The ghost of recently dead old King Hamlet
haunts Castle Elsinore grounds and appears to his son, young Hamlet,
demanding revenge for his murder. Claudius, Hamlets uncle, poisoned
King Hamlet and married Hamlets mother, Gertrude. Hamlet is angry about the marriage
and promises his father he will avenge his death. He pretends to be mad (crazy)
swearing his friend Horatio to secrecy. His behavior concerns his former girlfriend,
Ophelia, daughter to Claudius Lord Polonius, father to Laertes.
Hamlet gets a company of actors to do a play with
a plot similar to King Hamlets murder. Claudius becomes so upset he
leaves the play. Hamlet now knows that he is guilty. Hamlet goes to his mother
to rebuke her for marrying Claudius, hears Polonius behind a curtain hiding, and kills him
thinking it is Claudius.
Claudius sends Hamlet to England, with his classmates
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him. They are carrying a letter
requesting the King of England kill Hamlet.
Laertes, hearing of his fathers death and the
subsequent madness of Ophelia, returns from his school in France to kill
Hamlet. Ophelia is so depressed and guilty she ends up 'falling'
into the lake and drowning.
Hamlet returns to Elsinore after discovering the letter
to the English King. Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel, plotting with
Claudius to poison Hamlet with wine and a poisoned sword. However, both men
end up wounded with the poisoned sword. Gertrude (Hamlets mother) drinks the wine and
Hmalet, enraged over his mothers death, poisons Claudius and dies himself.
Revenge
From the beginning, Hamlet tells the
ghost "Speak, I am bound to hear," for it is his duty to honour his
father. The ghost replies that it is his duty to take revenge "so art
thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear."(Act I, scene 7) The rest of the
play focuses on revenge; Hamlet getting revenge for his father, Claudius
getting revenge on Hamlet for discovering him, and Laertes getting revenge on Hamlet
for the murder of his father, and the death of his sister.