Introduction: In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare people can see Hamlet the main protagonist who is the son of the king Hamlet and Queen Gertrude and the nephew of the new king Claudius. These are the most important characters in the play: Hamlet is a sad, cynical, discontented, 30 year old man who is totally sickening of his mother sexuality. Claudius is this uncle who is the antagonist in the story. He is the villain of the play, he is manipulative, striving politician he has no love for human kind. Although, his love for Gertrude is frank. Gertrude is the Queen of the Denmark she recently got married to Claudius. Gertrude loves her son Hamlet. However, she has no morals or reality. Polonius is the Lord of Chamberlain of Claudius’s court, a pretentious manipulative old man. He is father of Laertes and Ophelia. Ophelia is Polonius daughter. She follows her father and brother’s rules; she is a very innocent and young girl who falls the need to follow directions from her dad and her brother. The ghost is the specter of Hamlet’s father. I didn’t really understand if the Ghost is Hamlet’s father or something evil. The ghost wants revenge for the murder Hamlet’s father who has been killed by Claudius. Other characters in the play are: Horatio, the Lord Chamberlain; Laertes, Ophelia’s brother; Fortinbras, Prince of Norway; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern friends of Hamlet; Osric the courtier, Voltimand and Cornelius these people were send by Claudius to persuade the king to prevent Fortinbras from attacking; Marcellus and Bernardo, the officers; Francisco, a soldier and guardsman at Elsinore; Reynaldo, Polonius’s servant. These characters are all less significant in the play and have at the play a small part.
The play (summary) in my opinion: Hamlet is the king of Denmark. His life becomes a tragedy after the death of his father. Hamlet feels a responsibility to avenge his father’s murder by killing his uncle Claudius, however Claudius is now the king very well protected. Also, Hamlet struggles with his doubts. On a winter nigh a ghost walks the rampart of Elsinore Castle in Denmark. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghost resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has hereditary the throne and married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaring worryingly that it is indeed his father’s spirit, and that he was murdered by none other than Claudius, ordering Hamlet to seek revenge. About whether he can trust the ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate thing to do. Hamlet the prince works toward revenge for his father death.
Laertes lives most of his life in Paris. Polonius tells Reynaldo to spy on his son. Polonius believes that Hamlet’s odd behavior is because Ophelia has rejected him. Kings Claudius is suspecting that something is wrong with Hamlet; Gertrude reveals that Hamlet is odd because she married him. King Claudius asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out what is happing to Hamlet. Hamlet plans to use the play to see if kings Claudius really killed his father King Hamlet as the ghost had told him. Hamlet starts really working towards his revenge. The first step is the play he makes sure that King Claudius and Queen Gertrude come to see the play which he has added additional too. Kings Claudius shows that his fear toward Hamlet is growing. He sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern just to protect himself. He reveals in his own ways that he has poisoned King Hamlet. He is very afraid of Prince Hamlet. Hamlet is very frustrated with his mom’s behavior and his deceased father dead. They get to into an argument why she was with Polonius. Polonius body gets hidden behind a tapestry. Queen Gertrude attempts to scold her son but Hamlet is very mad because her actions and Polonius echoes however Hamlet stabbed him through the arras. Ophelia goes insane because the death of her father and goes mad and drowns her in the river. King Claudius explains to Laertes that Hamlet killed his father, Polonius. Claudius concoct a plan to use Laertes revenge of this father death to kill Prince Hamlet. Prince Hamlet after hearing about Ophelia death returns to Denmark. At Ophelia’s funeral the priest reveals that a widely held belief Ophelia committed suicide. Hamlet is devastated because the loss of his father and now Ophelia. Hamlet fights Laertes at Ophelia’s grave.
Later, Hamlet fights against Laertes at the castle. Claudius tries to kill Hamlet with a poisoned drink the same way he killed King Hamlet. Instead Prince Hamlet, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is killed by the poison immediately. Laertes dies in the third round at the duel. They exchange swords while they are fighting and Laertes tells Hamlet that his sword is poisoned so Hamlet goes after Claudius and kills him. Laertes also tells Hamlet that King Claudius is responsible for his mom’s death. Hamlet is moved by his anger, he kills King Claudius with the same sword that was poised and makes the king drink his owns poised wine. While Hamlet was dying he tells Horatio to tell his tragedy story and Prince Hamlet recommends Fortibras to be the next king of Denmark.
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