The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William

Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in the Kingdom of
Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, firstly for murdering the
old King Hamlet (Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father) and secondly for then succeeding to
the throne and marrying Gertrude (the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet). The play
vividly portrays real and feigned madness from overwhelming grief to seething rage and explores
themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.
Three different early versions of the play have survived: these are known as the First Quarto (Q1), the
Second Quarto (Q2) and the First Folio (F1). Each has lines, and even scenes, that are missing from
the others. Shakespeare based Hamlet on the legend of Amleth, preserved by 13th-century
chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum as subsequently retold by 16th-century
scholar Franois de Belleforest. He may have also drawn on, or perhaps written, an earlier
(hypothetical) Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-Hamlet.
The play's structure and depth of characterisation have inspired much critical scrutiny, of which one
example is the centuries-old debate about Hamlet's hesitation to kill his uncle. Some see it as a plot
device to prolong the action, and others see it as the result of pressure exerted by the complex
philosophical and ethical issues that surround cold-blooded murder, calculated revenge and thwarted
desire. More recently, psychoanalytic critics have examined Hamlet'sunconscious desires,
and feminist critics have re-evaluated and rehabilitated the often maligned characters
of Ophelia and Gertrude.
Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the
English language. t has a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by
others."
[1]
During Shakespeare's lifetime, the play was one of his most popular works,
[2]
and it still
ranks high among his most-performed, topping, for example, what eventually became the Royal
Shakespeare Company's list since 1879.
[3]
t has inspired writers
from Goethe andDickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most filmed
story after Cinderella".
[4]

The title role was almost certainly created for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of
Shakespeare's time.
[5]
n the four hundred years since, it has been performed by highly acclaimed
actors and actresses from each successive age.

Plot
The protagonist of Hamlet is Prince Hamlet of Denmark, son of deceased King Hamlet and his
wife, Queen Gertrude.
The story opens on a chilly night at Elsinore, the Danish royal castle. Francisco, one of the sentinels,
is relieved of his watch by Bernardo, another sentinel, and exits while Bernardo remains. A third
sentinel, Marcellus, enters with Horatio, Hamlet's best friend. The sentinels inform Horatio that they
have seen a ghost that looks like the dead King Hamlet. After hearing from Horatio of the Ghost's
appearance, Hamlet resolves to see the Ghost himself. That night, the Ghost appears again. t leads
Hamlet to a secluded place, claims that it is the actual spirit of his father, and discloses that hethe
elder Hamletwas murdered by Claudius' pouring poison in his ear. The Ghost demands that Hamlet
avenge him; Hamlet agrees, swears his companions to secrecy, and tells them he intends to "put an
antic disposition on"
[7]
(presumably to avert suspicion). Hamlet initially attests to the ghost's reliability,
calling him both an "honest ghost" and "truepenny." Later, however, he expresses doubts about the
ghost's nature and intent, claiming these as reasons for his inaction.
Polonius is Claudius' trusted chief counsellor; Polonius's son, Laertes, is returning to France,
and Polonius's daughter, Ophelia, is courted by Hamlet. Both Polonius and Laertes warn Ophelia that
Hamlet is surely not serious about her. Shortly afterward, Ophelia is alarmed by Hamlet's strange
behaviour, reporting to her father that Hamlet rushed into her room, stared at her, and said nothing.
Polonius assumes that the "ecstasy of love"
[8]
is responsible for Hamlet's "mad" behaviour, and he
informs Claudius and Gertrude.
Perturbed by Hamlet's continuing deep mourning for his father and his increasingly erratic behaviour,
Claudius sends for two of Hamlet's acquaintancesRosencrantz and Guildensternto find out the
cause of Hamlet's changed behaviour. Hamlet greets his friends warmly but quickly discerns that they
have been sent to spy on him.
Together, Claudius and Polonius convince Ophelia to speak with Hamlet while they secretly listen.
When Hamlet enters, she offers to return his remembrances, upon which Hamlet questions her
honesty and furiously rants at her to "get thee to a nunnery."
[9]

Hamlet remains uncertain whether the Ghost has told him the truth, but the arrival of a troupe of actors
at Elsinore presents him with a solution. He will have them stage a play, %e Murder of Gonzago, re-
enacting his father's murder and determine Claudius's guilt or innocence by studying his reaction to it.
The court assembles to watch the play; Hamlet provides an agitated running commentary throughout.
When the murder scene is presented, Claudius abruptly rises and leaves the room, which Hamlet sees
as proof of his uncle's guilt.
Gertrude summons Hamlet to her closet to demand an explanation. On his way, Hamlet passes
Claudius in prayer, but hesitates to kill him, reasoning that death in prayer would send him to heaven.
However, it is revealed that the King is not truly praying, remarking that "words" never made it to
heaven without "thoughts."
[11]
An argument erupts between Hamlet and Gertrude. Polonius, spying on
the scene from behind an arras and convinced that the prince's madness is indeed real, panics when it
seems as if Hamlet is about to murder the Queen and cries out for help. Hamlet, believing it is
Claudius hiding behind the arras, stabs wildly through the cloth, killing Polonius. When he realises that
he has killed Ophelia's father, he is not remorseful, but calls Polonius "Thou wretched, rash, intruding
fool."
[12]
The Ghost appears, urging Hamlet to treat Gertrude gently, but reminding him to kill Claudius.
Unable to see or hear the Ghost herself, Gertrude takes Hamlet's conversation with it as further
evidence of madness.
Claudius, now fearing for his life, finds a legitimate excuse to get rid of the prince: he sends Hamlet to
England on a diplomatic pretext, accompanied (and closely watched) by Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. Alone, Claudius discloses that he is actually sending Hamlet to his death. Prior to
embarking for England, Hamlet hides Polonius's body, ultimately revealing its location to the King.
Upon leaving Elsinore, Hamlet encounters the army of Prince Fortinbras en route to do battle in
Poland. Upon witnessing so many men going to their death on the brash whim of an impulsive prince,
Hamlet declares, "O, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!"
[13]

At Elsinore, further demented by grief at her father Polonius's death, Ophelia wanders the castle,
acting erratically and singing bawdy songs. Her brother, Laertes, returns from France, horrified by his
father's death and his sister's madness. She appears briefly to give out herbs and flowers. Claudius
convinces Laertes that Hamlet is solely responsible; then news arrives that Hamlet is still alivea
story is spread that his ship was attacked by pirates on the way to England, and he has returned to
Denmark. Claudius swiftly concocts a plot to kill his nephew but make it appear to be an accident,
taking all of the blame off his shoulders. Knowing of Hamlet's jealousy of Laertes' prowess with a
sword, he proposes a fencing match between the two. Laertes, enraged at the murder of his father,
informs the king that he will further poison the tip of his sword so that a mere scratch would mean
certain death. Claudius, unsure that capable Hamlet could receive even a scratch, plans to offer
Hamlet poisoned wine if that fails. Gertrude enters to report that Ophelia has drowned.
n the Elsinore churchyard, two "clowns", typically represented as "gravediggers," enter to prepare
Ophelia's grave, and, although the coroner has ruled her death accidental so that she may receive
Christian burial, they argue about its being a case of suicide. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters
with one of them, who unearths the skull of a jester whom Hamlet once knew, Yorick ("Alas, Poor
Yorick; knew him, Horatio."). Ophelia's funeral procession approaches, led by her mournful brother
Laertes. Distraught at the lack of ceremony (due to the actually-deemed suicide) and overcome by
emotion, Laertes leaps into the grave, cursing Hamlet as the cause of her death. Hamlet interrupts,
professing his own love and grief for Ophelia. He and Laertes grapple, but the fight is broken up by
Claudius and Gertrude. Claudius reminds Laertes of the planned fencing match.
Later that day, Hamlet tells Horatio how he escaped death on his journey, disclosing that Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern have been sent to their deaths instead. A courtier, Osric, interrupts to invite Hamlet
to fence with Laertes. Despite Horatio's warnings, Hamlet accepts and the match begins. After several
rounds, Gertrude toasts Hamletagainst the urgent warning of Claudiusaccidentally drinking the
wine he poisoned. Between bouts, Laertes attacks and pierces Hamlet with his poisoned blade; in the
ensuing scuffle, Hamlet is able to use Laertes's own poisoned sword against him. Gertrude falls and,
in her dying breath, announces that she has been poisoned.
n his dying moments, Laertes is reconciled with Hamlet and reveals Claudius's murderous plot.
Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword, and then forces him to drink from his own poisoned
cup to make sure he dies. n his final moments, Hamlet names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as the
probable heir to the throne, since the Danish kingship is an elected position, with the country's nobles
having the final say. Horatio attempts to kill himself with the same poisoned wine but is stopped by
Hamlet, as he will be the only one left alive who can give a full account of the story.
When Fortinbras arrives to greet King Claudius, he encounters the deadly scene: Gertrude, Claudius,
Laertes, and Hamlet are all dead. Horatio asks to be allowed to recount the tale to "the yet unknowing
world," and Fortinbras orders Hamlet's body borne off in honour.

Characters

HamletSon of the former king, and nephew of the present King
ClaudiusKing of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle.
GertrudeQueen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet
PoloniusLord Chamberlain
OpheliaDaughter to Polonius
HoratioFriend to Hamlet
LaertesSon to Polonius
'oltimand, CorneliusCourtiers
Rosencrantz, GuildensternCourtiers, friends to Hamlet
Osrica Courtier
Marcellusan Officer
Bernardoan Officer
Franciscoa Soldier
ReynaldoServant to Polonius
Ghost of Hamlet's Father
FortinbrasPrince of Norway
GravediggersA sexton and a clown
Player King, Player Queen, Lucianus, etc.Players