The Tragedy of Hamlet : A synopsis

 

The Tragedy of Hamlet that is often shortened to Hamlet, is one of the most controversial plays written by William Shakespeare. The play was published in 1602  , one year before the death of queen Elizabeth the I . Shakespeare’s Chef d’oeuvre  Hamlet is a play that embodies the age of renaissance. It is a play  that encompasses  thoughtful insights about humanist philosophy as well as the mesmerizing Greek tradition of writing that is filled with mythology and fantastic elements. The story starts when Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is  back home from  England  to mourn the death of his father, King Hamlet, who has died two months earlier. Hamlet is surprised and disturbed  by the marriage of his widowed mother, Queen Gertrude, to his Uncle, King Claudius, who succeeded to throne shortly after the death of his father.

Later on, a ghost has appeared to guards on nightly watch which was seen also by Hamlet’s good friend, Horatio, who was astonished by the resemblance of the ghost to the deceased King Hamlet . Horatio tried to speak to the ghost but it refused. Shortly after that, Horatio asks Hamlet to wait for the ghost and try his chance out, maybe the ghost would finally speak. Indeed, The ghost of his father appears to Hamlet and speaks to him stating that he was murdered by his brother Claudius who poisoned him in the ear. Hamlet is moved and affected by the ghost’s speech and promises to avenge his father’s murder.

Afterwards , Hamlet’s sanity starts to be doubted by all his surroundings .consequently, Laertes, son to the King’s advisor Polonius who  is ordered to leave to France tells Ophelia, his sister, to stay away from Hamlet and orders her to be’ vigilant of Hamlet’s feelings for her. His uncle Claudius and his mother Gertrude are both worried ; Polonius suggests  that Hamlet has gone mad because of Ophelia’s rejection of his feelings.  Nevertheless, Claudius and Polonius decide to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia through employing his childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him.  However , their  hidden plan is quickly  uncovered by Hamlet.

A few  days later a troupe of players visit town which inspires hamlet to visualize his father’s murder and thinks of  hiring these actors to  perform a play that recounts and realizes the ghosts speech. Indeed, hamlet organizes everything and asks the actors to perform murder scene in which a king is being poisoned in the ear by his brother who is driven by greed of succeeding to the throne. He orders Horatio to observe Claudius’ reaction during the play. Claudius cannot endure watching the play and angrily leaves which proves Hamlet’s doubts and that he is the murderer of his father.

Hamlet follows Claudius to the chapel while he is kneeling down to pray. He is driven by a strong desire to kill him instantly, but then refrains from doing that because Claudius is in mid-prayer, and if he kills him he will therefore go to heaven. Hamlet then decides to wait until Claudius commits a sin which would guarantee that he will go to hell. After that hamlet decides to speak to his mother Gertrude an argument starts , the curtain moves and hamlet rushes to kill the one behind it thinking that it would be his uncle Claudius, but then discovers that he killed Polonius mistaking him for being his uncle.

Later on , some news suggest that Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, whose father’s lands were seized by the late King, decides to go to Denmark in order to claim back the land. Claudius asks Hamlet and his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to depart to England having a letter with them that contains an order for Hamlet’s execution during the trip. Nevertheless, while at sea, Hamlet soon realizes that they are plotting against him and switches the orders, causing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be executed and Hamlet returns safe to Denmark. When he arrives at Elsinore he finds out that Ophelia has gone mad because of grieving her father. Laertes, then,   returns from France and is told that Hamlet has killed his father, Polonius. Claudius convinces Laertes to have a  duel with Hamlet and poisons the tip of Laertes foil.  He prepared a poisned drink for Hamlet in case Laertes loses the duel they are interrupted by . Gertrude  who announces the death of  Ophelia  who has drowned. In the graveyard, Hamlet reminisces on a friend of his whose skull he has found. When arrives with Ophelia’s corpse arrives , Laertes and Hamlet argue and start fighting. In the mid of their  duel, Gertrude  drinks from  the poisoned chalice and falls dead immediately. Hamlet  gets wounded by the poisoned foil and swhitches it to stab alerts who denounces Claudius’s plan to kill hamlet . He rushes and stabs Clausius and asks his friend Horatio to tell his story . The play is concluded with the scene of The Norwegian forces arriving at Elsinore picturing  Prince Fortinbras seizing  control of Denmark.