Hamlet Introduction

Hamlet is a tragic play by William Shakespeare about a man named Hamlet. The scene is set in Denmark in the 17th century and the king of Denmark has died. Hamlet, the son of the late king, is depressed since the death of his father, and his mother, named Gertrude, has already remarried. The new king, who has married Gertrude after only a few months, is Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and new step father. Everyone else in the play has moved on from the late King’s death so quickly, but Hamlet is still in mourning. He even contemplates death and killing himself a few times throughout the play. In the beginning, Hamlet is confronted by the ghost of his father telling him that he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost asks Hamlet to get revenge for his death and kill Claudius because the king didn’t have time to repent his sins before he was poisoned. Hamlet is unsure if he can believe that this ghost is his father so he creates a play to see if Claudius really is his father’s murderer. Hamlet acts as though he has gone mad as part of his plan and he eventually he presents a play to Claudius that confirms that Claudius is guilty because he storms out in anger. Claudius and Gertrude are unsure of why Hamlet seems crazy at first, but a man named Polonius thinks it is because Hamlet is in love with his daughter, Ophelia. When Hamlet is trying to carry out his plan of revenge, he accidentally kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a curtain, while he is talking to Gertrude. Ophelia ends up drowning and people suspect that she killed herself because of her madness due to the grief that she felt about the death of her father. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England because his madness can cause problems in Denmark. However, Hamlet discovers that is a plan against him and he escapes the boat he is on and returns to Denmark. He sends letters before him to warn everyone of his coming and Claudius and Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, make a plan to kill Hamlet in a duel. Hamlet is devastated when he learns of Ophelia’s death, but he agrees to the duel. In the duel, he kills Laertes, Gertrude drinks poison that is meant for Hamlet, and Hamlet kills Claudius just before he dies. Throughout the book, Hamlet battles with the notion of the finality of death, the purpose of life and his desire for revenge.