Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's longest and most complicated plays so here are some things that you need to know before we get to our summary one there are two Hamlet's that you need to get your head around the first one is old King Hamlet the beloved King of Denmark who died before the play began and Prince Hamlet his son and the main character of the play too after old King Hamlet died his brother Claudius assumed the throne and married the widowed Queen Gertrude Hamlet's mum three Hamlet is very upset about this and has been drowning his sorrows with a beautiful girl named a philia who is the daughter of Polonius Claudius's trusted advisor now that you're up to speed let's begin the play starts at midnight with a group of soldiers patrolling the battlements of Elsinore castle Hamlet's closest friend Horatio is watching closely and the ghost of old King Hamlet appears right in front of him he isn't sure if the Spirit is good or evil but decides that Hamlet needs to know about it later on everyone is gathered in the royal court to hear Claudius talk about how happy his marriage to Gertrude is and impart some fatherly wisdom on layer T's son of Polonius there is also the little matter of Fortinbras the Prince of Norway who wants to invade Denmark to avenge his father who was murdered by old King Hamlet but everyone is really focused on how badly Hamlet has taken the marriage of his mother and his uncle when everyone is gone Hamlet breaks down and tells us that he is grief-stricken from the death of his father and his mother's very quick remarriage he is so upset that nobody else seems to be all that sad about it that he wishes he was dead Horacio arrives and cheers Hamlet up by sharing the news of the haunting meanwhile Laertes has left home to study in France leaving his sister a failure with the warning that she had better stop getting so close to Hamlet because he only wants one thing and that thing certainly isn't marriage later that night Hamlet meets with the ghost who reveals that he did not die from a snake bite but that Claudius poured poison in his ear and murdered him Hamlet is outraged and swears that he will have his revenge Polonius pays a servant to follow his son and spy on him but he has problems closer to home a fear Lea bursts in upset from a run in she's just had with Hamlet she tells her father that Hamlet seems to have gone half mad wandering around trembling and silent dressed in torn and dirty clothes Polonius thinks this is great news because he thinks Hamlet is just upset because a philia has rejected him elsewhere Claudius is engaged in a little spying of his own he hires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet pretending that he's very worried about his nephews mental health Polonius also rushes in and updates Claudius on Hamlet situation a troop of travelling actors or players arrive and Hamlet she is up when he watches them perform however this doesn't last long as he is moved by the way one of the players delivers a dramatic speech he wonders why he can't show as much passion about his own awful situation as the actor can about a pretend one he starts to form a plan to avenge his father and asks the players to perform a play for the whole court called the murder of Gonzago when he is alone he reveals that this play will be a mousetrap as it will include a scene that he has written that will replicate the way Claudius all King Hamlet when Claudius reacts Hamlet will have proof of Claudius is guilt Hamlet has another dramatic run-in with a philia who he abuses yelling that he never loved her at all ah philia is distraught and Claudius and Polonius who have been spying on the whole scene think that there must be another reason for Hamlet's crazy behavior later on the whole court has turned out to watch the play Claudius freaks out when he says the players act out the way he killed his brother and leaves in a rush now Hamlet has his proof Claudius decides to deal with Hamlet by asking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take him away to England he begins to pray revealing that he has no remorse for murdering his brother while Claudius is praying Hamlet creeps up to kill him but realizes that if Claudius dies while praying he will go to heaven he definitely doesn't want that so he decides to kill Claudius later he goes off to speak with his mother Polonius has hidden himself behind a huge tapestry in Gertrude's chamber so that he can spy on Hamlet mother and son get into a huge argument and when Hamlet he is a noise behind the tapestry he assumes it is Claudius spying on him angry he stabs him through the fabric but then is frustrated to find that it is Polonius that he has killed not Claudius as he wanted Claudius is now in damage control trying to find ways to keep his grasp on power and get rid of Hamlet he gets Hamlet on a boat to England without letting him know that it's a one-way trip meanwhile a philia has been sent over the edge by Hamlet's cruelty and the death of her father everyone in the court is worried about her especially Laertes who has arrived back from France he wants Hamlet to pay for the death of his father Claudius tells Laertes that he can be the one to punish Hamlet the two will take part in a Dueling match and when lair T strikes Hamlet with his blade that has been secretly poisoned Hamlet will die and justice will be served Gertrude interrupts this plotting with the terrible news that a philia has drowned herself in the river Hamlet has been spending time in the graveyard thinking about the futility of life and the inevitability of death he watches a funeral begin and realizes that it is Afilias Hamlet and Laertes get into a huge argument and the two need to be physically separated when talking with Horatio hammer explains that Claudius had arranged for him to be murdered when he arrived in England however he did a switcheroo with the instructions and now Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are gone Hamlet realizes that he must succumb to fate and agrees to duel with Laertes no matter what the outcome may be at the duel things don't go quite according to Claudius's plan Laertes and Hamlet are both struck with the poisoned sword and Gertrude accidentally drinks from a cup of poisoned wine which Claudius had prepared for Hamlet as a backup in case his original plan didn't work when Gertrude falls down dead Laertes confesses the whole plan and Hamlet finally kills Claudius Hamlet and Laertes forgive each other just before Laertes dies as Hamlet lies dying a servant brings news that Fortinbras is marching on the castle Hamlet instructs that Fortinbras should be made the new King of Denmark as he has proven himself to be an excellent leader when he arrives to a court full of dead bodies he declares that Hamlet was a great man and will be buried honorably [Music] we hope you enjoyed this schooling online production for more easy lessons on Hamlet check out our analysis of all the themes within the play [Music]