Hamlet
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Publication date
1604 (second quarto)
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"Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love."
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a 1597 tragedy play by William Shakespeare. First published sometime between 1601 and 1603, it tells the tale of a Danish prince who goes mad for lust and revenge after finding out from the ghost of his deceased father that his brother murdered him and took the throne.
Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and is considered by many scholars as his most famous play and the most influential literary piece of work of all time.
Plot Summary[ ]
One night at Elsinore Castle in Denmark, two watchmen and a scholar named Horatio spot a ghost wandering the castle grounds. It resembles a lot like King Hamlet, who had just died. His brother, Claudius, inherits the throne and marries the king's widow, Queen Gertrude. Prince Hamlet, the son of King Hamlet and Gertrude, was summoned home from his school in Germany upon hearing of his father's death. He suspects foul play when he sees his uncle with his mother.
When Hamlet meets his father's ghost in the castle, he tells his son that Claudius had murdered him by pouring poison down his ear and usurping his throne. Hamlet is now dedicated to avenging his father's murder of Claudius. He becomes depressed and insane, so the king and queen assign two of Hamlet's friends, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, to watch over him. After they fail to notice the prince's strange behaviour, Lord Chamberlain Polonius suspects he may be madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Claudius spies on the two of them, conversing with each other. But Hamlet is not in love with her since he rejects her and wants to place her in a convent.
A play is about to be performed by a group of travelling actors, and Hamlet comes up with a plan to have the actors reenact the king's death to see Claudius' reaction and prove his guilt. When the murder scene is acted out, Claudius quickly leaves and prays. Hamlet knows his uncle is guilty but decides not to kill him since he thinks Claudius will go to Heaven if he dies praying. Claudius, now fearing for his safety, orders the prince to be sent away to England.
Later, Hamlet confronts his mother about her marriage to Claudius. Hearing a noise behind the tapestry, he stabs it with his sword, thinking it is Claudius, but kills Polonius instead. He is immediately shipped off to England, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern given orders to have Hamlet executed upon arriving at their destination. Ophelia goes mad following her father's death and drowns herself in a river. Her brother and Polonius' son, Laertes, returns to Denmark from France to avenge his father's murder. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for Polonius and Ophelia's deaths. But after Horatio and the king hear the news that pirates attacked Hamlet's ship on its way to England and that he has returned to Denmark, Claudius comes up with a plan. He would have Hamlet and Laertes fight in a friendly duel, but Laertes' sword would be poisoned, so Hamlet would die if he is stabbed. The king also uses a backup plan to give Hamlet a goblet of poisoned wine if he wins both matches.
Hamlet arrives in time for Ophelia's funeral. He fights with Laertes and claims that he has always loved her. At the castle, Hamlet tells Horatio that he arranged the letters around so Guildenstern and Rosencrantz would be executed instead and knows that death would come at any moment. He agrees to participate in the fencing match.
Hamlet and Laertes start their duel. During the match, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned goblet that was supposed to be given to Hamlet and dies from the poison. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned blade, but Hamlet doesn't die immediately. The prince then harms his opponent with the same lethal blade they have switched, and Laertes dies before telling him of the king's betrayal of the queen. Hamlet finishes Claudius off by stabbing him with the same sword and pouring the poisoned wine down his ear, killing him. After achieving his revenge, Hamlet dies.
Shortly afterwards, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who had earlier successfully defeated Poland in a battle, arrives with ambassadors from England. They announce that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, and Fortinbras becomes the new King of Denmark. Horatio tells him of Hamlet's tragic story, and the prince's body is carried away, which resembles a fallen soldier's procession.
Characters[ ]
Hamlet- The titular character and main protagonist. Around 30 years old, at the beginning of the play, Hamlet is the son of the late King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. He is grief-stricken by his father's death and disgusted that his uncle married his mother. Melancholy but witty, he can also be impulsive and struggles with his thoughts. He goes mad after he sees his father's ghost and learns his uncle has killed him. At the same time, he becomes entangled in a series of problems he cannot solve and questions his own morals.
Claudius- The main antagonist of the play. He secretly killed his brother, took over his throne, and married Gertrude. He is corrupt, cunning and unjust, as he takes pride in his power and has sexual desires toward his wife and former sister-in-law. His lustful and sadistic nature causes him to be hated by almost everyone, including his nephew, Prince Hamlet. At the same time, he shows remorse for his actions and has prayed to God for forgiveness to get over his dark side.
Gertrude- The Queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother. She married her brother-in-law Claudius shortly after her husband, King Hamlet’s sudden death. She loves and cares for her son, unaware that Claudius had killed her first husband, and Hamlet is suspicious of her being with his uncle, who enjoys his sexuality. Her weak character and recklessness cause her to be in dire consequences, such as when she dies after drinking the poisoned goblet that was supposed to be given to Hamlet.
Polonius- The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius' court. He is the father of Laertes and Ophelia, whom he adores, and he is concerned that Hamlet could be in love with her. While a pompous old man, he is determined to keep his loyalty to the king and queen by secretly spying on different conversations between the royals. But when he hides behind a tapestry spying on Hamlet and Gertrude, he is mistaken for Claudius and accidentally killed by Hamlet.
Horatio- Hamlet's best friend. Horatio and Hamlet attend school together at Wittenberg in Germany and are his closest confidant. As a friend, Horatio would often be concerned about Hamlet’s sudden madness, as he wants to help him overcome his grief and take vengeance against Claudius. He witnesses most of the main events in Denmark, and after Hamlet dies, Horatio survives to reveal Hamlet’s entire story to the new king of Denmark, Fortinbras.
Ophelia- Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's love interest. A beautiful, innocent woman, Ophelia is dutiful to the court and her father and brother, who convince her that Hamlet doesn’t love her. Her dependency results in her being used as bait when she converses with Hamlet, and he makes it clear he isn’t as romantic as he seems. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia succumbs to her insanity, causing Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet.
Laertes- Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother. He is a young man who spends most of the play in France but returns to Elsinore following his father's death. After finding out Ophelia had killed herself, Laertes vows revenge on Hamlet. He is a complete foil of Hamlet.
The Ghost- The spirit of the King of Denmark and Hamlet's father, as he claims to be. He appears in the first acts of the play and informs Hamlet that Claudius killed him and took his throne. However, it is unknown if the ghost is exactly as he appears to be and if his presence may have manipulated Hamlet into insanity and murder.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- Two old friends of Hamlet. They are a pair of silly courtiers who Claudius hires to spy on Hamlet and monitor his behaviour. They are killed when Hamlet is to be executed but forge a letter to have his friends perform in his place.
Fortinbras- The Prince of Norway. He plans to avenge his father, whom King Hamlet killed. After Hamlet's death, Fortinbras is crowned King of Denmark.
Osric- A foolish courtier who serves as the King's messenger and brings Hamlet to his duelling match with Laertes.
Voltimand and Cornelius- Danish courtiers whom Claudius sends to Norway as ambassadors.
Marcellus and Bernardo- A pair of officers at Elsinore Castle who were the first to spot King Hamlet's ghost.
Francisco- An Elsinore soldier and guardsman.
Reynaldo- Polonius' servant, was sent to France to spy on Laertes.
Writing History/Reception[ ]
While it is not known precisely when Shakespeare started writing Hamlet, it was most likely written between 1599 and 1601. It was first performed in July 1602 and then published in printed form in 1603. It was common for Shakespeare to borrow some ideas and sources from previous literary works, and it was possible that the story of Hamlet may have been taken from the Latin History of Denmark by Saxo Grammaticus and Histories Tragiques, a prose work by French scholar François de Belleforest. As such, along with Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet wasn't precisely Shakespeare's actual creation, and the sources above and the texts inspired Hamlet.
The first Quarto of Hamlet was published in 1603, the same year the printed form was published. The second Quarto followed in 1604, and the First Folio in 1623.
Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous, most analyzed and performed of all his plays; it has even been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella." However, throughout the years, Hamlet received critically acclaimed and negative reviews. In the Renaissance [1] period, the play was viewed as too dramatic in its theme of madness and portrayed more violently later on. In later centuries, many critics analyzed Hamlet's character design. They saw him as being too sensitive and depressed, or his inability to decide made him a tragic character. But by the Romanticism era, the reception went in a new direction. Famous writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Samuel Taylor Coleridge delivered lectures on the play's emotions and characteristics. Neurologist Sigmund Freud once stated that Hamlet may have been a victim of an Oedipus complex.
Along with Shakespeare's other plays, Hamlet would be adapted countless times in film and TV programs. The most well-known film adaptation of Hamlet is the 1948 film starring Sir Laurence Olivier as Hamlet, which earned him the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Picture. Another notable adaptation is the 1996 film version, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also portrayed Hamlet in the film. Hamlet's story, characters and premises also inspired the plot and characters in the 1994 Disney movie The Lion King.
Themes[ ]
Mortality[ ]
Following his father's death at the beginning of the play, Hamlet constantly ponders the meaning of life and death. He even asks himself unanswered questions that some readers may ask themselves. What happens when we die? Will we go to Heaven or Hell? If we all die one day, will it matter if someone killed us? From the start, Hamlet doesn't think death is such a big deal, even though he may feel unsettled about what the afterlife would look like.
But even if he ponders his death and suicide, he also thinks about this subject with others close to him. His hatred for his mother remarrying his uncle also makes him fearful that life will be pointless if someone is easily forgotten in death. However, at the same time, Hamlet is obsessed with death and the spirituality of the afterlife. Whenever he encounters anything to do with the deceased, such as his father's ghost and Yorick's skull, it brings him closer to the answers he seeks. In his famous soliloquy "To be or not to be," he laments about whether it is best to live or die, to the point when he starts considering suicide. His strong beliefs in the afterlife's spirituality also impact the story; for example, as Hamlet prepares to kill Claudius, he sees him praying for forgiveness and believes he will go straight to Heaven if he is killed while praying. He wants him to go straight to Hell.
Madness[ ]
Madness is a central theme, as Shakespeare writes about it extensively in Hamlet. Some experts claim that while Hamlet is famous for his insanity, there has been a debate that he may have been faking his madness, and he did this to bring concern and confuse the royal court and those around him. In addition, his insanity could have just been his grief from mourning his father and, subsequently, Ophelia. Towards the end, however, as Hamlet dies after succeeding with his goals, it is apparent he did become insane from the way he isolated himself from everyone and acted his insanity like a genius.
While Hamlet's madness may not be genuine, several characters display precise fits of insanity. Claudius kills his brother to claim the throne and have Gertrude to himself. This would cause him to go into a spiral of madness, and at one point, he regrets what he did and hopes he will repent for his sins; the fact that he killed his relatives is consuming him inside. Ophelia, while she is a minor character, suffers heavily from insanity. After finding out her father is dead, she starts to lose her mind by singing and dancing, which symbolizes how her father's death severely affects her mental health. Finally, she kills herself as she can no longer cope with her struggles and that life is no longer worth living. The characters have a domino effect in insanity, and when their minds start to break psychologically, it will eventually lead to revenge and death.
Appearance and Reality[ ]
Appearance and reality are depicted in unique ways by most of the play's characters; they either cannot understand how reality works or have hidden appearances that the audience may not have known about until it comes to fruition. This will cause the characters to experience acts of insanity and deception. Hamlet doesn't understand the truth that his uncle Claudius is a murderer, and while he manages to test his guilt, Claudius displays his fake reaction as if he does care about his brother's death. Audiences and readers can quickly identify his pretended appearance when he prays to God and begs forgiveness. Overall, Hamlet is curious about the reality of his father's murder. As mentioned above, he displays his pretended performance of insanity so that he can dig deeper into Claudius' plans.
Many readers and audiences are tricked into believing many characters are trustworthy and sincere. Claudius tells his court not to be afraid of the fact that their older king is dead. While they are secretly manipulated into thinking he is doing it for the good of his people and that they should move on, they are unaware that he is not the loving king he appears to be. Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. When they have their scene together, he mistreats and doesn't love her due to her ignorance. But in her death, he grieves that he did love her. Polonius may be a doting father to his children, but he secretly sends a spy to France to spy on his son Laertes since he doesn't trust him to be alone. He also convinces his daughter Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet as he only lusts for her instead of romance, another of his lies to manipulate his children.
Therefore, several characters in the play are liars and deceits. They may appear innocent and sincere on the outside, but they are filled with corruption and cruelty. Appearance vs. reality also gives a moral impression of the dangers of those who could easily be trusted but, in actuality, are deceitful liars.
Revenge[ ]
Shakespeare used revenge as a heavily explored topic. Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius to avenge his father's murder, but he isn't the only one with revenge plans. Laertes also wants to confront Hamlet for killing his father, Polonius, and the Norwegian prince, Fortinbras, is plotting revenge after the older King Hamlet killed his father. All three men will do anything with bloodlust to give their murdered fathers the justice they deserve; however, two will die, and only one will succeed.
Revenge has been around for centuries, but if it is part of the context of Hamlet, it also results in the deaths of the innocent. Hamlet's plans were played out recklessly, as he indirectly caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He is also tormented by his pressured incapacity to kill Claudius, and even if he does manage to succeed, he is too late to celebrate his victory as he perishes soon afterwards. In his famous soliloquy "To be or not to be," he debates himself on what he should do and if he should get on with it. On the other hand, Laertes and Fortinbras had their revenge planned out, unlike Hamlet, who would take part in his actions towards the end of the play. Fortinbras travels miles toward Denmark, and Laertes is searching for justice, although he does this too quickly. He conspires with Hamlet to arrange a friendly duelling match, but both opponents' blades will be laced with poison. In his final moments after the poisoned sword stabs him, Laertes expresses regret and blames Claudius for his betrayal.
Fortinbras is more different than Laertes and Hamlet. He plots his revenge for his father's death carefully and reclaims his lands by building an army and sending them to Denmark. From his rationality, he was the only one of the three who survived and was declared the new king of Denmark. Revenge is often seen as an act of evil that causes humans to be consumed with hatred instead of reasoning. And in Shakespeare's works, it can be played out with quick cowardice or triumphant action.
Symbols[ ]
King Hamlet’s Ghost[ ]
The spirit of King Hamlet that is seen roaming around the grounds of Elsinore Castle symbolizes the troubled times that will soon occur for the Danish royal family, including Hamlet and Claudius. The ghost may be considered a bad omen for Claudius and his country since he was the one who usurped the throne for himself.
Yorick’s Skull[ ]
The skull of King Hamlet's jester, York found in the local graveyard. It symbolizes death and decay, but to Hamlet, it reflects life and how it makes everyone equal. Hamlet even compares Yorick to Alexander the Great, as their skulls look identical in death.
Foreshadowing[ ]
- Horatio warns Hamlet that he is concerned the ghost would make him go mad. Foreshadows Hamlet's descending into insanity. Horatio also warns about some possible terrible events after the ghost's appearance. Foreshadows the upcoming tragic deaths.
- The Ghost tells Hamlet he must avenge his death. Foreshadows Hamlet's rash decision to take revenge on Claudius.
- Hamlet tells Polonius he would rather die than go with Polonius while he plots his revenge. Foreshadows Hamlet's death in the play's finale.
- Ophelia laments the sorrow she sees, such as Hamlet becoming depressed after losing his mind. Foreshadows Ophelia eventually losing her mind.
- Polonius recalls performing in a Julius Caesar play, and the actor who portrayed Brutus killed him. Foreshadows Hamlet killing him.
Adaptations[ ]
A film adaptation was released in 1948, directed by Sir Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. Also featured in the film were Basil Sydney as Claudius, Jean Simmons as Ophelia, Eileen Herlie as Gertrude and Norman Woodland as Horatio. The film was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Actor for Olivier and a Nomination for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Simmons.
A film adaptation was released in 1969. Directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production, it features Nicol Williamson as Hamlet, Anthony Hopkins as Claudius, Judy Parfitt as Gertrude and Marianne Faithfull as Ophelia. The film was a critical and commercial failure and is considered the least popular of Hamlet's adaptations.
A film adaptation was released in 1990. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who also directed the 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, it features Mel Gibson as Hamlet, Alan Bates as Claudius, Glenn Close as Gertrude and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. This film heavily cut most of Shakespeare's text and mostly focused on the female characters, with Bonham-Carter's portrayal of Ophelia being one of the best film versions of the role.
A film adaptation was released in 1996. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also portrayed Hamlet, it features Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Julie Christie as Gertrude, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia. Branagh's adaptation uses Shakespeare's full text with a total runtime of 4 hours and uses flashbacks that were not present in the original play. Critics praised Branagh's portrayal and are often considered the most faithful to the source material. It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.
A film adaptation was released in 2000. Directed by Michael Almereyda, it features Ethan Hawke as Hamlet, Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius, Diane Verona as Gertrude and Julia Stiles as Ophelia. It is the only Hamlet adaptation set in a modern setting, with Claudius being the CEO of the Denmark Corporation and Hamlet being a film artist. The script was heavily cut to include modern-day references, and Hawke was the youngest actor to portray Hamlet, 27 years old at the time of the film's production. However, it was respected and mostly received positive reviews by critics and Shakespearean fans.
A television film produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company was released on BBC Two in 2009. Directed by Gregory Doran, it features David Tennant as Hamlet, Patrick Stewart as Claudius, Penny Downie as Gertrude and Mariah Gale as Ophelia.
References[ ]
- ↑ The Renaissance (1350-1600 AD) was a historical period that occurred right after the Middle Ages and the transition into modernity.