Hamlet Write Up English 11R

Stefan Liljestrand Slattery

Play - Hamlet Playwright - William Shakespeare Genre - Tragedy Year Written - Between 1599 - 1601

Setting - All of the play takes place inside the Castle of King Hamlet, in which Claudius takes over after he dies. There is little mention of anywhere else except for Norway, and England where Laertes goes to study for college. The murder takes place in the garden outside of the castle.

Characters -

Prince Hamlet - Prince Of Denmark, Son of recently deceased King Hamlet, Nephew of Claudius and son of Gertrude, Story revolves around him dealing with the death of his father and the idea that his uncle is now his stepfather. He has 2 soliloquies, one having the line To be or not to be, expressing his contemplation of death.

King Claudius - King of Denmark (Became king after the death of King Hamlet), Married to Queen Gertrude. In the beginning of the play, it is revealed that he had murdered the king, his brother. Throughout the play, Hamlet forges a plan to kill him.

Queen Gertrude - Queen of Denmark, past wife of King Hamlet, and the wife of King Claudius throughout the play. Fails to display the persona of innocence, because she quickly lets go of the death of her Husband, and marries Claudius.

Ophelia - Daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and girlfriend of Hamlet. She is a symbol of innocence throughout the play, because the chaos around her creates her madness.

Horatio- Hamlets best friend. He is very loyal to Hamlet even when he witnesses his madness. He is the only living character in the end of the play.

Polonius - Advisor to Claudius, Father of Laertes and Ophelia, Accidentally murdered by Hamlet, which heightens the chaos.

Laertes- Son of Polonius, Brother of Ophelia. Goes away to college in the start of the play. After his fathers death, he seeks revenge and challenges Hamlet to a fencing match, but with a poisoned sword.

Fortinbras - Prince of Norway, Father killed by King Hamlet. Seeks revenge for his fathers death and seeks to take over Denmark.

Act Summaries Act 1

In the dark night, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to two sentinels and Horatio. They run in to tell Hamlet about the ghost. Hamlet is dumbfounded and runs outside to see this ghost. Meanwhile Polonius tells Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet. Outside, Hamlet sees the ghost, who tells Hamlet to avenge him.

Act 2

Polonius sends someone to spy on Laertes and check that he is behaving and hasnt gotten into any trouble. Ophelia tells Polonius about her and Hamlets strange encounter. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent to examine Hamlet. Hamlet realizes that they were sent to watch him.

Act 3

Ophelia is sent to spy on Hamlet by Claudius and Polonius. The players perform the play in front of the King and the Queen. Claudius realizes that this play is about the

murder he committed, so he stops it immediately. Polonius spies on Hamlet talking to Gertrude. Hamlet hears him and stabs him through the curtains.

Act 4

The Queen tells of the murder of Polonius. Hamlet is sent to England and sees Fortinbrass army marching to Denmark. Ophelia goes crazy and Laertes demands revenge. Ophelia drowns, and Hamlet returns from Denmark. Claudius and Laertes plot the revenge in the fencing match.

Act 5

Ophelias funeral is held, and before it begins, Hamlet finds the skull of Yorik, his childhood friend. The fencing match is held, Hamlet is cut with the poison sword, but in the confusion they switch swords and Hamlet cuts Laertes and poisons him. Gertrude drinks the liquid with the poisoned pearl and she dies. Hamlet finally kills Claudius and makes him drink the poison. Horatio almost commits suicide but Hamlet tells him to tell his story.

Literary Devices Metaphor -

Tis but our fantasy, And will not let belief take hold of him Repetition The word Rotten (or rank in some cases) - This word is repeated numerous times in the play, showing how everything in the work is turning to bad, just like rotten objects. Irony The poison in the pearl shows how deception can be destructive and the irony is displayed when deception leads to unintentional deaths, such as Gertrude. Foil The three main foils in the play are connected to Hamlet. These three are Fortinbras, Laertes and Ophelia. The three characters are foils to Hamlet because they all have the desire for revenge, however Hamlet never actually comes through with his plans. Personification So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.

Symbols Yoriks Skull As Hamlet stares at the skull, explaining the impact of this mans life on him, the skull clearly represents the inevitability of death. Poison -

Poison represents the theme of revenge throughout the play. It shows how the desire for revenge often leads to destructive things, such as poisoning your enemies.

Themes Weakness of Human Nature - The whole play continually reveals this theme. The characters of the play are altogether weak because the desire for many things cause chaos that no one can stop.

Destructive power of revenge - The idea of revenge resonates throughout the play. Most of the characters show the desire for revenge at some point. The audience sees how most of the characters act upon their desire for revenge.

Reason over emotion - Reason in the play is overpowered by emotion in most of the characters minds. The only character who truly listens to reason is Horatio, whos good conscience leads him to be the only living character in the end of the play.

Significant Lines -

To be, or not to be that is the question... This quote is one of Hamlets soliloquies of the play. In this speech, Hamlet compares death to life, and the decision on wether to keep life. This speech is known as

a soliloquy, but whether it is a soliloquy is questionable, because Claudius and Polonius are spying on him, listening to his speech. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Act 1, Scene 4) This quote, in the beginning of the play, is said by Marcellus. Without knowing anything of what is to come in the castle of Denmark, he feels the sense of rottenness. This brings the audience back to the symbol of the term rotten.

Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportiond thought his act... This quote, stated by Polonius, is the fatherly advice given to Laertes before he goes off to college, giving him instructions on how to behave in England. This shows the difference between Laertes and Hamlet, because Laertes was born to follow orders while Hamlet was not.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks This quote, stated by Hamlet, is said to Ophelia in the third person. This shows his view of how the women is lower than him. Throughout the play, he expresses his thoughts about women in a quiet but hurtful manner.