Bard Crawl: Hamlet Synopsis
This play is FULL of plot! Read on for a synopsis of the play.
"To be or not to be,
that is the question..."
Prior to the events of the play, Denmark is in conflict with neighboring Norway. King Hamlet has killed King Fortinbras of Norway in a duel and Denmark is on the brink of an invasion by the Norwegian army, led by King Fortinbras’ son, Young Fortinbras.
As the play begins, two months have passed since the death of King Hamlet, the seizure of his throne by his brother Claudius, and Claudius’ marriage to King Hamlet’s widow, Queen Gertrude. Instability settles over the Danish throne, and the threat of the Young Fortinbras looms as he prepares to invade Denmark. Late one night, Prince Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, and a few guardsmen witness the ghostly apparition of King Hamlet.
Prince Hamlet, the late King’s son, deep in grief and anger at his father’s death and mother’s sudden remarriage, returns home only to be confronted by the ghost of his father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius, who poisoned the king in order to steal both the throne and the queen. Hamlet swears to avenge his father’s murder.
Hamlet wreaks havoc on the court: pretending to be mad and displaying an “antic disposition.” His friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are summoned to comfort, and perhaps spy on, Hamlet.
"To thine own self be true..."
Meanwhile, Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, warns Ophelia that Hamlet’s affection will dwindle. Ophelia and Laertes’ father, Polonius, arrives to see Laertes off to France and warns Laertes to behave himself. Polonius then advises Ophelia to reject Hamlet’s affection before devising a plan to use her as bait to spy on Hamlet. Ophelia agrees to meet Hamlet while Polonius and Claudius spy on the two. Hamlet, deeply suspicious of Ophelia and her motives, violently rejects her, telling her “We will have no more marriages.”
Hamlet then sets a trap for his uncle, persuading a band of traveling actors to mount a re-enactment of his father’s murder in front of the court. Hamlet hopes to incite a reaction from his uncle that will prove his guilt. The scene provokes Claudius, and he interrupts the action before running from the room, proving to Hamlet his uncle’s guilt. Claudius tries to pray but cannot repent. Hamlet overhears Claudius praying but reasons that if he kills his uncle during prayer, Claudius will go to heaven, which Hamlet cannot allow.
Gertrude calls Hamlet to her chambers where the two bitterly argue. During the confrontation, Hamlet hears a noise and attacks, believing the eavesdropper to be Claudius. Tragically, it is Polonius, Ophelia’s father, and he dies almost instantly. The Ghost of King Hamlet appears to reprimand Hamlet for his harsh words. Hamlet exits with Polonius’ body. Claudius enters and a distraught Gertrude tells him that Hamlet is mad and has murdered Polonius.
"...The rest is silence."
Under the guise of helping Hamlet escape, Claudius again summons Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England. Before they leave, Claudius gives the two friends a letter to be delivered to the King of England. Unbeknownst to any of them, the letter instructs the King of England to have Hamlet killed. However, Hamlet escapes and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are killed.
The news of her father’s death, along with the absence of her brother, drives Ophelia into madness. Laertes returns, having heard of his father’s death, only to witness his sister’s madness right before she drowns in a nearby river. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for all his loss. They devise a plot to arrange a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, in which Hamlet will die either from a poisoned rapier or from poisoned wine.
As Hamlet returns to Denmark, he reunites with Horatio in the graveyard (along with two gravediggers), where they talk of the chances of life and death. Ophelia's funeral procession arrives at the very same graveyard, and Hamlet confronts Laertes, who has taken his father’s place in court. The two men fight.
Back at the castle, Hamlet agrees to duel. Plans go awry when Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine, and both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned blade. Gertrude and Laertes succumb to the poison and die. Hamlet, near death, forces Claudius to drink the remaining poisoned wine, killing the deceitful king. Young Fortinbras arrives on the tragic scene, just in time for Hamlet to name Fortinbras his successor before dying in the arms of his one true friend, Horatio.