Hamlet

1600-1602

William shakespeare

Hamlet

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existence of God and life after death

corruption aims at power

love theme

family relationships

suicide and murder

reality and appearance

Themes

Act II: Hamlet becomes increasingly erratic, and his strange behavior leads others to believe he is mad. Polonius, thinking that Hamlet’s madness is due to unrequited love for his daughter Ophelia, attempts to investigate. Hamlet, meanwhile, begins to doubt the ghost's truthfulness and arranges for a group of actors to perform a play that mirrors the ghost's description of the murder, to observe Claudius’s reaction. Ophelia becomes more confused by Hamlet's actions. Laertes, Polonius’s son, departs for France.

HAMLET

Act I: The play opens with a dark setting at the castle of Elsinore in Denmark, where the guards see a ghostly apparition: the spirit of the deceased King, who turns out to be Hamlet’s father. The ghost reveals that he was poisoned by his brother Claudius, who has now taken the throne by marrying Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet vows revenge. Meanwhile, King Claudius celebrates his rise to the throne and his marriage to Gertrude, but Hamlet is deeply distressed and angry. The court, including Polonius, his daughter Ophelia, and Hamlet’s friend Horatio, all try to influence the young prince.

Story

Act IV: Claudius, fearing for his life and the throne, decides to send Hamlet to England under the guise of exile. Meanwhile, Ophelia, overwhelmed by the grief of her father Polonius’s death (killed by Hamlet in a fit of madness), descends into madness and drowns in a stream. Laertes returns to Denmark, furious, and agrees to duel Hamlet. Claudius secretly plots to kill Hamlet during the duel by poisoning Laertes’s sword.

Act III: Hamlet is tortured by indecision about seeking revenge and delivers the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, contemplating life and death. After speaking with Ophelia, who expresses her love for him, Hamlet harshly rejects her, causing her pain and prompting Polonius to intervene. Claudius, worried about Hamlet's increasing madness, sends him to England. During the performance, Hamlet watches Claudius's reaction to the scene depicting the king's murder, and Claudius shows signs of guilt, confirming the ghost’s story.

HAMLET

Story

Act V: The drama culminates in the duel between Hamlet and Laertes. During the fight, both are wounded by the poisoned blade. Gertrude unknowingly drinks from a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies. Before dying, Laertes reveals Claudius’s treachery. Hamlet, in his final act of vengeance, kills Claudius and then succumbs to the poison. Prince Fortinbras of Norway arrives in Denmark, takes the throne, and restores order, bringing an end to the corruption of Claudius's reign. The play concludes in total tragedy, with the deaths of Hamlet, his family, and his enemies.

HAMLET

Story

During the 19th century, a period in which there was a critical reevaluation of the works of William Shakespeare, numerous paintings featured Ophelia as the protagonist, as seen, for example, in the works of John Everett Millais.

The role that Ophelia plays in the tragedy is that of the victim of the events: disappointed by a love for Hamlet who believes si inpure and becomes mad cause of the murder of her father by Hamlet himselF, she will end her existence by drowning in a stream, unleashing hate and revenge on the part of his brother Laertes.

CHARACTER

Ophelia

Francesco Castelli

1600-1602

William shakespeare

Hamlet