Maya Efrat

Period 2, AP Literature

March 6, 2017

Hamlet Climax Final Draft

Hamlet is a play that has been beloved for many years and has been read by so

many audiences. It follows the play structure used by Shakespeare where there is a

primary conflict which leads into the climax, which then leads into the conflict being

resolved and the consequences of the climax. The primary conflict in Hamlet is Hamlet

coming to terms with the death of his father. Hamlet learns that his father was murdered

by King Claudius and wants to avenge his murder. Hamlet struggles with his whether he

can trust the ghost and whether killing Claudius is the right thing to do.Hamlets internal

conflicts eventually lead to the climax of the play in Act IV when Hamlet decides to

follow through with his thoughts of revenge and stabs the curtain that he thinks Claudius

is hiding behind but ends up stabbing Polonius, Ophelias father instead.

The primary conflict is set up in Act 1 where Hamlet is visited by his

fathers ghost. The ghost tells him to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder (Act

1, Scene 5). Hamlet does not have proof if what the ghost is saying was true and so he

spends a large portion of the play being indecisive over if he should kill Claudius or not.

He ends up coming up with a plan to see if despite the lack of evidence, his uncle really

did kill his father and he can justify his revenge on him. He decides to have the players

put on a play that completely mimics how his father was murdered and he will watch
Claudiuss actions during this to see if he looks guilty and then be able to prove he did

indeed murder King Hamlet. Hamlet notices Claudius angry reactions towards the play,

he abruptly gets up and demands for the lights to be turned on, which leads him to take

action and finally murder him.

Hamlet overcomes his conflicts of indecision and lack of evidence after this

scene and has what he needs to give him the motive to kill Claudius. This leads to the

climax where Hamlet stabs the curtain in his mothers room and stabs Polonius, which

he thinks is Claudius. This moment is the climax because it is the point of highest

dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action of the play. It is the main action

Hamlet takes to solve the initial conflict and the rest of the play deals with the actions

that follow.

The climax of the play leads to many consequences such as Hamlet being sent

away to England by Claudius, Ophelia going crazy and killing herself, and Laertes

wanting Hamlet dead. These consequences lead to the other main events that follow.

These are all caused by Hamlets initial need to get revenge and follow the structure of

Shakespeares play: a conflict which leads into the climax, which then leads into the

conflict being resolved and the consequences of the climax.