Overview
This lecture summarizes the plot of Shakespeare's Hamlet, focusing on the main events, characters, and tragic outcome at Elsinore Castle.
Background and Setup
- The play begins with a ghost resembling Denmark's dead King haunting Elsinore Castle.
- Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Queen Gertrude, learns from the ghost that his uncle Claudius murdered the King and took the throne.
- Claudius has also married Gertrude shortly after the king’s death.
Hamlet’s Response and Feigned Madness
- Hamlet is urged by the ghost to seek revenge against Claudius.
- Hamlet delays the murder, becoming deeply contemplative and acting mad.
- Claudius and Gertrude employ Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him.
- Polonius suggests Hamlet's madness is due to love for his daughter Ophelia, but Hamlet denies love for her.
The Play-Within-a-Play and Claudius’s Guilt
- Hamlet uses a group of actors to stage a play mimicking his father’s murder to observe Claudius's reaction.
- Claudius reveals his guilt by leaving the performance abruptly.
- Hamlet refrains from killing Claudius while he is praying, fearing he’d send his soul to heaven.
Deaths and Escalating Revenge
- Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, thinking he is Claudius, and is sent to England.
- Claudius arranges for Hamlet to be killed in England, but Hamlet escapes.
- Ophelia goes mad after her father's death and drowns.
- Laertes returns from France, blaming Hamlet for his father’s and sister’s deaths.
The Final Confrontation and Tragedy
- Claudius and Laertes plot to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword and backup poisoned wine.
- During a fencing match, Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine and dies.
- Hamlet and Laertes wound each other with the poisoned blade; Laertes reveals Claudius's plot before dying.
- Hamlet kills Claudius before dying himself.
Resolution
- Fortinbras of Norway arrives, claims the Danish crown, and orders Hamlet be honored as a fallen soldier.
- Horatio survives to tell Hamlet’s tragic story.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Elsinore — The royal castle in Denmark where the play takes place.
- Claudius — Hamlet's uncle, new King of Denmark, and main antagonist.
- Gertrude — Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark.
- Polonius — The Lord Chamberlain, father to Ophelia and Laertes.
- Ophelia — Daughter of Polonius, subject of Hamlet's affection.
- Laertes — Ophelia’s brother, seeks revenge for his family's deaths.
- Fortinbras — Norwegian prince who becomes King of Denmark at the end.
- Feign Madness — Hamlet’s strategy of pretending to be insane.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the main characters and their relationships.
- Read an analysis of major themes: revenge, madness, mortality.
- Prepare to discuss how Hamlet’s hesitation shapes the play’s outcome.