Ophelia. Polonius admits that when he discovered the affair between Hamlet and Ophelia he grew worried, and ordered Ophelia to reject Hamlet’s advances. Polonius confesses to the king and queen that he fears he himself has brought on Hamlet’s madness by urging Ophelia to deny him.

Claudius asks if there’s a way they can test Polonius’s theory. Polonius suggests “loos[ing]” Ophelia onto Hamlet during one of the prince’s long, pensive walks through the main hall of the castle—while Polonius and Claudius watch from behind a tapestry to see how the two interact. As Hamlet approaches, reading a book, Polonius hurries the king and queen from the hall, telling them he’ll talk with Hamlet alone right now.

Claudius and Gertrude leave, and Polonius greets Hamlet. Hamlet’s demeanor towards Polonius is cool and removed, and in response, Polonius asks Hamlet if he knows who he is. Hamlet replies that Polonius is a fishmonger. Polonius says he is not, and Hamlet retorts that he wishes Polonius were as honest a man as a fishmonger. Polonius agrees that honest men are rare in the world. Hamlet asks Polonius if he has a daughter, and Polonius says he does. Hamlet urges Polonius to keep an eye on his daughter, lest she “walk i’ th’ sun” and “conceive.” 

Polonius is puzzled by Hamlet’s strange demeanor and aggressive conversational style, and decides to try asking him what he’s been reading. Hamlet takes the opportunity to talk about how the “satirical rogue” who wrote the book he’s reading writes about the irrelevance and physical repulsiveness of old men. Hamlet says though he believes everything written in the book, he doesn’t necessarily agree with it being written down—if time flowed backwards, he says, Polonius could be just as young as Hamlet himself. In a brief aside to the audience, Polonius remarks that though he is startled by Hamlet’s madness, he can’t deny that “there is method in’t.” 

Polonius continues trying to talk with Hamlet, asking if he plans to walk through the gardens or inside “out of the air.” Hamlet replies that he will walk out of the air and “into [his] grave.” Polonius, in another aside, theorizes that Hamlet’s obscure and macabre answers are symptoms of his madness. Polonius resolves to leave Hamlet, and go off to find Ophelia so that he can put the plan he formulated with Claudius earlier into action. Polonius bids Hamlet farewell and exits. As he does, Hamlet calls him a “tedious old fool.”

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and greet Hamlet. He receives them happily, seemingly excited by their presence, and the old friends catch up and discuss how their lives have been going. Both Hamlet’s old friends state that while they aren’t as well off as they could be, neither are they faring as poorly as some fare, either. Hamlet asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern what has landed them back in the “prison” that is Denmark. The men say Denmark isn’t a prison, but Hamlet insists it feels like one to him—they suggest that his ambitions and dreams are what make Denmark feel small.

Hamlet asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to answer him plainly, as friends, and tell him why they have returned to Elsinore. Rosencrantz they have come for no reason other than to visit Hamlet. Hamlet asks them if they were sent for, urging them to be honest—he says the two of them are not “craft[y]” enough to lie about having been summoned by the king and queen. Rosencrantz attempts to play dumb, but Hamlet begs him to answer him with the “even and direct” truth. Guildenstern quickly caves and admits that the two of them were sent for.

Hamlet cheekily offers to tell the men the reason for which they’ve been sent. Dramatically and sarcastically, he begins describing what the king and queen have no doubt told Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about him: that he has “lost all [his] mirth,” fallen into a depression, lost all interest in socializing, and become unable to see the gorgeous halls of Elsinore and even the majesty of the natural world beyond it as anything other than a “foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.” As Hamlet waxes poetic, he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that, judging by the smiles on their faces, he’s hit the nail on the head.

Rosencrantz suggests that if Hamlet has lost the ability to enjoy the company of real people, he might be charmed and brightened by a troupe of actors. Rosencrantz says that he and Guildenstern passed a troupe of players on their way to Elsinore, and have invited them to come perform at the castle. Hamlet says the actors will be welcomed—if they play their parts well. Rosencrantz tells Hamlet the troupe is one that Hamlet used to love and visit often in the city.

Hamlet wonders aloud why they’re traveling when the pay is better in the city, but Rosencrantz implies the group has fallen on hard times and slid backwards in terms of popularity as child actors have begun to win the public’s favor. Hamlet says he thinks it’s ridiculous that child actors have become popular—but laments that just as the children have surpassed the professionals, so too has Claudius surged in popularity within the walls of Elsinore now that he is the King. His uncle’s popularity is “more than natural,” or unnatural, just as that of the child actors.

A trumpet sounds—the players are arriving. Hamlet exuberantly shakes the hands of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, insisting on giving them as warm a welcome as he’s about to give the players. Before the troupe enters, Hamlet warns Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that they can expect to see Hamlet’s “uncle-father and aunt-mother deceived” and confused to boot. Hamlet cheekily suggests that he is only mad on occasion—in other words, his craziness and melancholy are an act.

Polonius enters and greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet introduces Polonius to his friends as a “great baby” still in “swaddling-clouts.” Polonius tells Hamlet that the actors have arrived. Hamlet mocks everything Polonius says as Polonius formally introduces the troupe as “the best actors in the world,” capable of handling any kind of material. Hamlet continues teasing Polonius and engaging him in obscure wordplay until the players make their way into the hall.

Hamlet graciously welcomes the players, and as he greets them it becomes clear that he knows several of them individually by their appearances. He invites the company to perform a speech that will give him “a taste” of what they’ve been working on lately. The First Player—the leader of the troupe—asks Hamlet what speech he’d like to hear. Hamlet says he remembers, years ago, hearing the First Player recite a speech from an obscure play based on a Greek myth that was poorly-received by the masses. As Hamlet struggles to remember the speech, he ends up piecing it together and reciting it most of it himself.

The First Player commends Hamlet on his good memory and then starts reciting the rest of the speech. The monologue tells of young warrior Pyrrhus attacking the elderly King of Troy, Priam, whom Hamlet refers to as “grandsire Priam”—pointedly mocking Polonius’s age. In the tale, Pyrrhus kills the old Trojan king while the king’s wife, stripped of her crown and robes, watches and screams in horror. The First Player delivers the monologue with such emotion that Polonius comments on how pale the man has gone.

Hamlet tells the First Player he can stop, then charges Polonius with finding comfortable rooms for the entire troupe and making sure they’re treated well. Hamlet bids the players to follow Polonius to their lodgings, and asks the First Player to ready a performance of The Murder of Gonzago for the following evening. The First Player agrees to do so. Hamlet asks if the First Player would insert an additional short speech into the play—a speech written by Hamlet himself. The First Player tells Hamlet he’ll do whatever the prince asks. Polonius and the players leave, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern follow them out of the hall.

Alone, Hamlet begins a lengthy monologue in which he laments that while even an actor reciting a work of drama could rouse in himself such emotion and feeling, Hamlet himself can feel—and do—nothing in the face of his own father’s murder. Hamlet calls himself names, curses himself, and berates his own cowardly inaction. He resents himself for being unable to stir up the anger and vengefulness he would need to man up and murder Claudius.

As Hamlet calms down a bit, he is struck with an idea. He decides that perhaps, if the actors “play something like the murder of [his] father before [his] uncle,” he’ll be able to judge, by Claudius’s reaction to the material, whether the man is really guilty of murder. Hamlet is worried that the ghost he saw may have been the devil trying to tempt him into evil—but the play could be “the thing” that “catch[e]s the conscience of the king” and allows Hamlet to determine whether his father was indeed murdered—and whether that murder must be avenged.

Summary      (Act 3 Scene I)

Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern gather in the hall of Elsinore. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Claudius that though they’ve tried to talk to Hamlet about the root of his madness, he’s unwilling to answer them and remains “aloof.” Gertrude asks if the two of them have at least been able to engage Hamlet in some fun, and Rosencrantz happily says that they’ve brought a group of players to the castle to give a performance later that evening. Claudius says he’s happy to hear that Hamlet is excited about something—and urges Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to make sure he stays that way. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hurry off to find Hamlet.

Claudius tells Gertrude to leave so that he and Polonius can enact their plan of getting Hamlet to meet with Ophelia while Claudius and Polonius hide to observe the young lovers. Gertrude bids the rest of the group goodbye, telling Ophelia that she hopes the young woman can help Hamlet find his way back to sanity.

Polonius hands Ophelia a prayer book and orders her to pretend to read it while he and Claudius hide. Polonius notes that pretending to do “pious action” is something of a sin, but should be okay just this once. In an aside, Claudius remarks that he is familiar with pretending to be something other than what he is—he is carrying a “heavy burden” of lies. Polonius pulls Claudius off to the side of the hall to hide.

Hamlet enters, pontificating to himself. “To be, or not to be,” he asks—he is pondering suicide aloud. In a lengthy monologue, Hamlet wonders whether it is “nobler” for one to fight against what life throws at them, or to refuse to fight off such troubles and instead die. Hamlet is worried that in death’s “sleep” he might dream, but he longs for complete oblivion from all the horrible things in life: pain, oppression, corruption, and exhaustion. He laments that his fear of all the unknowns of death has made a “coward” of him. Hamlet stops himself, however, when he sees Ophelia. Observing her with her prayer book, he asks her to absolve him of his sins through her prayers.

Ophelia greets Hamlet and asks how he’s been doing. He tells her he’s been well. Ophelia tells Hamlet she has some “remembrances” to give back to him. Hamlet doesn’t even see what it is she has to give to him before insisting he never gave Ophelia anything. Ophelia insists that Hamlet gave her many gifts and sweetly-composed letters—but says that the joy they once brought her is gone, and she doesn’t want them anymore. Hamlet asks Ophelia if she’s being “honest,” or pure. Ophelia is taken aback by the invasive question, but Hamlet continues asking Ophelia if she is “honest and fair.” She is beautiful, he says, but her beauty has no correlation to her “honesty.”

Ophelia retorts that beauty and purity are, in fact, intimately connected. Hamlet suggests that beauty can transform honesty into a “bawd,” but honesty cannot make a sinful woman pure once more. “I did love you once,” Hamlet tells Ophelia, and she retorts that Hamlet only made her believe that he did. Hamlet recants and says Ophelia’s right—he never really cared for her.

Hamlet tells Ophelia she should get to a nunnery, or convent, quickly—she shouldn’t bring any more sinful people into the world. Hamlet states that he himself is a sinner, like all men—it would be better if he had never been born, and even suggests that the world is full of “arrant knaves, all” who should be washed from the earth. Hamlet asks pointedly where Polonius is. Ophelia answers that her father is at home. Hamlet says he hopes Polonius gets locked inside, so that “he may play the fool no where but in ‘s own house.”

Ophelia cries out for God and the “sweet heavens” to help Hamlet. Hamlet, in return, puts a “plague” on Ophelia, predicting that even if she remains “pure as snow,” no one will ever believe that she is truly righteous. He urges her, again, to enter a convent and shut herself away from all men. Ophelia cries out to God once again, begging for Hamlet’s sanity. Hamlet cruelly retorts that women like Ophelia hide their true faces under makeup, “jig and amble” suggestively, and make sinners and idiots of men. Hamlet says that women’s “wantonness” is what has made him mad. He says he wishes there would be “no more marriages” before telling Ophelia, for a third and final time, to get to a convent. He leaves the hall. 

Alone, Ophelia laments that Hamlet’s “noble mind is here o’erthrown.” All of Hamlet’s potential as a scholar, a soldier, and the leader of Denmark has been lost. She is devastated that Hamlet has gone mad and fallen so far from grace and nobility. Claudius and Polonius come out of hiding to comfort Ophelia. Claudius states that whatever is going on with Hamlet portends “some danger,” and resolves to send him away to England on a diplomatic mission—both to get him away from Elsinore for a while and to hopefully allow him to rest, recover, and see more of the world. 

Polonius obsequiously agrees with Claudius’s plan, but suggests that before sending Hamlet to England, Claudius should make one final attempt to get to the root of Hamlet’s madness by having Gertrude confront her son. Claudius agrees with Polonius’s advice, stating that Hamlet must be closely observed.

Summary      (Act 3 Scene II)

Hamlet enters with the troupe of actors, instructing the First Player on how to deliver the monologue Hamlet has written for him. Hamlet laments the existence of actors who overdo their performances, as well as those who try to get the laughs of the masses rather than create a role genuinely. The First Player assures Hamlet that the troupe will practice hard and deliver a performance that makes Hamlet proud. The players all leave together.

Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern enter. Hamlet asks if the king and queen are going to attend the performance, and Polonius says they will. Hamlet urges Polonius to hurry along after the actors and let them know, and then orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to follow Polonius and make sure the actors quickly get ready for their performance. They obey him.

Horatio enters, and Hamlet expresses how glad he is to see his true friend. Horatio is overwhelmed by Hamlet’s warmth, but Hamlet insists that Horatio is a loyal companion, a level-headed man, and a morally good person. Hamlet tells Horatio that, because of all these things, he is entrusting him with a secret. Tonight, Hamlet reveals, the actors are going to perform a play. Hamlet has written a new scene which mirrors exactly the circumstances of Hamlet’s father’s murder. Hamlet asks Horatio to keep his eyes carefully on Claudius during that scene to gauge his reaction. If Claudius doesn’t seem guilty, then it’s possible that he’s innocent and the ghost that appeared to Hamlet was a demon—but if he does, action must be taken. Horatio promises to do what Hamlet has asked of him.

Trumpets sound, and Claudius enters with Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some other members of court. Claudius greets Hamlet and asks the prince how he’s doing. Hamlet gives a roundabout, confusing answer, then asks Polonius if he acted in plays in college. Polonius says he did—he was even good enough to play Julius Caesar. Hamlet laments how brutal Caesar’s murder was, and how wrong his murderer, Brutus, was to commit it.

 

Rosencrantz informs Hamlet that the actors are ready. Gertrude asks Hamlet to sit by her during the performance, but Hamlet says he wants to sit next to the “more attractive” Ophelia. As he sidles in next to Ophelia, he begins taunting her with sexually explicit barbs, each of which she coolly deflects, remarking upon Hamlet’s good mood this evening. Hamlet says everyone in the room is happy—even his mother, though his father died just “two hours” ago. When Ophelia retorts that Hamlet’s father has already been dead for “twice two months,” Hamlet sarcastically states that he will cast off his mourning clothes and exchange them for “a suit of sables.”

A trumpet sounds, and the pantomime preceding the play begins. The players perform a scene in which a king and queen embrace lovingly before the queen leaves the king alone to his nap. While the king is sleeping, another man steals the king’s crown, pours poison in the king’s ear, and then runs away. The queen returns to find the king dead. She grieves him, and the killer returns, pretending to grieve with her. As the dead body is carried away, the killer presents the queen with gifts, wooing her until she falls in love with him. Ophelia is put off by the pantomime, but Hamlet assures her he’s just making some “mischief.” As the First Player enters and begins the real play, Hamlet and Ophelia trade more sexually-charged barbs. 

The play begins. Two players, acting as a king and a queen, discuss how long they’ve been married and how much the love each other. The player king remarks that he has grown old and tired and will soon depart the Earth—but wants his wife to remarry and find happiness again. The player queen remarks that she should be cursed if she marries again—“none wed the second but who killed the first.” What’s more, the queen says, is that every time she kissed her new husband in her old marital bed, it would be like killing her first husband over and over again. The player king urges his wife to keep an open mind—her feelings may change once he dies—but the queen stubbornly insists that she would be condemned to a life of “lasting strife” if she were ever to marry again.

As the player queen leaves the player king alone to his nap, Hamlet turns to Gertrude and asks how she’s liking the play. Gertrude responds that the queen “protests too much.” Claudius asks if what’s coming next in the play is startling or offensive, but Hamlet insists everything is “in jest”—though the play is a little garish, it shouldn’t make anyone present feel uncomfortable, since all their consciences are clear.

A player enters the stage, portraying a character called Lucianus. Hamlet tells Ophelia that Lucianus is nephew to the king. She remarks how much Hamlet seems to know about the play, and, again, their conversation devolves into witty sexual barbs, which Ophelia cheekily deflects. Lucianus pours poison in the king’s ear, killing him, at which point Claudius stands up from his seat. Gertrude asks Claudius what’s wrong, and he announces that he is leaving. Polonius orders the players to stop the performance. Everyone but Hamlet and Horatio follows Claudius out of the hall.

Hamlet is merry and mischievous as he asks Horatio if he saw how Claudius fled at the sight of his own dirty deeds reflected on stage. Horatio agrees that Claudius seemed very guilty. Hamlet orders the players to make some music since the king didn’t care for their drama. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern reenter the hall and tell Hamlet that the king is very upset. They add that Hamlet’s behavior has greatly angered the queen, and she wants to see Hamlet in her bedroom right away. Hamlet dodges Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s entreaties, and begins messing around with one of the player’s flutes.

Hamlet asks Guildenstern to take the flute from his hands and play a tune. Guildenstern insists he doesn’t know how to play a flute. Hamlet insists it’s an easy thing to do, but Guildenstern is still loath to take the flute from him. Hamlet accuses Guildenstern—and Rosencrantz, too—of trying to play him like a flute. He says he will not be “play[ed] upon” by either of them. 

Polonius enters and tells Hamlet that his mother wants to see him right away. Hamlet tells Polonius to go tell his mother that he’ll be with her shortly. Polonius goes off to inform Gertrude of the news, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern follow him. Left alone, Hamlet remarks that it has become “the very witching time of night.” Despite the eerie atmosphere in the air, Hamlet hopes aloud that he will not be cruel towards his mother—even if he “speak[s] daggers to her,” he hopes to “use none.”

Summary      (Act 3 Scene III)

Claudius talks with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He tells them that he is so disturbed by Hamlet’s madness that he is sending him—along with the two of them—on a mission to England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern both state, in obsequious and florid terms, that they will do anything their king asks of them—they want to protect him above everyone else. Claudius thanks the men for their loyalty and urges them to hurry off and read for the journey.

After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leave, Polonius enters and tells Claudius that Hamlet is on his way to Gertrude’s room. Polonius plans to hide himself behind a tapestry—again—and listen in on their conversation so that he can report what transpires to Claudius. Polonius hurries off to put his plan into action.

Alone, Claudius at last admits to having murdered King Hamlet in a lengthy monologue. He describes his “rank” offense, which “smells to heaven”—a brother’s murder, he knows, is a “primal […] curse.” Claudius wants God to forgive him and have mercy on him for his past sins, but he fears that if he doesn’t renounce the throne and his new queen, he’ll never be absolved. Claudius wishes he could make his sins go away without really atoning for them. Overwhelmed and burdened by a “bosom black as death,” he kneels to pray.

Hamlet enters and sees Claudius praying. He is grateful to at last be alone with the man, believing now is the chance to kill him and take his revenge. Hamlet, however, finds himself in a conundrum—if he kills Claudius while the king is praying, Claudius’s soul will go to heaven. To send Claudius to heaven would be the opposite of the revenge Hamlet—and his father’s spirit—so desperately crave. Hamlet resolves to wait to kill his uncle until a riper moment, when the man is in the midst of a guilty act—revelry, perhaps, or asleep in his “incestuous” bed. Hamlet hurries off to meet his mother. Claudius laments that his prayers are ineffectual—he worries he will never get to heaven.

Summary      (Act 3 Scene IV)

In Gertrude’s chambers, Polonius lays out his plan for the queen, and she agrees to it. As Hamlet approaches, Polonius hides himself behind a tapestry. Hamlet enters and asks his mother what the matter is. Gertrude replies that Hamlet has greatly offended his father; Hamlet retorts that it is Gertrude who has offended his father. Gertrude asks why Hamlet would speak to her so cruelly, wondering aloud if he’s forgotten who she is. Hamlet says he knows exactly who she is: her husband’s brother’s wife, and, unfortunately, his own mother.

Gertrude tries to leave, but Hamlet begs her to stay. Gertrude asks Hamlet if he plans to murder her, and calls for help. Polonius, hearing Gertrude’s cries, also calls out. Hamlet, angered at being spied upon, draws his sword, sticks it through the tapestry, and kills Polonius, who slinks to the ground and calls out that he has been slain. Gertrude curses Hamlet for his “bloody deed,” but Hamlet insists his deed is “almost as bad” as her having killed the king and married his brother.

Gertrude asks what she has done to Hamlet to make him talk to her so rudely. Hamlet retorts that she has “pluck[ed] the very soul” out of marriage and rendered covenants and vows meaningless.” Gertrude insists she doesn’t know what she’s done. Hamlet points to the tapestry: it depicts two brothers, side by side. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of forsaking the strong, good, kind king for his “mildewed” brother. Hamlet asks what could possibly have inspired Gertrude to make such a terrible choice, and wonders aloud whether she went mad or was tricked by the devil. Gertrude begs Hamlet to stop forcing her to look into her “black […] soul.” Hamlet continues berating his mother for “liv[ing] in the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed” with “a murderer and a villain,” even as Gertrude begs him to stop.

The ghost appears, and Hamlet asks the “heavenly guard” what he should do. Gertrude, who apparently cannot see the ghost, shouts that Hamlet has truly gone mad. Hamlet asks the ghost if he has come to “chide” Hamlet for his inaction—the ghost answers that he has indeed come to remind Hamlet to seek vengeance, but urges Hamlet not to let Gertrude suffer. Hamlet asks Gertrude if she’s all right—she says she’s fine, but can see that Hamlet himself is clearly unwell as he “hold[s] discourse” with the air. Hamlet tries to point out the ghost to her, but Gertrude is unable to see or hear its presence. The ghost slinks out the door, even as Hamlet calls for his father to stay. 

 

Gertrude tells Hamlet he’s suffering hallucinations, but Hamlet insists he’s perfectly sane and accuses Gertrude of trying to call Hamlet mad as a way of distracting from her own sins. He orders her to repent. Gertrude tells Hamlet he’s cleaved her heart in two. Hamlet urges her to “throw away the worser part of it,” repent, stay away from Claudius, and “throw [the devil] out” of her life. He begs her not to let Claudius “tempt [her] again to bed”—or get her to tell him anything about what has transpired between Hamlet and Gertrude tonight. Gertrude swears she will try.

Hamlet tells Gertrude that he is bound for England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—but predicts that the message he is carrying with him is not one of diplomacy, but rather an edict signed by Claudius which orders Hamlet’s death. Hamlet says he has a plan to “hoist [Claudius] with his own petard”—in other words, Hamlet plans to outsmart the king. The death of Polonius, Hamlet says, means he will have to leave even sooner. He bids Gertrude goodnight, assuring her he’ll deal with Polonius’s body, then slowly drags the body from his mother’s chambers.

Summary      (Act 4 Scene I)

Gertrude, Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern are gathered in the hall. Claudius asks Gertrude what’s bothering her—she asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to leave, and they do. Gertrude tells Claudius that he wouldn’t believe what she’s seen tonight: Hamlet is entirely mad, and has slain Polonius in a hallucinatory rage. Claudius remarks that Hamlet’s “liberty is full of threats to all”—but he cared for the boy so much that he has put off doing what needed to be done. Hamlet, Claudius says, is like a “foul disease” that has begun to “feed even on the pith of life.” Claudius promises Gertrude that by the time the sun comes up, Hamlet will be “ship[ped]” away from Elsinore.

Claudius calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern back in, and orders them to go find Hamlet and bring Polonius’s body to the chapel. They hurry off. Claudius tells Gertrude it’s time to “call up [their] wisest friends,” tell them all the truth about Hamlet, and ask advice as to what should be done about the boy.

Summary      (Act 4 Scene II)

After hiding Polonius’s body, Hamlet returns to the castle and runs into Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They ask him what he’s done with the body, and Hamlet replies that he has “compounded it with dust.” Rosencrantz asks Hamlet again where the body is, and Hamlet shouts that he’d never allow such a “sponge” to get the answer out of him. Rosencrantz angrily asks why Hamlet thinks he is a sponge. Hamlet replies that Rosencrantz—and Guildenstern, too—“soak up the king’s countenance,” doing his dirty work only to allow Claudius to wring them dry again and again. Rosencrantz asks, a final time, where the body is. Hamlet replies that it is with the king, though “the king is not with the body.” He hurries out of the hall, bidding Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to try to catch him.

Summary      (Act 4 Scene III)

Claudius tells some of his advisers that while Hamlet is a dangerous presence in Elsinore, he is beloved by the people—Claudius can’t do anything to Hamlet that might upset Denmark’s subjects. He plans to make sending Hamlet away to England look like it is something he’s been planning for a long time.

Rosencrantz enters and tells Claudius that while Hamlet refuses to divulge where he has buried Polonius, he is outside under guard. Claudius orders Hamlet be brought inside, and Guildenstern brings him in. Claudius asks Hamlet directly where Polonius is, and Hamlet replies that he is “at supper.” Claudius asks where he is eating, and Hamlet replies that Polonius is not eating, but rather being eaten. Claudius, growing even angrier as Hamlet continues to taunt him, demands to know where Polonius is. Hamlet replies that Polonius is in heaven—but if his body isn’t found within a month, the residents of Elsinore may begin to smell him in the main hall. Claudius orders his attendants to search for the body.

Claudius says that he is concerned for Hamlet’s “safety,” and so has decided to send him away to England. Hamlet bids Claudius farewell, calling him “dear mother.” When Claudius tells Hamlet that he is his father, Hamlet insists that in marrying his mother, Claudius joined his flesh with hers. Hamlet hurries away, and Claudius bids his attendants to follow Hamlet and make sure he gets on the ship—he wants Hamlet gone tonight.

Alone in the hall, Claudius speaks aloud, hoping that the King of England will follow the instructions in the letter Hamlet is carrying—and kill Hamlet on sight. Claudius states that he will never be joyful again until he is certain of Hamlet’s death. 

Summary      (Act 4 Scene IV)

Fortinbras and his army arrive at Elsinore. Fortinbras orders the captain of his army to go into the castle, bring Norway’s greetings to the Danish king, and remind him of the permission he granted Fortinbras to march his troops through their territory. Fortinbras tells his captain to make sure to let Claudius know that if there’s anything Claudius wants from them, they will do it for him. Fortinbras and his soldiers return to their camp, leaving the captain alone.

Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern enter. Seeing the Norwegian army, Hamlet asks the captain what they’re doing there and what their purpose is. The captain tells Hamlet that the army is marching on to Poland under the command of Fortinbras, though he admits the piece of land they seek to claim is small and worthless. To himself, Hamlet laments the use of money and violence in such pointless, petty wars. The captain bids Hamlet goodbye and heads on to Elsinore.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern walk ahead, but Hamlet lags behind. Alone, he states that his encounter with the army is spurring him to sharpen his “dull revenge.” Men who don’t think and act are no better than beasts, he believes. Seeing Fortinbras exercise “divine ambition” in commanding and leading a massive army in pursuit of something so small and trivial has reminded Hamlet of his inability to take action and get vengeance for his father. Watching 20,000 men march forward on little more than a whim has made Hamlet realize that if his “thoughts be [anything but] bloody,” they are “nothing worth.”

Summary      (Act 4 Scene V)

Gertrude, Horatio, and a member of court are in the hall of Elsinore. The courtier tells Gertrude that Ophelia is demanding to meet with her. Gertrude doesn’t want to speak to Ophelia, but the courtier says that Ophelia has gone mad and taken to meaningless babbling. Horatio suggests Gertrude hear Ophelia out, and Gertrude agrees to see her—though, in an aside, she remarks that Ophelia’s decline seems, to her “sick soul,” like “prologue to some great amiss”—in other words, if Ophelia has lost it, something truly terrible is coming.

Ophelia enters, singing a song about love. Gertrude politely asks Ophelia what her song means, but Ophelia urges the queen to listen as she continues singing about a man who is “dead and gone.” Ophelia continues singing on and on about a man shrouded, entombed, and covered in “sweet flowers” even as Gertrude asks her to stop. Claudius enters and greets Ophelia calmly, asking how she’s feeling; she responds with a confusing tale about a baker’s daughter who was turned into an owl—the moral of the tale is that “we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Claudius remarks that Ophelia’s grief over her dead father has driven her mad.

Ophelia begins singing more songs about unrequited love and women being “tumbled” and mistreated by unfaithful men. She stops her song to remark that she cannot stop thinking about her father being laid in the “cold ground”—she swears she will inform her brother of what has happened. Bidding Claudius and Gertrude “good night,” she leaves the hall. Claudius asks Horatio to follow Ophelia and keep an eye on her. After Horatio leaves, Claudius tells Gertrude that Ophelia has fallen victim to the “poison of deep grief” in the wake of her father’s death and Hamlet’s departure for England.

There is a loud noise outside, and then a messenger comes into the hall. The messenger reports that Laertes has taken up arms against Claudius—and that he has the support of the Danish people, who cry in the streets “Laertes shall be king!” Gertrude is scandalized. There is another loud noise—Claudius realizes the rebels have broken down the door.

Laertes enters with a band of followers but tells them to stand down while he meets with the king. When he lays eyes on Claudius, he tells the man he has come to avenge his father—were he calm in the face of his father’s murder, he says, he might as well be his father’s “bastard.” Claudius tells Laertes that though Polonius is dead, he was not the one to kill the man. Laertes asks how Polonius died, vowing to cast allegiance and loyalty aside in order to serve justice to whoever killed his father. Claudius promises, once again, that he is innocent of Polonius’s murder, and warns Laertes not to attack his friends in an attempt to  level with his enemies.

Another noise is heard offstage, and Ophelia enters. As Laertes sees what has become of his sister, he swears that he will make sure his revenge is “paid by [the] weight” of her madness. Ophelia continues singing a morbid song about a man being carried to his grave in an uncovered coffin. Laertes listens to Ophelia’s troubling songs, noting that her madness says more about the depths of her grief than sane words ever could. Ophelia begins passing out invisible flowers—she gives out rosemary, pansies, fennel, and daisies, but states that all her violets withered with the death of her father. Laertes remarks that his sweet sister is still able to turn “hell itself” into “favor and […] prettiness.”

Claudius says he shares in Laertes’s grief over the disintegration of Ophelia’s mind. He offers to stand and be judged by Laertes and his wisest, closest friends, and, once he’s proved innocent, to help Laertes exact revenge on the one who brought such grief upon his family.

Summary      (Act 4 Scene VI)

Elsewhere in the halls of Elsinore, Horatio receives two sailors who come with a letter from abroad—the missive is from Hamlet, and Horatio reads it out loud. The letter states that after only two days at sea, the ship bringing Hamlet to England was set upon by pirates. During the battle with the privateers, Hamlet boarded their ship, and the pirates have kept Hamlet prisoner in exchange for a favor. Hamlet urges Horatio to let the sailors give another letter from the pirates to the king, and then come for him at once. Hamlet says he has a lot to tell Horatio—especially about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are still on their way to England. Horatio hurriedly leads the sailors to meet with the king.

Summary      (Act 4 Scene VII)

Claudius and Laertes discuss Claudius’s innocence in Polonius’s murder—which Laertes has come to believe. Laertes, however, wants to know why Claudius didn’t pursue vengeance or justice against Polonius’s true murderer, Hamlet. Claudius says there are two reasons he hasn’t killed Hamlet: one being that Gertrude loves him, and the other being that the commoners love him as well. Laertes says that he has no qualms about wounding Hamlet—or his public image—and will soon have revenge.

A messenger enters the hall carrying letters from Hamlet—one for Claudius, and one for the queen. Claudius offers to read them aloud for Laertes. Hamlet’s letter to Claudius reveals that he has been “set naked on [Claudius’s] kingdom”—in other words, he’s returned to Denmark with no money or possessions. Hamlet asks to meet with the king the next day to explain his “sudden and strange return.” Laertes says he’s looking forward to Hamlet’s visit—he wants to look upon the man who killed his father and drove his sister mad.

Claudius asks Laertes to help him in coming up with a new way to get rid of Hamlet that doesn’t look too suspicious. Laertes says he’ll do whatever Claudius asks, and will even kill Hamlet himself. Claudius agrees that Laertes should be the one to put an end to Hamlet’s life. Claudius reveals that since Laertes left for France, the people of Denmark have been talking about a quality of Laertes’s that makes him “shine.” Laertes asks what quality Claudius speaks of, and Claudius replies that he recently met an acquaintance of Laertes’s who remarked on how excellent the young man was at fencing. Claudius claims that hearing of Laertes’s talent with a rapier “envenom[ed]” Hamlet with jealousy.

Claudius tells Laertes that if he truly still loves his father—and still wants to avenge him—he must “show [him]self in deed [to be his] father’s son,” not just in words. Laertes says he would cut Hamlet’s throat even in the middle of a church.

Claudius tells Laertes that when Hamlet arrives home, Laertes should keep a distance from him rather than jumping straight at him. In the meantime, Claudius will have the people of Elsinore talk up Laertes’s fencing skills so that Hamlet wants to challenge him to a duel. Then, Laertes will be able to pick a rapier with a sharp point and kill Hamlet during the practice duel, making it look like an accident. Laertes agrees to this plan, but wants to take it one step further—he decides to dip the tip of his rapier in poison so that even if Laertes merely scratches Hamlet, the prince will die. Claudius devises a backup plan in which the drinks at the match will be poisoned, so that when Hamlet reaches for a refreshment, he’ll die no matter what the outcome of the duel.

Gertrude enters and announces that she has even more woeful news: Ophelia has drowned in nearby brook. Her body was found covered in “fantastic garlands” of flowers and cloaked in gorgeous garments, though she died a “muddy death.” Laertes bids Claudius and Gertrude goodbye and goes off to mourn his sister—when he’s finished, he says, he’ll be ready to take his revenge.

Summary      (Act 5 Scene I)

A pair of gravediggers are at work in a patch of land outside the walls of Elsinore. The first gravedigger asks the second if an unnamed woman—understood to be Ophelia—is going to receive a “Christian burial” even though she committed suicide. The second gravedigger says she is, and orders the first to hurry up and dig the grave. The two debate whether Ophelia willingly took her own life or simply drowned. The second gravedigger believes Ophelia did kill herself, and is only being given a proper burial because of her noble status. The first gravedigger tacitly agrees, lamenting the privileges granted to the upper classes.

The gravediggers continue bantering about the origin of human life and telling macabre riddles. When one of the gravediggers forgets the answer to a joke he has posed, the other suggests he go inside and fetch them both some liquor to drink while they work. Soon, Hamlet and Horatio approach the graveyard to find the first gravedigger singing as he digs. Hamlet is amazed by the man’s merriment in the face of such a morbid task.

When the gravedigger throws a skull out of the ground, Hamlet is further offended by the man’s casual handling of human remains. Hamlet approaches the skull and wonders that once it “had a tongue in it and could sing.” He ponders who the skull could have belonged to—a politician, a courtier, or a lawyer. As Hamlet monologues at length about the skull’s possible origins, he laments how death steals everything, erasing all that people were, all they loved, and all they accomplished while they still lived.

Hamlet decides to ask the gravedigger whose grave he’s digging. The gravedigger cheekily replies that the grave is his own. Hamlet says it should indeed be the gravediggers’—he “liest” in it, a play on words. Hamlet asks the gravedigger to be serious and tell him what man—or woman—the grave is for. The gravedigger insists it’s for no man or woman, but instead someone who once “was a woman” before her death. Hamlet is both impressed and slightly annoyed by the gravedigger’s verbal gymnastics and affinity for puns.

 

Hamlet asks the man how long he’s been a gravedigger, and the gravedigger answers that he started work on the day that King Hamlet defeated Fortinbras—the same day that the young Prince Hamlet was born. The gravedigger states that though the young prince was recently sent to England to “recover his wits”—but even if he doesn’t the gravedigger says, insanity is “no great matter” in England. Hamlet asks “upon what ground” the prince lost his wits—in other words, why he went mad. The gravedigger replies that the prince went mad “here in Denmark.”

Hamlet asks how long it takes for a body to begin rotting in the ground, and the gravedigger estimates that decomposition takes about eight or nine years. Pointing out the skull on the ground, the gravedigger estimates that it has been in the ground for about 23 years. Hamlet asks who the skull belonged to, and the gravedigger answers that it was the skull of Yorick, the king’s jester. Hamlet picks up the skull and examines it more closely, then cries out to Horatio that he once knew Yorick—in life, “a fellow of infinite jest” who used to entertain Hamlet and give him piggy-back rides. Hamlet laments that all of Yorick’s  defining characteristics are gone.

Hamlet asks Horatio if he thinks even Alexander the Great came to look—and smell—like the poor Yorick after being buried, and Horatio says that he probably did. “To what base uses we may return,” Hamlet laments.

Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, a group of courtiers, and a priest approach bearing a coffin. Noticing the plainness of the procession, Hamlet tells Horatio that whomever the group is burying must have committed suicide, but was still of noble rank. Hamlet asks Horatio to hide with him and watch the burial.

Laertes asks the priest what rites will be performed. The priest says that he’s already “as far enlarged” the service as he can for someone who committed suicide—but because the woman who died (Ophelia) was a noble, the priest has made sure she was allowed to be buried made up like a virgin, with flowers strewn on her grave. Laertes asks the priest if anything more can be done, but the priest says that to do more for this woman would be to “profane the service of the dead.” Laertes says he hopes that violets spring from Ophelia’s grave—while the priest “liest howling” in hell.

Hamlet, realizing that Ophelia is the one who has died, cries out in pain. He watches as Laertes, distraught, jumps into his sister’s grave and continues loudly weeping for her. Hamlet comes forward, insisting that his grief is more intense than Laertes’s, and also dives into Ophelia’s grave. Laertes curses Hamlet, and the two of them begin fighting. Claudius, Gertrude, and Horatio all beg for the men to stop fighting, and a pair of courtiers separate them. Hamlet vows to fight Laertes until his last breath—his love for Ophelia, he says, is greater than that of “forty thousand brothers.” Claudius and Gertrude lament that Hamlet is truly mad. Hamlet leaves the gravesite, and Horatio follows him. Claudius begs Laertes to be patient—he’ll soon have his chance to avenge his sister.

Summary      (Act 5 Scene II)

Inside Elsinore, Hamlet tells Horatio the story of his escape from the ship bound for England. Even though Hamlet was not a prisoner, per se, on the first leg of his journey, he felt like one, and was determined to get free. One night, while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern slept, he snuck into their cabin and stole the papers they were carrying. When he opened the letters, he realized that Claudius was trying to order Hamlet’s execution. Hamlet tells Horatio that he wrote a new letter, copying Claudius’s handwriting, ordering the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on sight. After sealing the letter with his father’s signet, Hamlet returned it to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s chambers. In the encounter with the pirates the following day, Hamlet escaped the ship and sent his old friends on to their death.

Horatio is stunned by Claudius’s cunning and cruelty. Hamlet says he is more determined than ever to kill the man who killed his father, “whored [his] mother,” and stole Hamlet’s own throne. Horatio urges Hamlet to do the deed quickly, as news of what Hamlet has done to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will soon arrive from England.

A young courtier named Osric enters and greets Hamlet. Hamlet quietly tells Horatio that Osric is a “water-fly” and a fool in spite of the great parcels of land he owns—and his resulting political power. Osric says he has a message for Hamlet from the king. He uses florid language to compliment Laertes and praise the man’s good, strong nature, then states that Claudius has bet on Hamlet in a fencing match against Laertes. Osric asks if Hamlet accepts the terms of the bet and will agree to a duel. Hamlet says he does, and Osric runs off to give Claudius the news. Hamlet cheekily advises him to deliver Hamlet’s “yes” with the same “flourish” Osric used to beseechingly describe Laertes.

As Osric runs off, Horatio and Hamlet mock him—but then Horatio tells Hamlet he has a bad feeling about the outcome of the wager. Hamlet insists he’s prepared to fight Laertes—even as he admits that he, too, has an “ill […] about [his] heart.” Horatio urges Hamlet to back out of the fight, but Hamlet is determined to participate and leave his fate to God.

 

Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Osric, and many lords and courtiers bearing trumpets, fencing rapiers, and wine enter the hall. Claudius urges Hamlet and Laertes to come together and shake hands. As Hamlet approaches Laertes, he apologizes for the pain he’s caused Laertes and his family—but says that he cannot be held accountable for the actions he took under the spell of madness. Laertes assures Hamlet he “receive[s his] offered love” with gratitude, “and will not wrong it.”

Osric hands Hamlet and Laertes their swords, and they prepare to duel. Claudius says that he will blast the castle’s cannons in honor of the winner, and reward him, whoever he may be, with a delicious wine. He orders the fight to begin, and Hamlet and Laertes start fencing. Hamlet hits Laertes in the first round, and Claudius offers him poisoned wine to drink in celebration. Hamlet refuses it, stating he’ll drink it later. In the second round, Hamlet hits Laertes again. Gertrude, thrilled, picks up Hamlet’s cup and drinks to his success. Claudius, in an aside, laments that he has been unable to stop his queen from drinking the poisoned wine.

As the third round begins, Hamlet challenges Laertes to give it his all. The men are evenly matched—but Laertes at last lands a hit on Hamlet. Both men drop their swords—and pick up one another’s in the scuffle. As the fight resumes, Hamlet hits Laertes with Laertes’s poisoned sword. Claudius asks for the fight to stop, but Hamlet is determined to keep dueling. Gertrude collapses, to everyone’s horror, and Laertes quickly follows, lamenting that he is “a woodcock to [his] own springe”—in other words, a bird caught in his own trap.

Though Claudius insists the queen has just swooned at the sight of such action, Gertrude insists the poisoned wine is what has felled her—she warns Hamlet not to drink it. Hamlet calls out for Osric to lock the doors—there has been “treachery” in the hall, and they must find out who is responsible. Laertes, however, speaks up and confesses that he is the traitor. He tells Hamlet that Hamlet has been poisoned and will soon die—there is “no medicine in the world” which can save him. As Laertes dies, he calls out that “the king’s to blame.” Hamlet, realizing the swords are poisoned, stabs Claudius, then forces him to drink from the poisoned cup of wine. Claudius dies. With his dying breath, Laertes cries out that Claudius has gotten what he deserves, and tells Hamlet he forgives him.

As Hamlet himself collapses and dies, he bids goodbye to the “wretched queen,” and laments that “Death is strict in his arrest.” He begs Horatio to tell his story. Horatio picks up the poisoned cup of wine, seemingly desiring to die and follow Hamlet—but Hamlet takes the cup from Horatio, urging him to live on, tell Hamlet’s tale, and exonerate him to the world.

Before Hamlet dies, the sounds of war trumpets come through the door. Hamlet asks what’s happening. Osric enters and informs Hamlet that Fortinbras has returned successfully from Poland. Hamlet says, with his dying breath, that Fortinbras should be the one to bear the Danish crown. “The rest is silence,” Hamlet says, and dies. Horatio bids Hamlet “Good night, sweet prince.”

Fortinbras enters the hall with an English ambassador. He is shocked and confused by the bloody, messy scene around him, and laments the deaths of “so many princes.” The English ambassador says he’s come to announce that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead—but there is no one important left to hear the news. Horatio points to Claudius and says that even if he were still alive, he would not thank the ambassador, as he was not the one who ordered their deaths. Horatio offers to tell Fortinbras and the ambassador “of [the] carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts” that have led to this terrible scene. Fortinbras laments the sorry state of Denmark, but says he’s ready to make his claim upon the throne. Horatio says that he will support Fortinbras even in the midst of such chaos.

Fortinbras orders four of his captains to carry Hamlet’s body to a viewing platform. He laments that the prince would have made a great king. He orders the rest of his soldiers to remove all the dead bodies from the hall—though “such a sight […] becomes the field,” it looks wrong within the walls of such a stately castle.