characters

Most of the characters in Hamlet are citizens of Denmark and members of the royal court,
reeling after the death of their king. The characters are deeply suspicious of one another, as it
becomes clear that the king may have been murdered—and by his brother Claudius no less.
As Hamlet is a tragedy, each character carries within themselves a tragic characteristic that
contributes to their own downfall. But it is in particular the unstable atmosphere of the new
court of Claudius that brings about much of the action of the play.

Hamlet
The protagonist of the tragedy, Hamlet is a beloved prince and a thoughtful, melancholy young
man. Distraught by his father’s death, Hamlet is only made more depressed by his uncle
Claudius’ succession to the throne and his subsequent marriage to his mother. When the ghost
of the king, Hamlet’s father, tells him that he was murdered by his brother Claudius and that
Hamlet must avenge him, Hamlet becomes almost suicidal and obsessed with revenge. He is
slowly driven mad by his inability to act on this instruction.
Very intelligent, Hamlet decides to fake madness in order to fool his uncle and those loyal to
him while he uncovers whether Claudius is guilty for his father’s death—although often his
mental health is genuinely in question. Worried about his own guilt, Hamlet also becomes
hateful, despising his uncle, voicing anger at his mother, frustrated with his traitorous friends,
and alienating Ophelia (whom he once courted). His anger borders on ruthlessness, and he is
responsible for numerous deaths throughout the play, but he never loses his reflective and
melancholy traits.

Claudius
Claudius, the play's antagonist, is the king of Denmark and Hamlet’s uncle. According to the
ghost of Hamlet’s father, Claudius is his killer. When we are first introduced to Claudius, he
scolds Hamlet for still being so glum about his father’s death and forbids him to return to his
university studies in Wittenberg.
Claudius is a conniving strategist who poisoned his own brother in cold blood. He remains
calculating and unloving throughout the play, driven by his ambition and lust. When he realizes
that Hamlet is not mad as he originally believed, and in fact poses a threat to his crown,
Claudius quickly begins to plot Hamlet's death. This plan ultimately leads to Claudius’s death at
Hamlet’s hands at the end of the play.
However, Claudius also has an honorable side. When Hamlet has a traveling troupe put on a
play for the court that emulates the murder of a king, Claudius reveals his sense of guilt. He also
decides to have Ophelia buried with ceremony, rather than as a suicide. His love for Gertrude
also seems sincere.

Polonius
Polonius is the main advisor to the king, also known as the Lord Chamberlain. Pompous and
arrogant, Polonius is also the overbearing father of Ophelia and Laertes. As Laertes sets off for
France to continue his studies, Polonius gives him paradoxical advice, including the famous
quotation, "to thine own self be true”—an ironic line from a man who cannot keep his advice
consistent. When Hamlet goes to his mother’s bedchamber, attempting to confront her about his
father’s murder, he kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a tapestry and whom Hamlet mistakes
for the king.

Ophelia
Ophelia is Polonius’s daughter and Hamlet’s lover. She is obedient, agreeing not to see Hamlet
anymore at her father's suggestion and spying on Hamlet when asked by Claudius. She believes
that Hamlet loves her, despite his inconsistent courtship, and is devastated during a
conversation in which he seems not to love her at all. When Hamlet kills her father, Ophelia
goes mad and drowns in the river. Whether this is a suicide is left ambiguous. Ophelia is
feminine and almost maidenly throughout the play, though she is able to counter Hamlet’s wit.

Gertrude
Gertrude is the queen of Denmark and Hamlet’s mother. She was originally married to
Hamlet’s father, the dead king, but has now married the new king Claudius, her former brother-
in-law. Gertrude's son Hamlet regards her with suspicion, wondering whether she had a hand in
his father’s murder. Gertrude is rather weak and unable to match wits in an argument, but her
love for her son remains strong. She also enjoys the physical aspects of her marriage to
Claudius—a point that disturbs Hamlet. After the sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes,
Gertrude drinks the poisoned goblet meant for Hamlet and dies.
Horatio
Horatio is Hamlet’s best friend and confidant. He is cautious, scholarly, and a good man, known
for giving sound advice. As Hamlet lies dying at the end of the play, Horatio considers suicide,
but Hamlet convinces him to live on to tell the story.

Laertes
Laertes is Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, as well as a clear foil to Hamlet. Where Hamlet
is contemplative and frozen by emotions, Laertes is reactive and quick to action. When he hears
of his father’s death, Laertes is ready to raise a rebellion against Claudius, but his sister’s
madness allows Claudius to convince him Hamlet is at fault. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes will stop at
nothing for revenge. At the end of the play, Hamlet kills Laertes; as he lays dying, Laertes
admits to Claudius’s plot to kill Hamlet.

Fortinbras
Fortinbras is the prince of neighboring Norway. His father was killed by Hamlet’s father, and
Fortinbras is looking for revenge. Fortinbras arrives in Denmark just as the climax is reached.
At Hamlet’s recommendation and due to a distant connection, Fortinbras becomes the next king
of Denmark.

The Ghost
The ghost claims to be Hamlet’s dead father, the former king of Denmark (also named Hamlet).
He appears as a ghost in the first scenes of the play, informing Hamlet and others that he was
murdered by his brother Claudius, who poured poison into his ear while he slept. The Ghost is
responsible for the action of the play, but its origins are unclear. Hamlet worries that this specter
might be sent by the devil to incite him to murder, but the mystery is never solved.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two acquaintances of Hamlet who are asked to spy on the
young prince in order to figure out the cause of his madness. Both are rather spineless and
obedient—Rosencrantz moreso than Guildenstern—and neither is intelligent enough to really
fool Hamlet. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern accompany him to
England. They have secret orders from the king of England to behead Hamlet on arrival, but the
ship is attacked by pirates, and when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive in
England, their heads are chopped off instead. 

Overview:
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare’s best-known works
and one of the most widely-read plays in the English language. Estimated to have been written
between 1599 and 1602, Hamlet was one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays at the time of its
release, and has remained hugely influential since its creation.
Fast Facts: Hamlet
 Full Title: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
 Author: William Shakespeare
 Year Published: Between 1599 and 1602
 Genre: Tragedy
 Type of Work: Play
 Original Language: English
 Themes: Appearance vs. Reality; Revenge and Action vs. Inaction; Death, Guilt, and the
Afterlife
 Major Characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude, Fortinbras,
Horatio, The Ghost, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern
 Fun Fact: Shakespeare’s son, who died at age 11, was named Hamnet; he may have been
an inspiration for the tragic character Hamlet.
Plot Summary
Hamlet is the story of the events that take place after the king of Denmark is found dead. His
son, Hamlet, is visited by the king's ghost, who tells him that Hamlet’s uncle Claudius was the
murderer. Hamlet resolves to kill Claudius and avenge his father's death, but he struggles with
the morality of his decision and finds himself unable to act.
To fool Claudius into thinking he knows nothing about the murder, Hamlet pretends to be
insane; however, Hamlet’s actual mental state becomes less and less certain throughout the
play. Meanwhile, when Claudius begins to realize Hamlet knows more than he lets on, he plots
to kill him. Hamlet, though, is smart; much of the play depicts his brilliant wordplay and
cunning outmaneuvers of the king’s courtiers—until, of course, the play’s tragic ending, which
sees most of the royal family killed.

Major Characters
Hamlet. The protagonist of the story, Hamlet is the prince of Denmark and the son of the
murdered king. Possessing a melancholy and depressive disposition, he struggles throughout the
play with his inability to act on his desire for revenge.
Claudius. The current king of Denmark and the brother of the king, Hamlet's late father.
Claudius murdered the former king and married his wife Gertrude, stealing Hamlet’s right to
succeed his father.
Polonius. The father of Ophelia and Laertes and advisor to the king. Obsequious, pedantic, and
scheming, Polonius is killed by Hamlet.
Ophelia. Hamlet’s love interest and Polonius’s daughter. She aims to please her father and is
deeply troubled by Hamlet’s madness, but goes mad herself by the end of the play.
Laertes. Polonius’s son. He is a man of action, in direct contrast to Hamlet, and is ready to take
his revenge as soon as he discovers Hamlet’s hand in the destruction of his father and sister.
Gertrude. The queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, and Claudius’s wife. She was married to
the old king, but was unfaithful to him with Claudius.
Fortinbras. The prince of Norway, who eventually becomes king of Denmark after Hamlet's
death.
Horatio. Hamlet’s best friend from university, who serves as a foil to Hamlet.
The Ghost. Hamlet’s dead father, the former king of Denmark.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet’s childhood friends, whom Hamlet outwits at every
turn.
Major Themes
Appearance vs. Reality. Is the ghost really Hamlet’s dead father? Is Claudius lying? Hamlet
must continually grapple with his inability to trust his own interpretation of events, which keeps
him in a state of inaction.
Death, Guilt, and the Afterlife. Hamlet frequently wonders about the mystery of death. Tied to
these thoughts is always the question of guilt, and whether or not his soul—or the soul of
another, like Claudius—will wind up in heaven or hell.
Revenge and Action vs. Inaction. Although the play is about revenge, Hamlet continually
delays the act. Connected to this theme is the question of the afterlife, doubts about which seem
to stay Hamlet’s hand.
Literary Style
Hamlet has had remarkable literary significance from its first performance, which is estimated
to have taken place between 1599 and 1602, influencing writers as varied as John Milton,
Johann Wilhelm von Goethe, George Eliot, and David Foster Wallace. It is a tragedy, a genre
with roots in classical Greek theatre; however, Shakespeare ignores Aristotle’s injunction for a
play to focus primarily on action, not character. Instead, the play follows the twists and turns of
Hamlet’s moral struggle much more through soliloquies than plot.
The play was written during the reign of Elizabeth I. There are numerous early versions of the
play still in existence; each, however, has different lines, so it is the job of the editor to decide
which version to publish, and accounts for the many explanatory notes in editions of
Shakespeare.

About the Author

William Shakespeare is arguably the highest-regarded writer in the English language. Although
his exact date of birth is unknown, he was baptized in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1564 and
married Anne Hathaway at age 18. Sometime between the ages of 20 and 30, Shakespeare
moved to London to start his career in theatre. He worked as an actor and a writer, as well as a
part-time owner of the theatre troupe the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s
Men. Since little information about commoners was retained at the time, not much is known
about Shakespeare, leading to ongoing questions about his life, his inspiration, and the
authorship of his plays.

Summary:
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet takes place in Elsinore, Denmark after the death of King
Hamlet. The tragedy tells the story of Prince Hamlet's moral struggle after his father’s ghost
tells him that Claudius, Prince Hamlet's uncle, murdered the king.

Act I
The play begins on a cold night with the changing of the guard. King Hamlet has died, and his
brother Claudius has taken the throne. However, for the past two nights, the guards (Francisco
and Bernardo) have seen a restless ghost resembling the old king wandering the castle grounds.
They inform Hamlet’s friend Horatio of what they've seen.
The next morning, the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude, the wife of the late king, takes place.
When the room clears, Hamlet soliloquizes on his disgust at their union, which he views as a
betrayal of his father at best and, at worst, incest. Horatio and the guards enter and tell Hamlet
to meet the ghost that night.
Meanwhile, Laertes, the son of the king's advisor Polonius, is getting ready for school. He says
goodbye to his sister Ophelia, who is romantically interested in Hamlet. Polonius enters and
lectures Laertes extensively on how to behave at school. Both father and son then warn Ophelia
about Hamlet; in response, Ophelia promises to no longer see him.
That night, Hamlet meets the ghost, who claims to be the ghost of the king—Hamlet's father.
The ghost says that he was murdered by Claudius, that Claudius put poison in his ear while he
slept, and that Gertrude slept with Claudius even before his death. The ghost orders Hamlet to
avenge the murder, but not to punish his mother. Hamlet agrees. Later, he informs Horatio and
Marcellus, one of the guards, that he will pretend to be mad until he can get his revenge.

Act II
Polonius sends a spy, Reynaldo, to France to keep an eye on Laertes. Ophelia enters and tells
Polonius that Hamlet entered her room in a mad state, grabbing her wrists and staring wildly
into her eyes. She also adds that she has cut off all contact with Hamlet. Polonius, certain that
Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and that it was Ophelia's rejection that put him in this
state, decides to meet the king to concoct a plan to spy on Hamlet in conversation with Ophelia.
Meanwhile, Gertrude has asked Hamlet’s school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to try to
figure out the cause of his madness. Hamlet is suspicious of them, and he evades their
questions.
Soon, a theatre troupe arrives, and Hamlet requests that the following night they perform a
certain play, The Murder of Gonzago, with a few passages inserted written by Hamlet. Alone on
stage, Hamlet voices his frustration about his own indecisiveness. He decides he must figure out
if the ghost is truly his father or if it is a specter leading him to sin without reason. Because the
play depicts of a king who kills his brother and marries his sister-in-law, Hamlet believes that
the performance scheduled for the next night will make Claudius show his guilt.

Act III
Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as she returns the gifts he gave her. They
become confused when Hamlet spurns her, telling her to go to a nunnery. Claudius concludes
that the cause of Hamlet's madness is not his love for Ophelia, and decides that he should send
Hamlet away to England, unless Gertrude can figure out the true cause.
During the performance of The Murder of Gonzago, Claudius stops the action just after the
scene in which poison is poured into the king's ear. Hamlet tells Horatio he is now certain that
Claudius murdered his father.
In the next scene, Claudius attempts to pray in church, but his guilt prevents him from doing so.
Hamlet enters and readies himself to kill Claudius, but stops when he realizes that Claudius
might go to heaven if he is killed while praying.
Gertrude and Hamlet have a bitter fight in her bedchamber. When Hamlet hears a noise behind
the tapestry, he stabs the intruder: it is Polonius, who dies. The ghost appears again, rebuking
Hamlet for his harsh words against his mother. Gertrude, who cannot see the ghost, becomes
certain that Hamlet is mad. Hamlet drags Polonius’s body offstage.

Act IV
Hamlet jokes with Claudius about killing Polonius; Claudius, fearing for his own life, orders
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to bring Hamlet to England. Claudius has prepared letters telling
the English king to kill Hamlet when he arrives.
Gertrude is told that Ophelia has gone mad with the news of her father’s death. Ophelia enters,
sings a number of strange songs, and speaks of her father’s death, insinuating that her brother
Laertes will get revenge. Soon, Laertes enters and demands Polonius. When Claudius tells
Laertes that Polonius he is dead, Ophelia enters with a bundle of flowers, each one symbolic.
Laertes, upset by his sister’s state, promises to listen to Claudius’s explanation.
A messenger approaches Horatio with a letter from Hamlet. The letter explains that Hamlet
snuck onto a pirate vessel that attacked them; after they parted, the pirates mercifully agreed to
take him back to Denmark in return for some favors. Meanwhile, Claudius has convinced
Laertes to join him against Hamlet.
A messenger arrives with a letter for Claudius from Hamlet, announcing his return. Quickly,
Claudius and Laertes plot how to kill Hamlet without upsetting Gertrude or the people of
Denmark, with whom Hamlet is popular. The two men agree to arrange a duel. Laertes acquires
a poison blade, and Claudius plans to give Hamlet a poisoned goblet. Gertrude then enters with
news that Ophelia has drowned, reigniting Laertes’s anger.

Act V
While digging Ophelia’s grave, two gravediggers discuss her apparent suicide. Hamlet and
Horatio enter, and a gravedigger introduces him to a skull: Yorick, the old king’s jester whom
Hamlet loved. Hamlet considers the nature of death.
The funeral procession interrupts Hamlet; Claudius, Gertrude, and Laertes are among the
entourage. Laertes jumps into his sister’s grave and demands to be buried alive. Hamlet reveals
himself and brawls with Laertes, exclaiming that he loved Ophelia more than forty thousand
brothers could. After Hamlet’s exit, Claudius reminds Laertes of their plan to kill Hamlet.
Hamlet explains to Horatio that he read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s letters, rewrote one
demanding the beheading of his former friends, and swapped the letters before escaping on the
pirate ship. Osric, a courtier, interrupts with news of Laertes’s duel. At the court, Laertes takes
up the poisoned blade. After the first point, Hamlet refuses the poisoned drink from Claudius,
from which Gertrude then takes a sip. While Hamlet is unguarded, Laertes wounds him; they
grapple and Hamlet wounds Laertes with his own poisoned blade. Just then, Gertrude collapses,
exclaiming she has been poisoned. Laertes confesses the plan he shared with Claudius, and
Hamlet wounds Claudius with the poisoned blade, killing him. Laertes asks for Hamlet’s
forgiveness, and dies.
Hamlet asks Horatio to explain his story and declares Fortinbras the next king of Denmark, then
dies. Fortinbras enters, and Horatio promises to tell the story of Hamlet. Fortinbras agrees to
hear it, declaring that Hamlet will be buried as a soldier.

Themes
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is considered of the most thematically-rich works of literature in
the English language. The tragic play, which follows Prince Hamlet as he decides whether to
revenge his father's death by murdering his uncle, includes themes of appearance vs. reality,
revenge, action vs. inaction, and the nature of death and the afterlife.
Appearance vs. Reality
Appearance versus reality is a recurrent theme within Shakespeare’s plays, which often
question the boundary between actors and people. At the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet finds
himself questioning how much he can trust the ghostly apparition. Is it really the ghost of his
father, or is it an evil spirit meant to lead him into murderous sin? The uncertainty remains
central to the narrative throughout the play, as the ghost's statements determine much of the
narrative’s action.
Hamlet’s madness blurs the line between appearance and reality. In Act I, Hamlet clearly states
that he plans to feign madness. However, over the course of the play, it becomes less and less
clear that he is only pretending to be mad. Perhaps the best example of this confusion takes
place in Act III, when Hamlet spurns Ophelia leaving her utterly confused about the state of his
affection for her. In this scene, Shakespeare brilliantly reflects the confusion in his choice of
language. As Hamlet tells Ophelia to “get thee to a nunnery,” an Elizabethan audience would
hear a pun on “nunnery” as a place of piety and chastity as well as the contemporary slang term
“nunnery” for brothel. This collapse of opposites reflects not only the confused state of
Hamlet’s mind, but also Ophelia’s (and our own) inability to interpret him correctly. This
moment echoes the broader theme of the impossibility of interpreting reality, which in turn
leads to Hamlet's struggle with revenge and inaction.

Literary Device: Play-Within-a-Play

The theme of appearance versus reality is reflected in the Shakespearean trope of the play-
within-a-play. As the audience watches the actors of the play Hamlet watching a play
(here, The Murder of Gonzago), it is suggested that they zoom out and consider the ways in
which they themselves might be upon a stage. For example, within the play, Claudius’s lies and
diplomacy are clearly simple pretense, as is Hamlet’s feigning madness. But is not Ophelia’s
innocent acquiescence to her father’s demand that she stop seeing Hamlet another pretense, as
she clearly does not want to spurn her lover? Shakespeare is thus preoccupied with the ways we
are actors in our everyday life, even when we don’t mean to be.

Revenge and Action vs. Inaction

Revenge is the catalyst for action in Hamlet. After all, it is the ghost’s injunction to Hamlet to
seek revenge for his death that forces Hamlet into action (or inaction, as the case may be).
However, Hamlet is no simple drama of vengeance. Instead, Hamlet continually puts off the
revenge he is supposed to seize. He even considers his own suicide instead of killing Claudius;
however, the question of the afterlife, and whether he would be punished for taking his own
life, stays his hand. Similarly, when Claudius decides he must have Hamlet killed off, Claudius
sends the prince to England with a note to have him executed, rather than doing the deed
himself.
In direct contrast to the inaction of Hamlet and Claudius is the forceful action of Laertes. As
soon as he hears of his father’s murder, Laertes returns to Denmark, ready to wreak revenge on
those responsible. It is only through careful and clever diplomacy that Claudius manages to
convince the enraged Laertes that Hamlet is at fault for the murder.
Of course, at the end of the play, everyone is revenged: Hamlet’s father, as Claudius dies;
Polonius and Ophelia, as Laertes kills Hamlet; Hamlet himself, as he kills Laertes; even
Gertrude, for her adultery, is killed drinking from the poisoned goblet. In addition, Prince
Fortinbras of Norway, who was searching for revenge for his father’s death at Denmark’s
hands, enters to find most of the offending royal family killed. But perhaps this fatally
interlocking network has a more sobering message: namely, the destructive consequences of a
society that values vengeance.

Death, Guilt, and the Afterlife

From the very beginning of the play, the question of death looms. The ghost of Hamlet’s father
makes the audience wonder about the religious forces at work within the play. Does the ghost’s
appearance mean Hamlet’s father is in heaven, or hell?
Hamlet struggles with the question of the afterlife. He wonders whether, if he kills Claudius, he
will end up in hell himself. Particularly given his lack of trust in the ghost’s words, Hamlet
wonders if Claudius is even as guilty as the ghost says. Hamlet's desire to prove Claudius's guilt
beyond all doubt results in much of the action in the play, including the play-within-a-play he
commissions. Even when Hamlet comes close to killing Claudius, raising his sword to murder
the oblivious Claudius in church, he pauses with the question of the afterlife in mind: if he kills
Claudius while he is praying, does that mean Claudius will go to heaven? (Notably, in this
scene, the audience has just witnessed the difficulty Claudius faces in being able to pray, his
own heart burdened by guilt.)
Suicide is another aspect of this theme. Hamlet takes place in era when the prevailing Christian
belief asserted that suicide would damn its victim to hell. Yet Ophelia, who is considered to
have died by suicide, is buried in hallowed ground. Indeed, her final appearance onstage,
singing simple songs and distributing flowers, seems to indicate her innocence—a stark contrast
with the allegedly sinful nature of her death.
Hamlet grapples with the question of suicide in his famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. In
thus considering suicide, Hamlet finds that “the dread of something after death” gives him
pause. This theme is echoed by the skulls Hamlet encounters in one of the final scenes; he is
amazed by the anonymity of each skull, unable to recognize even that of his favorite jester
Yorick. Thus, Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s struggle to understand the mystery of death,
which divides us from even seemingly the most fundamental aspects of our identity.

Key Quotes
Hamlet is one of the most quoted (and most parodied) plays by William Shakespeare. The play
is well-known for its powerful quotations about corruption, misogyny, and death. Yet, despite
the grim subject matter, Hamlet is also famous for the dark humor, clever witticisms, and catchy
phrases we still repeat today.

Quotes About Corruption

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
(Act I, Scene 4)
Spoken by Marcellus, a palace soldier, this familiar Shakespeare line is often quoted on cable
TV news. The expression implies a suspicion that someone in power is corrupt. The scent of
decay is a metaphor for a breakdown in morality and social order.
Marcellus exclaims that "something is rotten" when a ghost appears outside the castle.
Marcellus warns Hamlet not to follow the ominous apparition, but Hamlet insists. He soon
learns that the ghost is the spirit of his dead father and that evil has overtaken the throne.
Marcellus' statement is important because it foreshadows the tragic events that follow. Although
not significant to the story, it's also interesting to note that for Elizabethan audiences, Marcellus'
line is a crude pun: "rotten" references the smell of flatulence.
Symbols of rot and decay waft through Shakespeare's play. The ghost describes a "[m]urder
most foul" and a "strange, and unnatural" marriage. Hamlet's power-hungry uncle, Claudius, has
murdered Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark and (in a deed considered incestuous) has
married Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude.
The rottenness goes beyond murder and incest. Claudius has broken the royal bloodline,
disrupted the monarchy, and shattered the divine rule of law. Because the new head of state is
"rotten" as a dead fish, all of Denmark decays. In a confused thirst for revenge and an inability
to take action, Hamlet appears to go mad. His love-interest, Ophelia, suffers a complete mental
breakdown and commits suicide. Gertrude is killed by Claudius and Claudius is stabbed and
poisoned by Hamlet.
The notion that sin has an odor is echoed in Act III, Scene 3, when Claudius exclaims, "O! my
offence is rank, it smells to heaven." By the end of the play, all of the lead characters have died
from the "rot" that Marcellus perceived in Act I. 
Quotes About Misogyny
"Heaven and earth,
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on, and yet, within a month —
Let me not think on't — Frailty, thy name is woman! —"
(Act I, Scene 2)
There's no doubt that Prince Hamlet is sexist, possessing the Elizabethan attitudes toward
women found in many of Shakespeare's plays. However, this quote suggests that he is also a
misogynist (someone who hates women).
In this soliloquy, Hamlet expresses disgust over the behavior of his widowed mother, Queen
Gertrude. Gertrude once doted on Hamlet's father, the king, but after the king's death, she
hastily married his brother, Claudius. Hamlet rails against his mother's sexual "appetite" and her
apparent inability to remain loyal to his father. He's so upset that he breaks the formal metrical
pattern of blank verse. Rambling beyond the traditional 10-syllable line-length, Hamlet cries,
"Frailty, thy name is woman!"
"Frailty, they name is woman!" is also an apostrophe. Hamlet addresses frailty as though
speaking to a human being. Today, this Shakespeare quote is often adapted for humorous effect.
For example, in a 1964 episode of Bewitched, Samantha tells her husband, "Vanity, they name
is human." In the animated TV show The Simpsons, Bart exclaims, "Comedy, thy name is
Krusty." 
There's nothing lighthearted about Hamlet's accusation, however. Consumed with rage, he
seems to wallow in deep-seated hatred. He's not simply angry at his mother. Hamlet lashes out
at the entire female sex, proclaiming all women weak and fickle.
Later in the play, Hamlet turns his fury on Ophelia.
"Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a
breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest;
but yet I could accuse me of such things that it
were better my mother had not borne me: I am very
proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offenses at
my beck than I have thoughts to put them in,
imagination to give them shape, or time to act them
in. What should such fellows as I do crawling
between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves,
all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery."
(Act III, Scene 1)
Hamlet seems to totter on the brink of insanity in this tirade. He once claimed that he loved
Ophelia, but now he rejects her for reasons that aren't clear. He also describes himself as an
awful person: "proud, revengeful, ambitious." In essence, Hamlet is saying, "It's not you, it's
me." He tells Ophelia to go to a nunnery (a convent of nuns) where she will remain chaste and
never give birth to "arrant knaves" (complete villains) like himself.
Perhaps Hamlet wants to shelter Ophelia from the corruption that has infested the kingdom and
from the violence that's sure to come. Perhaps he wants to distance himself from her so that he
can focus on avenging his father's death. Or perhaps Hamlet is so poisoned with anger that he's
no longer capable of feeling love. In Elizabethan English, "nunnery" is also slang for "brothel."
In this sense of the word, Hamlet condemns Ophelia as a wanton, duplicitous female like his
mother.
Regardless of his motives, Hamlet's rebuke contributes to Ophelia's mental breakdown and
eventual suicide. Many feminist scholars argue that Ophelia's fate illustrates the tragic
consequences of a patriarchal society.
Quotes About Death
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? — To die, — to sleep, —
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, — ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream — ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come..."
(Act III, Scene 1)
These morose lines from Hamlet introduce one of the most memorable soliloquies in the
English language. Prince Hamlet is preoccupied with themes of mortality and human frailty.
When he ponders "[t]o be, or not to be," he's weighing life ("to be") versus death ("not to be").
The parallel structure presents an antithesis, or a contrast, between two opposing ideas. Hamlet
theorizes that it's noble to live and fight against troubles. But, he argues, it's also desirable (a
"consummation devoutly to be wish'd") to flee misfortune and heartache. He uses the phrase "to
sleep" as a metonymy to characterize the slumber of death.
Hamlet's speech seems to explore the pros and cons of suicide. When he says "there's the rub,"
he means "there's the drawback." Perhaps death will bring hellish nightmares. Later in the long
soliloquy, Hamlet observes that fear of consequences and the unknown—the "undiscovere'd
country"—makes us bear our sorrows rather than seek escape. "Thus," he concludes,
"conscience does make cowards of us all."
In this context, the word "conscience" means "conscious thought." Hamlet isn't really talking
about suicide, but about his inability to take action against the "sea of troubles" in his kingdom.
Confused, indecisive, and hopelessly philosophical, he ponders whether he should kill his
murderous uncle Claudius.
Widely quoted and often misinterpreted, Hamlet's "[t]o be, or not to be" soliloquy has inspired
writers for centuries. Hollywood film director Mel Brooks referenced the famous lines in his
World War II comedy, To Be or Not to Be. In a 1998 film, What Dreams May Come, actor
Robin Williams meanders through the afterlife and tries to unravel tragic events. Countless
other Hamlet references have made their way into books, stories, poems, TV shows, video
games, and even comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.    
Dark Humor Quotes
Laughter in the midst of death isn't a modern idea. Even in his darkest tragedies, Shakespeare
incorporated cutting wit. Throughout Hamlet, the tedious busy-body Polonius spouts aphorisms,
or snippets of wisdom, that come off as silly and trite:
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
(Act I, Scene 3)
Buffoons like Polonius provide dramatic foils for the brooding Hamlet, illuminating Hamlet's
character and highlighting his anguish. While Hamlet philosophizes and mulls, Polonius makes
trite pronouncements. When Hamlet accidentally kills him in Act III, Polonius states the
obvious: "O, I am slain!"
Similarly, two clownish gravediggers provide comic relief during a painfully ironic churchyard
scene. Laughing and shouting crude jokes, they toss rotting skulls into the air. One of the skulls
belongs to Yorick, a beloved court jester who died long ago. Hamlet takes the skull and, in one
of his most famous monologues, contemplates the transience of life.
"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath
borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know
not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your
gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roar?"
(Act V, Scene 1)
The grotesque and absurd image of Hamlet addressing a human skull has become an
enduring meme, posted on Facebook and parodied in cartoons, TV shows, and films. For
example, in the Star Wars episode, The Empire Strikes Back, Chewbacca imitates Hamlet when
he lifts the head of a droid.
While prompting laughter, Yorick's skull is also a gruesome reminder of the underlying themes
of death, decay, and insanity in Shakespeare's play. The image is so compelling that a dying
pianist once bequeathed his own head to the Royal Shakespeare Company. The skull was
removed, cleaned and, in 1988, put to service. The actors used the skull in 22 performances
of Hamlet before deciding that the prop was too real—and too disturbing.

Sources
 Hamlet. Folger Shakespeare Library, www.folger.edu/hamlet.
 Hamlet in Pop Culture. Hartford Stage, www.hartfordstage.org/stagenotes/hamlet/pop-
culture.
 Heymont, George. “Something's Rotten in the State of Denmark.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 June 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/somethings-
rotten-in-the-state-of-denmark_us_575d8673e4b053e219791bb6.
 Ophelia and Madness. Folger Shakespeare Library. 26 May 2010,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhJWwoWCD4w&feature=youtu.be.
 Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: Open Source
Shakespeare, Eric M. Johnson,
www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=hamlet. 
 Women In Hamlet. elsinore.ucsc.edu/women/WomenOandH.html.

Quiz
1. Which of the following is NOT something the ghost tells Hamlet?
 Claudius was responsible for King Hamlet's death
 Claudius put poison in the king's ear while he slept
  Hamlet must get revenge for the murder of the king
 Hamlet must punish his mother for her infidelity
2. The performance of 'The Murder of Gonzaga' is an example of which literary device?
 Symbol
 Flashback
 Play-within-a-play
 Deus ex machina
3. Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius in the church?
 He is concerned that Claudius will go to heaven
 He no longer believes that Claudius is the murderer
 The ghost of King Hamlet tells him not to do it
 Just as he raises his sword, Ophelia stops him
4. Which character is accidentally killed by Hamlet?
 Ophelia
 Claudius
 Laertes
 Polonius
5. Why does Laertes return to Denmark?
 He wants to get revenge for his father's death
 He wants to take over the throne
 He wants to stop Ophelia from marrying Hamlet
 He wants to prove that Hamlet isn't really mad

In Hamlet, what does the appearance of the ghost of Prince Hamlet's father foreshadow?
The characters certainly find the ghost's appearance fearful, particularly because he is wearing
the very armor he wore to fight the elder King Fortinbras of Norway. They also feel that the
ghost foreshadows something much darker. Hamlet says: "My father's spirit—in arms? All is
not well" (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 279). The audience can't help but think the same. The country
does not go to war in the literal sense—which audience members might suspect is the
significance of the ghost's armor. However, Hamlet begins to investigate his father's death and
Claudius's possible guilt.

The theme of truth versus deception, expressed also as reality versus appearance, appears
throughout Hamlet. Consider this theme in the scene where the audience is introduced to the
ghost.
In Hamlet, the ghost is linked to the idea of reality versus appearance in that no one is ever quite
sure that what they're seeing is real—in this case, the ghost of Hamlet's father. The soldiers on
watch aren't sure what they're seeing but are brave enough to call in Horatio. Horatio is shocked
but, being a reasonable person, he has the sense to tell Hamlet. Hamlet takes the appearance-
versus-reality question to a deeper level by wondering about the ghost's intent. He agrees that
the ghost looks like his father, but he wonders if it is a demon or an actual ghost. This is an
expanded level of the appearance-versus-reality question—and that same question comes up
again and again in the play.

Hamlet's first scene introduces young Fortinbras of Norway and his quest to reclaim lands
captured from Norway.
What information does this provide regarding the theme of thought versus action?
From what Horatio relates to Barnardo and Marcellus in Act 1, Scene 1, the audience learns the
particulars of the Norway-versus-Denmark dispute that ended in a win for Denmark, a loss of
land for Norway, and the death of old Fortinbras. Horatio further tells them that young
Fortinbras, son and namesake of the deceased king of Norway, is raising an army to march on
Denmark, intending to avenge his father's death and to retake the land Norway lost. The
younger Fortinbras, as we will see, becomes a foil for Hamlet. Initially, Hamlet is deep-thinking
and slow to act; Fortinbras is quick to act, "of unimproved mettle hot and full" (Act 1, Scene 1,
Line 109). Hamlet himself sees the difference, pondering on it a few times, including when he
is leaving for England and Fortinbras is passing through Denmark en route to Poland.
Gradually, like two ends of a continuum (action/thought or action/nonaction), Hamlet and
Fortinbras temper their behaviors and, by the play's end, are much closer to each other on that
continuum than they were.

In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2, Hamlet has short interchanges with the king and queen, an aside, and
a soliloquy. What do these speeches reveal and foreshadow?
In the interchanges, aside, and the soliloquy at the end of the scene, Hamlet reveals that—in
addition to still being in deep mourning over his father—he has misgivings about his
relationship with his uncle and is dismayed by his mother's apparent ability to move on though
his father is so recently deceased. The interchanges seen in this very early scene set up much of
the play: King Hamlet is dead; his brother Claudius has taken the throne and his wife Gertrude;
their only son Hamlet is devastated for all of these reasons; tension is established between the
parties, and uncle and nephew are on a collision course. Shakespeare does an excellent job in
both Scenes 1 and 2 of supplying the backstory, setting up the tension, and then sliding into the
present action.

In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2, Claudius interacts with Polonius's son, Laertes, and with Hamlet, his
nephew. How does his behavior support what the audience learns about Claudius?
The audience notices the fatherly way in which Claudius interacts with Laertes and, in strong
contrast, the dismissive, almost heartless treatment he gives his nephew Hamlet. Most striking,
perhaps, is that Claudius tells Hamlet that he has grieved long enough for his father, a
discussion that he begins with the question, "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?" (Line
70). Were Claudius simply a new stepfather, this would seem an inappropriate question; that he
is brother to the now-deceased King Hamlet makes this interaction all the more inappropriate.
The whole middle part of this scene—after the discussion with Laertes and before Hamlet's first
soliloquy—provides a first glance at Claudius: egocentric, calculating, manipulative, and even
sociopathic. Audience members get a gut feeling that he may not be the face he shows to
Laertes; we wonder about Hamlet as we see him interact with Claudius and about the whole
situation in Denmark based on the ghost's appearance in the previous scene. As the play
unfolds, the audience will find that the callousness first seen here in Claudius is, indeed, who
Claudius is.

When the ghost appears in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4, Horatio cautions Hamlet against following
him. What is Horatio's fear? How does it relate to the theme of madness?
Horatio fears that Hamlet's interacting with the ghost can't lead to a good outcome. He wonders
if the ghost might somehow be able to steal the prince's sanity and push him into madness. This
directly relates to the theme of madness that becomes part of the complicated tapestry of the
play. In particular, as the play progresses, characters and the audience will have occasion to
question Hamlet's sanity. Although others have seen the ghost, the fact that no one else ever
hears it speak to Hamlet can be used to support the idea that Hamlet may indeed be mad and
imagining all that the ghost imparts to him.

In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4, how does Marcellus's declaration, "Something is rotten in the state
of Denmark," relate to the theme of mortality?
In Act 1, Scene 4, Marcellus says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," which is an
often-quoted piece of text. In the moment, he is referring to the presence of the ghost of King
Hamlet appearing to them. In the grander scheme, he could be seen as making an initial
comment on mortality, which is a reoccurring theme in the play. Regardless of one's standing,
we all eventually die. King Hamlet, a beloved and strong king, met his death too soon and at his
brother's hands. His brother, who personifies the something that is rotten in Denmark, is set on
his own collision course with mortality once the ghost comes on the scene. Some critics talk of
death and decay—which are nearly synonymous with mortality here in the play—as being
thematic in Hamlet as well. In short, when Marcellus utters this famous line, he is, in a way,
touching on the theme but also foreshadowing Claudius's downfall.

In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, the ghost directs Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius but to spare
Gertrude. Consider this in light of Hamlet's impression of his parents' bond.
During his soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2, the prince speaks glowingly of his parents' relationship
and, in particular, of his father's devotion to Gertrude. He reports King Hamlet as "so loving to
my mother/That he might not beteem the winds of heaven/Visit her face too roughly" (Act 1,
Scene 2, Lines 146–148). With that in mind, the ghost's directive that Hamlet not touch his
mother can be read as evidence of King Hamlet's protectiveness. Even in the afterlife, the spirit
of King Hamlet is attempting to care for Gertrude. From another viewpoint, the ghost's
instruction to Hamlet with regard to his mother could be seen as supporting the idea that
Gertrude either was completely blameless with regard to King Hamlet's death or that the ghost
of King Hamlet, perhaps knowing only what Hamlet would have known, can neither prove nor
disprove her guilt and, thus, she must be left to heaven's judgment.

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5 considers the theme of truth versus deception. How does this theme
relate to the ghost, Hamlet's thought about feigning madness, or other relevant moments?
This scene is built around the ghost, especially because Hamlet and the others have yet to
decide whether this ghost is a demon with intentions to mislead or if the ghost is really that of
the king. Truth versus deception/reality versus appearance is a big consideration here. This
theme is also addressed with regard to Hamlet's warning to his friends that he may have to put
on an "antic disposition"; that is, act mad. This is another matter that the audience and the
characters will have to sort out for themselves, deciding eventually what is real and what is not.
How audience members decide this issue will color how they experience the play.

King Hamlet's ghost is central to Act 1, Scene 5 of Hamlet. As a theatrical element, ghosts are
often useful additions. How does King Hamlet's ghost facilitate the plot?
Each scene with the ghost of King Hamlet seems to add tremendous complexity to the plot. The
ghost's presence adds dimension to the action, both literally and figuratively. With the ghost
now speaking to Hamlet, King Hamlet is revealing actions and even motivation (particularly
around the event of his own death) that the characters and audience would not otherwise know.
He is also a catalyst (especially with regard to Hamlet) capable of turning the course of the
play's action. He is a pivotal element when considering themes such as madness or revenge.