Hamlet Summary and Analysis 1/21/2013

Shakespeare: A famous English poet and playwright who lived in the time period of 1564- 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon and London. He was part owner of the traveling play group known as the King's Men. He had three play writing eras, in which he wrote comedies and histories, tragedies, and tragicomedies (romances).
 Most of his plays were performed in his famous theatre, called the Globe.

Setting: The play is set in Elsinore in the Kingdom of Denmark, somewhere in the late 16th or early 17th centuries.

Plot: The play opens with three soldiers on watch. The ghost of old Hamlet is seen roaming the exterior of the castle in the same suit that he was killed in. Horatio, Hamlet's friend from college, tells the guards the story of the power-hungry struggle between Fortinbras of Norway. Old Hamlet killed Old Fortinbras and took his land. Young Fortinbras has been preparing to retake the land that Norway had lost from this battle. Horatio tells Hamlet that the ghost of his father has been roaming Elsinor, and Hamlet wishes to see his deceased father's ghost. The ghost leads him to a secluded place and tells young Hamlet that he was killed by Claudius, the new King of Denmark who married Gertrude. The ghost tells Hamlet to avenge him by killing the man who married his wife and took over the throne. Hamlet originally trusts the ghost, but then begins to doubt him.
           Meanwhile, Laertes, Polonius' son, is making preparations to return to France. Polonius offers advice to him before he leaves. Polonius is killed as he tries to hide in Gertrude's curtain in her closet by Hamlet. Hamlet decides to stage a play detailing the events of his father's murder to watch his mother and Claudius' reactions. Claudius seems to react negatively, and later decides he needs to ship Hamlet off to England in order to get rid of him before he becomes too dangerous. He enlists in the help of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help kidnap Hamlet and send him to England. Pirates attack the ship and Hamlet is kidnapped again. He escapes and returns to Elsinore after arranging the death of his friends.
          Ophelia loses her sanity and passes out symbolic flowers out to those around her. She drowns in what is debated as suicide or an accident. Laertes, in mourning both the deaths of his father and sister, converses with Claudius, who convinces him to take part in the murder of Hamlet. Laertes hastily agrees, and later regrets the decision as Hamlet apologizes for his actions. In the battle, both Hamlet and Laertes are cut with a poisoned sword. The queen drinks the poisoned wine intended for the winner of the battle. Claudius is murdered by Hamlet. All end up dead, except for Horatio, who is convinced by Hamlet to stay alive to retell his story. Fortinbras arrives at the castle, and gives Hamlet the proper King's burial.


Characters: 

Hamlet: As the son of Old Hamlet, he is the heir to the throne of Denmark. Once a happy college student, he returns to Elsinore and sees the ghost of his murdered father. This prompts him to swear to avenge his father by killing Claudius. Although in love with Ophelia, her coldness towards him prompts him to call her a whore multiple times. His long solilioquys questioning life and the meaning of it seems to suggest that he is suicidal. In the end of the play, he decides to leave his fate to the hands of God and accepts his impending death. He battles Laertes and dies to a cut with a poisoned sword. He is the only character to be given a King's burial at the end of the play by Fortinbras. He was once friends with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but he arranges to have them killed after they try to betray him. He is also friends with Horatio.

Claudius: A power-hungry, scheming, and manipulative King of Denmark. Brother to Old Hamlet. He kills his own brother by pouring poison into his ear while he is sleeping. He attempts to convince Hamlet to stay in Elsinore in order to be able to keep an eye on them. He marries Gertrude, creating controversy regarding incest. He shows signs of remorse, but not regret, because he says he enjoys the gains that he has made from his sinful actions. He schemes throughout the play to kill Hamlet, using Laertes as an assassin to kill Hamlet.  In the end of the play, he is stabbed by Hamlet and denied a King's burial, despite being the King of Denmark.

Gertrude: Queen of Denmark and married to Claudius. She is the widow of old Hamlet. She seems to care for Hamlet and later turns to him for advice. She is accidently poisoned by Claudius whens she drinks the poisoned wine intended for Hamlet.

Ophelia: A beautiful, youthful, and naive love interest of Hamlet. It is suggested that she is abused by Hamlet and pregnant. Laertes and Polonius both tell her that Hamlet's love for her is disposable; She is only useful to him as long as she is young and beautiful. Knowing this and the fact that Hamlet is prince, she takes both her father and brother's advice to avoid the young man that she loves. In doing this, she is often called a whore by Hamlet. She is suicidal and loses her sanity towards the end of the play. She drowns but is still given a burial because her family insists on it.

Horatio: Hamlet's loyal friend from his College days. Horatio gives advice to Hamlet and is always loyal to him throughout the play. He often serves as the communicator between Hamlet and the rest of the characters, as seen when Horatio informs Hamlet of his father's ghost or when he retells Hamlet's story to King Fortinbras. At the end, he even contemplates suicide in order to be by Hamlet's side, but instead goes on to tell Hamlet's tale.

Polonius: An arrogant man who tends to use his children for his own benefit. Father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is Lord Chamberlain of Claudius' court. He is killed by Hamlet while sneakily hiding in a curtain.

Laertes: Impulsive son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. He is a foil to Hamlet. He spends most of the play in France. Incest seems to be hinted at between Laertes and Ophelia.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Courtiers who were once friends of Hamlet. They betray Hamlet. They are assumed to have been murdered.

Point of View: Hamlet is a play, so there is no single character that the story is told from the perspective of.

Tone: The play has a dark, omniscent tone to it as characters search for deeper meanings. The murders and blood in the play give it a nearly violent tone as well.

Imagery: Shakespeare uses imagery of the dead and decaying to show the depression and negative view on life. This can be seen very clearly in his famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy. It also gives insight to the changing atmosphere surrounding him.

Important Quotes:

"Something is rotten in the State of Denmark" 
Act 1, Scene iv (67)

This quote shows the possibility that the ghost of old Hamlet is a dark omen for Denmark. Although Hamlet views the ghost as the spirit of his deceased father who has unsettled business to attend to.

"Sir, I cannot you make you a wholesome answer; my wit's deceased."
Act III, Scene ii (296-298)

This quote shows the question of whether or not Hamlet is actually mentally insane or if he is faking it. In this quote, he is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who betray him in the play. Throughout the play, viewers wonder whether or not the intelligent Hamlet is manipulating those around him behind the appearance of insanity, or whether the suicidal thoughts and manipulative people around him are making him crazy.

Theme
What is the significance of death?
Throughout the play, Hamlet contemplates suicide. He wonders whether or not suicide is unhonorable, what the meaning of life is, and the spirituality behind it. All of Hamlet's problems, including his love life, his family, and responsibility of avenging his father begin to eat away at him. Some even say it eats away at his mental health. Hamlet questions whether or not suicide would end all of these problems, or if it would continue to haunt him in his afterlife. He questions the meaning of life in his long soliloquy as he observes the unhappiness and dishonor in all those around him. His loss of faith in Ophelia and Gertrude along with the revelation of his father's murder shows him the sadness and unhappiness that comes along with life. In the end of the play, Hamlet seems to accept his death, leaving it in the hands of God.