Hamlet Summary/Analysis

• Summary: Hamlet begins with the appearance of Old Hamlet's ghost at the gates of Elsinore. Hamlet recieves this news after an encounter with his mother and his uncle/stepdad Claudius, in which they beg him to stay in Denmark rather than going back to Wittenberg to study. Claudius also bades him to stop showing "unmanly grief" over the passing of his father. After a soliloquy contemplating the hasty remarriage of his mother, Hamlet recieves the news of the ghost from Horatio. He resolves to come the next night and confront it. In the next scene, Ophelia is saying good-bye to her brother, Laertes, who is going back to France for school. They are very close and discuss Ophelia's relationship with Hamlet. Polonius comes in to say a very lengthy farewell to Laertes, and after his departure, Polonius strictly orders Ophelia to cut all ties with the Prince of Denmark. Out in front of the castle, Hamlet waits for the ghost, and while doing so, he expresses his disgust towards the traditions his uncle is carrying on. The ghost appears and Hamlet follows it away from the castle where it is revealed that the ghost is Hamlet's father. The entire story of Old Hamlet's murder is revealed, and Hamlet swears to get revenge. After this encounter with the ghost, several individuals around the palace observe Hamlet presenting a type of madness. As an attempt to try and bring him back to normal, the Queen and King send for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (R/G). Polonius and Claudius also formulate a plan to spy on an interaction between Hamlet and Ophelia. R/G meet Hamlet outside and exchange words, but the things Hamlet is saying barely make sense, and suspicion about a madness increases. Before they can delve further into the matter, Hamlet comes across a company of players, and asks them to perform a play that parallels the murder of his father, hoping to catch Claudius in guilt. Ophelia and Hamlet then meet in the hallway and this escalates into quite a shouting match where Hamlet calls for Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery". After seeing this scene, Polonius and Claudius are convinced Hamlet has gone mad. The time for the play has arrived, and all of the people of importance in the castle are in attendance. As he planned, Hamlet watches as Claudius the play early, clearly flustered. Hamlet is called to his mother's chambers after the play, and this is when he kills Polonius during a tense conversation with Gertrude. After begging his mother to not go to bed with his uncle anymore, Hamlet leaves, and begins to play a sick game of hide-and-go-seek around Elsinore with Polonius' body. Claudius has had enough with Hamlet's madness, and decides to send in along with R/G to England so Hamlet can be executed by the English monarch. The death of Polonius appears to have a similar effect on Ophelia and Hamlet's father's death had on him, however, Hamlet's madness is questionable, while Ophelia's seems legitimate. She confronts the King and Queen, giving them symbolic flowers and punctuating her speech with snippets of folk songs. Her suicide follows. It is also revealed that Hamlet has somehow escaped his ship to England and is travelling back via pirate ship to Denmark. At Ophelia's burial, Hamlet and Laertes fight over her body and it is agreed that a duel will take place between them. At the duel, Claudius attempts to poison Hamlet but instead poisons Gertrude and both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded with a poison sword. As he is dying, Hamlet gets his revenge and stabs Claudius. The tragedy ends with Prince Fortinbras of Norway coming in and taking power, because the entire ruling family of Denmark is now dead.
• Basics:
• Author: William Shakespeare
• Setting: notoriously chronologically inaccurate medieval Denmark
• Plot:
• rising action: Hamlet's promise to get revenge, plot to do so
• climax: murder of Polonius or possibly Ophelia's suicide
• falling action: the death of almost everyone in the last scene
• Significant Characters: Ghost (Old Hamlet), Hamlet, Ophelia (daughter of courtier, romantically involved with Hamlet), King Claudius (Hamlet's uncle/stepdad), Queen Gertrude (married Claudius quickly after Old Hamlet's death, suggesting prior involvement), Polonius (right-hand-man to Claudius)
• Tone: The tone of this revenge tragedy fluctuates throughout, but it is inherently dark and violent. The roles that supernatural powers and death plays in the storyline helps to emphasize this tone.
• Symbolism:
• flowers: when Ophelia gives her flower speech, she hands out flowers that hold special meanings in the Language of Flowers to different peole:
• Laertes-rosemary: remembrance, she wants him to find out how their father was killed.
• Claudius-fennel: flattery, possible symbol of adultery.
• daisy: innocence, does not give this to anyone as everyone is guilty in some way.
• Gertrude-rue: regret, also saves some for herself, but for a different reason (she's pregnant?!)
• Yorik's skull: Hamlet goes into an important discussion of human mortality when he discovers he knows who's grave the clowns are digging  up. He realizes that death is completely unaviodable;everyone must experience it.
• Quotes:
•  "But, O, what form of prayer/Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?/This cannot be; since I am still possess'd/Of those effect for which I did the murder,/My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen." (III,iii)
•  This quote deals with the thoughts of the guilty Claudius. It is also significant that he states the reasons for committing the murder.
•  "Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven/And his soul may be as damn'd and black/As hell, whereto it goes." (III,iii)
•  This quote is significant because it shows the effect corruption can have on those involved. Hamlet is someone involved, and he happens to be the revengeful one, which in turn sets off another series of events, all stemming from Claudius' corrupt act.
• Theme: Hamlet shows us that a person's identity is influenced by their actions, their history, and their motivations. Hamlet's use of double meanings and long, wordy speeches show us that he is at war with himself. He cannot resolve his very close association with the throne and country of Denmark, or his need to revenge his father. This leads to his failure to act. Various other characters can be analyzed this way. It is the events that are the result of these characters' interactions that give us the tragedy that is Hamlet.

*This version takes into account the peer comment.