HamletSummaries and Characters

Major CharactersHamlet- The Prince of Denmark, educated, son of the late King Hamlet, at times indecisive and at other times makes rash decisions

Claudius- The King of Denmark, antagonist and uncle to Hamlet, married Hamlet’s mother after Hamlet’s father died

Gertrude- Hamlet’s mother, Queen, asserts her sexuality and makes Hamlet angry

Polonius- Lord in Claudius’ court, father of Laertes and Ophelia

Horatio- Hamlet’s best friend, loyal and supportive

Ophelia- Hamlet’s love interest, maidenly and dependent on the men in her life (her father Polonius, her brother Laertes)

Laertes- Polonius’ son, passionate and impulsive

Minor Characters

Fortinbras- Prince of Norway, wants to attack Denmark for revenge because Hamlet’s father killed his father

The Ghost- Claims to be Hamlet’s dead father who says that Claudius killed him, although no one is sure about the Ghost’s identity, Hamlet believes it might be a devil trying to trick him into murdering Claudius

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- Hamlet’s friends from school ordered by Claudius and Gertrude to figure out why Hamlet is acting strangely

Marcellus and Bernardo- Guards who first see the ghost with Horatio

Act I Scene i: The Ramparts

Bernardo and Marcellus are on guard duty and summon Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, to witness something strange

They see The Ghost appear and believe that it is Hamlet’s dead father because of his helmet and frown

They try to talk to it, but it stays silent

They think that it will talk to Hamlet so they plan to tell him about it

Act I Scene ii: The Wedding

King Claudius talks about how he mourns his brother’s death but that there is joy because he has married his brother’s widow, Gertrude

Claudius also says that Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark to avenge his slain father, killed by the late King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father

Laertes wants to go to France, his father Polonius and Claudius give their permission

Hamlet is still mourning his father, even though his mother urges him to find peace and stop wearing black

Claudius and Gertrude want Hamlet to stay home and not go back to school and he agrees to stay

They leave and Hamlet wishes suicide wasn’t a sin because he wants to die

Horatio, Bernardo and Marcellus come in and tell him about The Ghost and they plan to watch for it at night

Act I Scene iii: Polonius’ House

Laertes talks with Ophelia in Polonius’ house, urging her to not fall in love with Hamlet because of his station and his emotional feelings

Polonius tells Laertes to be a good person in France, and wishes him off

Polonius asks Ophelia what Laertes told her before he left, she says it was about Hamlet and Polonius tell her to stay away from him and that Hamlet does not love her- she obeys

Act I Scene iv: The Ramparts

Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus wait for The Ghost while Claudius celebrates with trumpets and gunfire, Hamlet mocks him and says he is making Denmark look bad

The Ghost appears and calls out to Hamlet, asking Hamlet to follow him

Hamlet is unsure whether The Ghost is his father or a demon, but doesn’t care if he lives or dies anyway so he follows it

His friends worry that it is a bad omen for Denmark but follow at a distance to protect Hamlet

Act I Scene v: With The Ghost

The Ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered, that Claudius had poured poison in his ear

Hamlet feels like his feelings about Claudius are vindicated

The Ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his death and kill Claudius but leave his mother alone with her conscience and disappears as dawn comes

Hamlet is very moved and promises to obey The Ghost

Hamlet doesn’t tell his friends about his plan, but has them promise to not reveal what they have seen and that he might act like a madman to achieve a goal- they all swear on Hamlet’s sword

Act II Scene i: Polonius’ House

Polonius dispatches a man named Reynaldo to spy on his son Laertes in France

Ophelia comes in, visibly upset and says that Hamlet grabbed her and sighed, but didn’t say anything

Polonius thinks that Hamlet is mad with love sickness because Ophelia has distanced herself from him

He says he will go to Claudius to tell him about Hamlet’s crazy behavior and his love sickness

Act II Scene ii: The Castle

Claudius and Gertrude have called upon Hamlet’s school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on Hamlet to find out why he is acting so strangely

Polonius comes in and says that Fortinbras will no longer attack Denmark on order from the King of Norway and instead will attack the Poles- he wants safe passage through Denmark and Claudius agrees, glad to have avoided war

Polonius says that he thinks Hamlet is mad with love for Ophelia and he has a plan to see if its true

Act II Scene ii: The Castle, Continued

Polonius says that he will hide behind an arras (curtain) and have Ophelia confront Hamlet and listen to what they say to decide if Hamlet is truly mad with love

Polonius sees Hamlet coming and starts talking to him, Hamlet responds crazily and irrationally

Polonius says tells Hamlet he is obviously mad but that he realizes Hamlet’s crazy responses are actually insults

Polonius goes to set up the meeting with Hamlet and Ophelia

Act II Scene ii: The Castle, Continued

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern see Hamlet and come over to visit with him- Hamlet asks why they have come and realized that his “aunt-mother” and “uncle-father” have put them up to it

Hamlet says that he is depressed and melancholy, but insists that he only mad some of the time and is perfectly sane at other times

They introduce him to a group of actors who have come and Hamlet comes up with a plan

Hamlet decides to set a trap for Claudius- he will have the actors act out a play that is very similar to the murder of his father, if the king acts guilty, Hamlet will know the truth and then can kill him

Act III Scene i: The Castle

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet with Claudius and Gertrude and tell them that they don’t know what makes Hamlet so crazy and depressed- but he was very excited for a play tonight and they all decide to go

Claudius and Polonius tell the rest to go out because they are preparing to spy on Ophelia’s confrontation with Hamlet

They hear Hamlet coming so they both hide

Act III Scene i: The Castle Continued

Hamlet comes in talking about suicide- whether or not to commit the act and end the pain of living and experiencing things

Ophelia approaches and tells Hamlet that she has come to return the things he gave her, the love tokens

Hamlet says, bitterly, that he never gave her anything- that he loved her once and never loved her at all

He says that beauty and love shouldn’t be trusted, that she should go to be a nun

He also says that women are dishonest because they paint their faces and make men act like monsters

He storms out and Ophelia says she feels sorry for the “noble mind” that has gone completely crazy

Act III Scene ii: The PlayHamlet is instructing the actors how to deliver the lines he wrote for them when Horatio appears

Hamlet tells Horatio he is a good man, and tells him the secret that Claudius killed his father- he asks Horatio to watch Claudius for signs of guilt during the play

Hamlet sees Claudius and slips into his madness routine, spouting some crazy lines and sends some erotic puns Ophelia’s way

The play starts and when the events unfold, Claudius gets up and shouts for lights when the nephew in the play kills his murderous uncle

Hamlet and Horatio agree that Claudius is guilty and Hamlet starts to act even madder- spouting little poems and strange responses

Gertrude calls Hamlet to her chamber and Hamlet says he will “speak daggers to her, but use none.”

Act III Scene iii: The Castle

Polonius comes in and says he is going to hide and listen to Gertrude and Hamlet’s conversation

Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet to England because he is afraid for his life after seeing the play

After everyone leaves, Claudius starts to pray and confesses that he did, in fact, kill his brother but doesn’t want to give up the crown or the queen

Hamlet enters and is ready to kill him, but realizes he can’t kill Claudius in the middle of asking for forgiveness- he will wait until Claudius is in the middle of sinning again

Claudius says that he wasn’t able to pray sincerely

Act III Scene iv: Gertrude’s Chamber

Polonius tells Gertrude to be harsh with Hamlet and hides behind a curtain to hear their conversation

Gertrude tells Hamlet that she has offended his stepfather with the play and Hamlet tells her that she has offended his real father by marrying his murderer

Hamlet gets violent with Gertrude and Polonius cries out for help from behind the curtain

Thinking it was Claudius, Hamlet stabs through the curtain and kills Polonius

Act III Scene iv: Gertrude’s Chamber

ContinuedHamlet holds a dying Polonius and says he was an intruding fool

He shows Gertrude a picture of his father and his uncle and demands to know why she took part in this horrible arrangement

The Queen says she is looking at herself and doesn’t like what she sees and Hamlet continues to yell at her

The Ghost appears and talks to Hamlet but Gertrude cannot see it so she thinks Hamlet is super crazy

The Ghost reminds Hamlet of his goal, to kill Claudius

The Queen still can’t see it and Hamlet assures her that he has been faking madness all along to catch Claudius and asks her to keep his secret, she agrees

Act IV Scene i: The Castle

Gertrude runs to Claudius and tells him that Hamlet is mad as the sea during a storm and that he has killed Polonius

Claudius says that they have to ship Hamlet to England and wrap up this scandal so they don’t lose power

Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet

Act IV Scene ii: The Castle

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet and ask where Polonius’ body is and Hamlet brushes them off

He says that they are only loyal to Claudius and that he does not trust them

Hamlet agrees to go with them to see Claudius

Act IV Scene iii: The Castle

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring Hamlet to Claudius

Claudius tells Hamlet that he must be sent to England and Hamlet agrees

Claudius sends a sealed envelope with orders in it for England to kill Hamlet

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern take the envelope and escort Hamlet to the ship for England

Act IV Scene iv: Denmark

On the way to the ship for England, Hamlet runs into Fortinbras, who is coming to ask the King of Denmark for passage through his lands on the way to fight the Poles

Fortinbras tells Hamlet that the war is just for a small patch of land and Hamlet is shocked that people are willing to get bloody and violent over seemingly nothing

He vows to have bloody and violent thoughts after realizing how his inaction has led him to not achieving his revenge

Act IV Scene v: The Castle

Gertrude and Horatio talk about Ophelia and Ophelia enters, acting crazy with flowers on her head, singing strange songs

Horatio says that Ophelia is sad over her father’s death, which itself was a very suspicious event that has people talking

Laertes has returned from France and storms the castle, furious about his father’s death

Laertes sees a mad Ophelia and gets even angrier and wants revenge

Claudius says that Laertes must punish the right person, Hamlet, and he and Gertrude had nothing to do with Polonius’ death

Act IV Scene vi: Hamlet Returns

Horatio receives a message from Hamlet saying that Hamlet is back in Denmark because his ship was attacked by pirates

Horatio meets Hamlet in the castle grounds to hear news of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Act IV Scene vii: The Castle

Claudius meets with Laertes and explains that he buried Polonius in secret to protect Hamlet because the people and the queen love him

Claudius tells Laertes that he deserves to get revenge on Hamlet and get rid of the risk of having him around as well

Claudius tells Laertes that they need to come up with a way that will allow him to kill Hamlet fairly- a duel to show off his sword skills would be a good cover

Laertes says he will poison the tip of his sword

Claudius says that, for insurance, they will have a cup of poison for Hamlet to drink if he wins the “duel”

Gertrude enters and tells Laertes that his sister, Ophelia, has drowned

Act V Scene i: The Graveyard

Two grave-diggers are preparing Ophelia’s grave

Hamlet watches and wonders about all of the skulls being unearthed for the new grave

Hamlet talks to the gravediggers and asks about a particular skull and the man says that it was young Prince Hamlet’s jester, Yorick

Hamlet talks to Horatio about knowing Yorick and that all men must become dust at some point

The funeral procession comes in and Hamlet realizes Ophelia is the one being buried, he jumps out and tells Laertes that he loves her more than Laertes ever could

Claudius reminds Laertes to wait for their revenge plan

Act V Scene ii: The Duel

Hamlet tells Horatio that he replaced Claudius’ envelope of orders to kill him with an envelope with orders to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who betrayed him

Hamlet also says he feels connected to Laertes and wants to get back in his good favor

A courtier names Osric comes in and tells Hamlet of duel in a contradictory and strange manner

Hamlet heads to the duel and sees Laertes, he tells Laertes he is sorry that his “madness” killed Polonius and asks for love and forgiveness

Laertes offers love but not forgiveness yet

Act V Scene ii: The Duel Continued

They get their fencing swords (foils) and Claudius tells Hamlet if he wins, he will give him a cup with wine and a valuable gem (actually the poison)

Hamlet gets a hit but doesn’t drink from the cup- instead Gertrude does

Laertes gets a hit on Hamlet with his poison-tipped blade and Hamlet comes back to him with Laertes’ own sword

The Queen dies, crying for Hamlet

Laertes tells Hamlet the whole thing was Claudius’ idea and Hamlet runs him through with the poison sword and makes him drink the rest of the poison

Act V Scene ii: The Duel Continued

Hamlet calls to Horatio and tells him he is dying

Fortinbras comes through looking for English ambassadors to fight

Hamlet and Laertes forgive each other

Fortinbras tells everyone that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead

Hamlet tells Horatio to live on and tell their story and to make Fortinbras King of Denmark