Hamlet,Prince Of Denmark

By William Shakespeare
Hamlet is one of the greatest and most popular plays
ever written in the English language. It is often said to have
heralded a change in the way drama was written, marking
the point at which fully rounded characterization took over
from stereotypes. At its heart, it is a revenge tragedy
following the fortunes of Hamlet, the young Prince of
Denmark, in the aftermath of his father’s murder.
Hamlet begins with a sighting of the ghost of Hamlet’s father on
the Elsinore castle ramparts. Hamlet’s father was the King of Denmark
until he died, apparently by the
bite of a poisonous snake. His
brother Claudius now rules in his
stead and has even married his
wife, Queen Gertrude. Hamlet,
Gertrude’s son, is extremely
unhappy that she has married
Claudius so soon after his father’s
death. When Hamlet eventually
gets to speak to the ghost, he is
told that Hamlet’s father was in fact murdered by Claudius. The ghost
then instructs Hamlet to seek revenge on his father’s behalf in order that
his spirit may find peace.
Hamlet agrees to a vengeance but almost immediately begins to
meditate upon his mission, rather than following it through. Hamlet’s
overly thoughtful and melancholic disposition causes Gertrude and
Claudius to suppose that Hamlet is in fact in love with Ophelia. Ophelia
is the daughter of Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, and the
sister of Laertes, who is sent to study in France. Although there is some
lingering affection between Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet is so bitter
about his mother’s marriage to his uncle that he rebuffs Ophelia and
advise her to join a nunnery.
When a group of travelling actors comes to Elsinore, Hamlet
pays them to perform a short play in front of Claudius imitating the way
his father was really killed. At the moment of the murder, Claudius gets
up and leaves, thus confirming Hamlet in his belief that his uncle
actually did kill his father. Pursuing Claudius to his chamber, Hamlet is
prepared to slay the king but finds him at prayer and he therefore decides
that Claudius would go to his death at peace with the world, unlike his
father, and he leaves him another time. Claudius, now fearful of his
nephew’s madness, determines to send Hamlet to England where he
plots to have him killed. In the mean-time, Hamlet goes to his mother’s
bedroom to confront her. Hearing a noise behind the curtain, Hamlet
believes it to be the king and stabs at him with his sword. It is actually
Polonius and Hamlet has killed him. Hamlet is dispatched to England for
this crime. Ophelia, meanwhile, is driven to despair by her father’s death
and drowns in the river.
Upon hearing of his father’s death, Laertes returns from
France and finds that his sister is dead too. When Claudius learns that
Hamlet has escaped from his death-trap in England and is about to return
to Denmark, he takes advantage of Laertes’ anger at these deaths and
persuades him to exact revenge on Hamlet. His plan is to challenge him
to a fencing match using poisoned swords. As a back-up, Claudius also
poisons a goblet which he aims to offer to Hamlet. When the fencing
begins, Laertes stabs Hamlet with the poisoned rapier but then a scuffle
ensues in which he exchanges swords with Laertes who is himself then
wounded by the poisoned sword. During the fight, Claudius offers
Hamlet the poisoned goblet but Gertrude takes it instead and is almost
immediately killed. At her death, Laertes confesses to the plan and in
response Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and then make
him drink from the goblet too. Claudius dies instantly, followed shortly
by Laertes and finally Hamlet himself.

List of characters

Claudius,  King
of

Denmark
 Hamlet, son to the late, and nephew to the present king 
 Polonius, Lord Chamberlain 
 Horatio, friend to Hamlet 
 Laertes, son to Polonius 
 Voltimand, Cornelius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric
 Marcellus, Barnardo, officers 
 Francisco, a soldier
 Reynaldo, servant to Polonius 
 Fortinbras, Prince of Norway 
 Gertrude, Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet
  Ophelia, daughter to Polonius 
 Ghost of Hamlet's Father