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Shakespear's Hamlet Summary

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35 views3 pages

Shakespear's Hamlet Summary

Uploaded by

zaw khaing
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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#shakespeare Famous work #Hamlet

SUMMARY

Here’s a detailed summary of Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare’s most


famous tragedies:

*Setting:* Elsinore, Denmark

*Plot:*

Act I:

The play opens with the death of King Hamlet, who is murdered by his
brother Claudius. Claudius then marries King Hamlet’s widow, Queen
Gertrude, and becomes the new King of Denmark.

Prince Hamlet is deeply disturbed by his father’s death and his mother’s
quick remarriage to his uncle. One night, Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to
him and reveals that he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost demands that
Hamlet avenges his death.

Act II:

Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s death, but he is torn between his desire
for revenge and his moral principles. He decides to feign madness to distract
attention from his true intentions.

Meanwhile, a series of mysterious events occurs, including the arrival of a


group of traveling actors and the appearance of Ophelia, the daughter of
Polonius, who is in love with Hamlet.
Act III:

Hamlet’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, causing concern among his


friends and family. He stages a play that reenacts the murder of his father to
gauge Claudius’s guilt.

Convinced of Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet resolves to kill him. However, he


mistakenly kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a curtain.

Act IV:

Laertes, Polonius’s son, returns to Denmark seeking revenge for his father’s
death. Claudius conspires with Laertes to kill Hamlet.

Meanwhile, Ophelia’s mental state deteriorates, and she eventually drowns


herself in a river.

Act V:

Hamlet and Laertes engage in a fencing match, during which Laertes wounds
Hamlet with a poisoned sword. Hamlet ultimately kills Laertes and then stabs
Claudius with the same sword.

In the final scene, Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, arrives to take control of
Denmark. Hamlet dies, and Horatio, his loyal friend, is left to mourn his
death.

*Themes:*
1. *Revenge Tragedy*: Hamlet is a classic revenge tragedy, exploring the
themes of revenge, morality, and mortality.

2. *Appearance vs. Reality*: The play explores the tension between


appearance and reality, as characters like Claudius and Polonius hide behind
masks of deceit.

3. *Madness*: Hamlet’s feigned madness and Ophelia’s actual madness


serve as a commentary on the blurred lines between sanity and insanity.

4. *Mortality*: The play grapples with the inevitability of death and the
human fear of mortality.

*Characters:*

1. *Hamlet*: The prince of Denmark, who seeks to avenge his father’s death.

2. *Claudius*: The king of Denmark, who murdered his brother and marries
his widow.

3. *Gertrude*: The queen of Denmark, who marries Claudius after her


husband’s death.

4. *Polonius*: The lord chamberlain, who is loyal to Claudius and seeks to


advance his own interests.

5. *Ophelia*: The daughter of Polonius, who is in love with Hamlet and


ultimately descends into madness.

*Symbolism:*

1. *Yorick’s Skull*: The skull serves as a symbol of mortality and the


transience of human life.

2. *The Play*: The play-within-a-play serves as a symbol of the blurred lines


between reality and fiction.

3. *The Poisoned Sword*: The sword serves as a symbol of the destructive


power of revenge.

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