william shakespeare
Hamlet
a journey into doubt and revenge
Index
the themes and interpretations
introduction
Pag. III
Pag. VIII
genre and structure
the plot
Pag. X
Pag. IV
surprise
the characters
Pag. VI
Pag. XI
h a m l e t
Introduction
William Shakespeare, a remarkable figure in English literature, is renowned for his profound exploration of the human condition through a wide repertoire of plays, including comedies, historical dramas, and tragedies.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most important tragedies. It falls into the category of dark comedies/problem plays because it often alternates between tragic, violent, and comic material. With Hamlet, Shakespeare transcends the model of Seneca's revenge tragedy.
The story is set in Denmark and revolves around Prince Hamlet, tormented by the death of his father, the king, and the hasty marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle Claudius, who ascends to the throne.
III
The plot
h a m l e t
The story takes place in Elsinore Castle, in Denmark. After the king’s death, his brother Claudius becomes the new king and marries Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet is very sad and confused. One night, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father. The ghost says that Claudius killed him with poison while he was sleeping. The ghost asks Hamlet to take revenge. Hamlet decides to pretend to be crazy, so no one will understand his plan. Hamlet loves Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, the king’s advisor. Polonius and the king use Ophelia to spy on Hamlet and find out his secret. Hamlet makes the actors play a show about a king killed by his brother with poison. When Claudius sees the scene, he feels very guilty. Now Hamlet knows the ghost told the truth.
IV
h a m l e t
The plot
One day, Hamlet talks to his mother. He hears a noise behind a curtain and thinks it is Claudius. He hits with his sword, but behind the curtain there is Polonius, and Hamlet kills him by mistake. Claudius then sends Hamlet to England, but he comes back to Denmark.Ophelia goes mad because of her father’s death and drowns in the river. Her brother Laertes comes back from France and wants revenge. Claudius and Laertes make a plan to kill Hamlet during a duel. During the duel, Laertes uses a poisoned sword, and Hamlet is given a cup of poisoned wine.
Laertes hurts Hamlet, but Hamlet takes the poisoned sword and hurts Laertes. Both men are dying. Laertes tells the truth about the plan, and the Queen, who has drunk from the poisoned cup, dies. Hamlet kills Claudius and makes him drink the poison in front of everyone. Hamlet dies in the arms of his friend Horatio. Before he dies, he says that Fortinbras will be the new king of Denmark.In the end, almost everyone dies, and the story shows that revenge only brings sadness and death.
The Characters
h a m l e t
Claudius: He is the main antagonist, Hamlet's uncle who ascends to the throne after murdering his brother, King Hamlet Claudius is willing to do anything to maintain power. His marriage to Gertrude, the king's widow, is an act of opportunism that upsets Hamlet. Claudius is tormented by remorse, but his thirst for power is stronger than his guilt.
Hamlet: He is the Prince of Denmark, a thoughtful and tormented young man. After his father's death and his mother's hasty marriage to his uncle Claudius, Hamlet is consumed by grief and doubt. When his father's ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet is torn between the desire for revenge and his inability to act immediately.
Gertrude: She is the Queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother.
After her husband's death, she quickly marries Claudius, a decision that deeply upsets Hamlet. Gertrude is a complex figure, often seen as weak and easily influenced. It is unclear whether she was complicit in her husband's murder.
VI
the characters
h a m l e t
Laertes: He is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia.
Laertes is eager to avenge the death of his father and sister. His thirst for revenge leads him to plot with Claudius to kill Hamlet during a duel.
Ophelia: She is the daughter of Polonius and Hamlet's beloved.
Ophelia is an innocent and obedient young woman, crushed by the pressures of her father and Hamlet. When Hamlet refuses her and kills her father, Ophelia goes mad and drowns. Her tragic end is a symbol of innocence destroyed by corruption and violence.
Polonius: He is King Claudius' advisor. He is the father of Ophelia and Laertes, and he tries to control their lives. His habit of spying on others leads to his death at the hands of Hamlet.
VII
h a m l e t
themes and interpretations
The text presents Hamlet as a character torn between opposing impulses: on one hand, he is a avenger driven by the duty to punish his father’s murder according to the law of retaliation; on the other, he gradually becomes an instrument of public justice, aware that his action is not only about a personal wrong but about the fate of the entire kingdom. Denmark is portrayed as a diseased nation, corrupted by Claudius’s fratricide and his incestuous union with Gertrude; in this context, Hamlet’s revenge takes on a political and almost sacred value, as it restores a disrupted order.
However, Hamlet doesn't act on impulse. He is a man of doubt, tormented by moral, religious, and philosophical reflections. His famous soliloquies reveal a melancholic soul, unable to find balance between reason and action. His hesitation to kill Claudius while he is praying shows a deep inner conflict: it is not enough for him to avenge his father — he wants the punishment to be just even in the afterlife. Yet this very pursuit of moral coherence paralyses him and paradoxically leads him to commit an unintended murder, that of Polonius.
VIII
themes and interpretations
h a m l e t
As the story progresses, madness becomes the language through which Hamlet expresses his truth. Whether it is genuine or merely feigned is never entirely clear, but it allows him to speak in riddles and double meanings without being taken seriously. The same happens with Ophelia, whose madness is real and tragic, a reflection of her powerlessness in the face of injustice. In the end, when everything comes to a climax in the final duel, Hamlet regains the ability to act: he kills Claudius not only for himself but to restore justice and prevent civil war, even choosing his successor before dying. So from a hesitant and tormented young man, he ultimately becomes the guarantor of a lost order.
IX
Genre and Structure
hamlet
The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd (c. 1590) had contributed to making the revenge play popular among the Elizabethans.
Hamlet takes many typical elements from it: a revenge theme, a corpse on stage, ghosts, frequent moral reflections, and emphatic and pompous rhetoric.
Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death and, at the same time, Shakespeare enlarges the theme of revenge with other cases: Laertes, who wants to avenge his father Polonius, and also Fortinbras, who fights to avenge his father’s honour and to recover Norway.
A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY
The Murder of Gonzago shows that theatre can help to find certainties among hesitations and doubts. Hamlet stages this play to expose the king’s guilt.
The play also shows Shakespeare’s love for theatre itself and his way of openly reflecting on how theatre can reveal the truth, moving from private theatre to public theatre in Elizabethan society.
THE FATE OF OPHELIA
XI
Hamlet
Francesca Paola Stanzione
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Transcript
william shakespeare
Hamlet
a journey into doubt and revenge
Index
the themes and interpretations
introduction
Pag. III
Pag. VIII
genre and structure
the plot
Pag. X
Pag. IV
surprise
the characters
Pag. VI
Pag. XI
h a m l e t
Introduction
William Shakespeare, a remarkable figure in English literature, is renowned for his profound exploration of the human condition through a wide repertoire of plays, including comedies, historical dramas, and tragedies.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most important tragedies. It falls into the category of dark comedies/problem plays because it often alternates between tragic, violent, and comic material. With Hamlet, Shakespeare transcends the model of Seneca's revenge tragedy.
The story is set in Denmark and revolves around Prince Hamlet, tormented by the death of his father, the king, and the hasty marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle Claudius, who ascends to the throne.
III
The plot
h a m l e t
The story takes place in Elsinore Castle, in Denmark. After the king’s death, his brother Claudius becomes the new king and marries Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet is very sad and confused. One night, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father. The ghost says that Claudius killed him with poison while he was sleeping. The ghost asks Hamlet to take revenge. Hamlet decides to pretend to be crazy, so no one will understand his plan. Hamlet loves Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, the king’s advisor. Polonius and the king use Ophelia to spy on Hamlet and find out his secret. Hamlet makes the actors play a show about a king killed by his brother with poison. When Claudius sees the scene, he feels very guilty. Now Hamlet knows the ghost told the truth.
IV
h a m l e t
The plot
One day, Hamlet talks to his mother. He hears a noise behind a curtain and thinks it is Claudius. He hits with his sword, but behind the curtain there is Polonius, and Hamlet kills him by mistake. Claudius then sends Hamlet to England, but he comes back to Denmark.Ophelia goes mad because of her father’s death and drowns in the river. Her brother Laertes comes back from France and wants revenge. Claudius and Laertes make a plan to kill Hamlet during a duel. During the duel, Laertes uses a poisoned sword, and Hamlet is given a cup of poisoned wine.
Laertes hurts Hamlet, but Hamlet takes the poisoned sword and hurts Laertes. Both men are dying. Laertes tells the truth about the plan, and the Queen, who has drunk from the poisoned cup, dies. Hamlet kills Claudius and makes him drink the poison in front of everyone. Hamlet dies in the arms of his friend Horatio. Before he dies, he says that Fortinbras will be the new king of Denmark.In the end, almost everyone dies, and the story shows that revenge only brings sadness and death.
The Characters
h a m l e t
Claudius: He is the main antagonist, Hamlet's uncle who ascends to the throne after murdering his brother, King Hamlet Claudius is willing to do anything to maintain power. His marriage to Gertrude, the king's widow, is an act of opportunism that upsets Hamlet. Claudius is tormented by remorse, but his thirst for power is stronger than his guilt.
Hamlet: He is the Prince of Denmark, a thoughtful and tormented young man. After his father's death and his mother's hasty marriage to his uncle Claudius, Hamlet is consumed by grief and doubt. When his father's ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet is torn between the desire for revenge and his inability to act immediately.
Gertrude: She is the Queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother. After her husband's death, she quickly marries Claudius, a decision that deeply upsets Hamlet. Gertrude is a complex figure, often seen as weak and easily influenced. It is unclear whether she was complicit in her husband's murder.
VI
the characters
h a m l e t
Laertes: He is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. Laertes is eager to avenge the death of his father and sister. His thirst for revenge leads him to plot with Claudius to kill Hamlet during a duel.
Ophelia: She is the daughter of Polonius and Hamlet's beloved. Ophelia is an innocent and obedient young woman, crushed by the pressures of her father and Hamlet. When Hamlet refuses her and kills her father, Ophelia goes mad and drowns. Her tragic end is a symbol of innocence destroyed by corruption and violence.
Polonius: He is King Claudius' advisor. He is the father of Ophelia and Laertes, and he tries to control their lives. His habit of spying on others leads to his death at the hands of Hamlet.
VII
h a m l e t
themes and interpretations
The text presents Hamlet as a character torn between opposing impulses: on one hand, he is a avenger driven by the duty to punish his father’s murder according to the law of retaliation; on the other, he gradually becomes an instrument of public justice, aware that his action is not only about a personal wrong but about the fate of the entire kingdom. Denmark is portrayed as a diseased nation, corrupted by Claudius’s fratricide and his incestuous union with Gertrude; in this context, Hamlet’s revenge takes on a political and almost sacred value, as it restores a disrupted order.
However, Hamlet doesn't act on impulse. He is a man of doubt, tormented by moral, religious, and philosophical reflections. His famous soliloquies reveal a melancholic soul, unable to find balance between reason and action. His hesitation to kill Claudius while he is praying shows a deep inner conflict: it is not enough for him to avenge his father — he wants the punishment to be just even in the afterlife. Yet this very pursuit of moral coherence paralyses him and paradoxically leads him to commit an unintended murder, that of Polonius.
VIII
themes and interpretations
h a m l e t
As the story progresses, madness becomes the language through which Hamlet expresses his truth. Whether it is genuine or merely feigned is never entirely clear, but it allows him to speak in riddles and double meanings without being taken seriously. The same happens with Ophelia, whose madness is real and tragic, a reflection of her powerlessness in the face of injustice. In the end, when everything comes to a climax in the final duel, Hamlet regains the ability to act: he kills Claudius not only for himself but to restore justice and prevent civil war, even choosing his successor before dying. So from a hesitant and tormented young man, he ultimately becomes the guarantor of a lost order.
IX
Genre and Structure
hamlet
The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd (c. 1590) had contributed to making the revenge play popular among the Elizabethans. Hamlet takes many typical elements from it: a revenge theme, a corpse on stage, ghosts, frequent moral reflections, and emphatic and pompous rhetoric. Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death and, at the same time, Shakespeare enlarges the theme of revenge with other cases: Laertes, who wants to avenge his father Polonius, and also Fortinbras, who fights to avenge his father’s honour and to recover Norway.
A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY
The Murder of Gonzago shows that theatre can help to find certainties among hesitations and doubts. Hamlet stages this play to expose the king’s guilt. The play also shows Shakespeare’s love for theatre itself and his way of openly reflecting on how theatre can reveal the truth, moving from private theatre to public theatre in Elizabethan society.
THE FATE OF OPHELIA
XI