User:AndyJones/Hamlet Synopsis

Original
The central character is Prince Hamlet. He is the son of the late King Hamlet, who died two months earlier, and the nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Hamlet is grieving at his father's death, and suspects him murdered by Claudius.

The play opens on a cold winter night at Elsinore, the royal castle. Two sentries—Marcellus and Barnardo—are trying to persuade Hamlet's friend Horatio that they have seen King Hamlet's ghost when the Ghost appears again. In the meantime, the court is assembled to celebrate Claudius' marriage to Gertrude, who is Prince Hamlet's mother and was King Hamlet's Queen. Claudius uses the opportunity to announce an end to official mourning for his brother. Hamlet is angered by these events and, at midnight that evening, encounters the Ghost himself. During a conversation with his son, the Ghost confides that he was poisoned by Claudius and urges Hamlet to avenge him. Confirmation of the murder further enrages Hamlet.

Claudius, Gertrude and Polonius (the king's chief counsellor) are worried about Hamlet's mental state. They send two student friends of Hamlet's—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—to seek out the reason for it. In the meantime, an agitated Hamlet has upset Polonius' daughter, Ophelia, who is also in a relationship with Hamlet, by abruptly appearing in her chamber. Polonius misunderstands the cause and concludes an "ecstasy of love" is to blame for Hamlet's troubled mental condition.

Hamlet greets Rozencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but quickly guesses their purpose. He affects disaffection with the world; as a cure Rozencrantz summonses a troupe of actors. Hamlet seizes the opportunity to stage a play—The Murder of Gonzago, which Hamlet calls The Mousetrap—as a means of confronting his uncle's with his suspicions. In this "play within a play", he will re-enact a king's murder and determine Claudius' guilt or innocence in King Hamlet's death by watching his response.

Claudius agrees to attend the play, but first he and Polonius hide themselves, to spy with Ophelia on Hamlet. Believing himself alone, Hamlet reflects on his predicament, until Ophelia alerts him to her presence. Hamlet berates her for her immodesty and dismisses her to a nunnery—a cruel double entendre as nunnery was Elizabethan slang for brothel—causing her great distress. Fearing for his life, the king decides to banish Hamlet to England but first Polonius persuades him to allow Gertrude to try to discover the cause of Hamlet's malaise.

Hamlet directs the actors' preparations. The court assembles and the play begins; Hamlet provides a running commentary throughout. When the moment where the king is poisoned arrives, Claudius rises abruptly and leaves, proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt. Hamlet is summoned to his mother's bedchamber and, en route, discovers Claudius praying. Poised to strike, Hamlet hesitates, reasoning that to kill Claudius in prayer would send him to heaven.

Reaching his mother's chamber, Hamlet confronts Gertrude, who panics and cries out. Polonius, hidden behind a tapestry, reacts, prompting Hamlet to stab wildly at the tapestry. Hamlet hopes he stabbed the king but instead discovers Polonius' corpse. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of complicity in his father's death; she admits a small part. The Ghost then appears but is visible only to Hamlet. He urges Hamlet to treat Gertrude gently but to avenge his death on Claudius. Unable to see the apparition, Gertrude takes Hamlet's behaviour for a sign of madness. Hamlet drags Polonius' corpse away and hides it.

Claudius sends Hamlet to England accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to whom he has given a secret document requesting the prince's execution. During the journey, Hamlet discovers the document and amends it so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are executed in his place. The following day, Hamlet is kidnapped by pirates and is returned for a ransom to King Claudius.

At Elsinore, Ophelia wanders the court in grief-induced madness, singing incoherently. Laertes (Polonius’s son recently returned from abroad) is seeking revenge for his father's murder at Hamlet's hand. The news of Ophelia's madness further incenses him. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for it all. Claudius proposes a rigged fencing-match, using poisoned rapiers, as a means of achieving Laertes' revenge. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned.

Two clown-gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide, which denies her full funeral rites, while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with a gravedigger, who unearths the skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick. A funeral procession approaches. On hearing that it is Ophelia's cortege and seeing Laertes leap into her grave, Hamlet advances and he and Laertes grapple. The brawl is broken up and Hamlet is invited to duel with Laertes; he accepts.

The court enters, ready for the match. Claudius orders cups of wine prepared, one of which he has poisoned. During the bout, by accident, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes succeeds in piercing Hamlet with a poisoned blade but, in the struggle, is wounded by it himself. With Laertes and Hamlet mortally wounded, Gertrude dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reveals the king's duel plot to Hamlet, and they are reconciled. Hamlet manages to kill Claudius and just before dying himself names Fortinbras as heir. As Fortinbras arrives, Horatio recounts the tale and Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body borne off in honour.

878 WORDS

Revised (with further abridgements marked up)
The central character is Prince Hamlet. He is the son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and the nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Claudius has married King Hamlet's widow Gertrude, who is Hamlet's mother. Hamlet is grieving at his father's death, and suspects him murdered by Claudius.

The play opens on a cold winter night at Elsinore, the royal castle. Two sentries—Marcellus and Barnardo—are trying to persuade Hamlet's friend Horatio that they have seen King Hamlet's ghost, when the Ghost appears again.

Claudius and Gerturde hold court, sending ambassadors to Norway to avert a possible attack on Denmark by Prince Fortinbras. Laertes, the son of Denmark's chief counsellor Polonius, is granted leave to return to study in France. Claudius and Gertrude try to persuade Hamlet to cease his mourning, and they refuse his request to return to his studies in Wittenburg. Hamlet, left alone, speaks the first of his five long soliloquies, and is interrupted by Horatio and the sentries who tell him of their encounter with the Ghost. He resolves to join them on the platform, that night.

Laertes, leaving for France, is aware that his sister Ophelia is being courted by Hamlet, and he warns her off him. Polonius gives some fatherly advice to his son before his departure, and then orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet.

Hamlet encounters the Ghost, who reveals that he was poisoned by Claudius, and urges Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet resolves to feign madness, so as to avert suspicion from his plans for revenge.

Polonius sends a servant, Reynaldo, to Paris to spy on Laertes. Polonius is then interrupted by Ophelia, who has been upset by Hamlet's appearance in her chamber, and by his strange behaviour. Polonius concludes an "ecstasy of love" is to blame for Hamlet's madness. Claudius and Gertrude send two student friends of Hamlet's—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—to seek out the reason for his madness. Polonius reveals his theory to the King and Queen, and they agree to arrange for Ophelia to meet Hamlet in the lobby, so that Claudius and Polonius may eavesdrop. Hamlet greets Rozencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but quickly guesses their purpose. Their arrival is followed by that of a group of players. Hamlet invites one of them to recite a speech about Pyrrhus and Priam, but Hamlet becomes upset by the contrast between the player's apparent passion and his own inaction. Hamlet resolves to stage a play—The Murder of Gonzago—in which he will re-enact a king's murder, and determine Claudius' guilt or innocence by watching his response.

Claudius and Polonius hide themselves to witness Hamlet's encounter with Ophelia. Hamlet berates her for her immodesty and dismisses her to a nunnery—a cruel double entendre as nunnery was Elizabethan slang for brothel—causing her great distress. Fearing for his life, the king decides to banish Hamlet to England but first Polonius persuades him to allow Gertrude to try to discover the cause of Hamlet's malaise.

Hamlet directs the actors' preparations. The court assembles and the play begins; Hamlet provides a running commentary throughout, renaming the play "The Mousetrap". At the moment where the Player King is poisoned, Claudius rises abruptly and leaves, proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt. Hamlet is summoned to his mother's bedchamber and, en route, discovers Claudius praying. Poised to strike, Hamlet hesitates, reasoning that to kill Claudius in prayer would send him to heaven. Reaching his mother's chamber, Hamlet confronts Gertrude, who panics and cries out. Polonius, hidden behind a tapestry, reacts, prompting Hamlet to stab wildly at the tapestry. Hamlet hopes he stabbed the king but instead discovers Polonius' corpse. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of complicity in his father's death. She admits feelings of guilt: but the play does not specify what she considers her crime to have been. The Ghost then appears but is visible only to Hamlet. He urges Hamlet to treat Gertrude gently but to avenge his death on Claudius. Unable to see the apparition, Gertrude takes Hamlet's behaviour for a sign of madness. Hamlet drags Polonius' corpse away and hides it.

Claudius sends Hamlet to England accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. On their way to the ship, they encounter Fortinbras' army, and talk with a captain. Hamlet compares the soldiers' resolution with his own inactivity, and decides that his future thoughts must "be bloody, or be nothing worth".

At Elsinore, Ophelia wanders the court in grief-induced madness, singing snatches of bawdy songs. Laertes arrives at the castle with a mob, seeking revenge for his father's death. The sight of Ophelia's madness further incenses him. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for it all. Letters arrive, indicating that Hamlet is returning. Claudius proposes a rigged fencing-match, using poisoned rapiers, as a means of achieving Laertes' revenge, backed up with a cup of poisioned wine in case the first plan fails. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned.

Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide, while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with a gravedigger, who unearths the skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick. Ophelia's funeral procession approaches. Laertes leaps into her grave, Hamlet advances and he and Laertes grapple. The brawl is broken up.

Back at Elsinore, Hamlet recounts to Horatio how he escaped from Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, with pirates who had attacked their ship. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were carrying a letter requesting the prince's execution, but Hamlet had discovered this, and amended it so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be executed in his place. Osric, a courtier, interrupts to invite Hamlet to the planned fencing match with Laertes. The court enters, ready for the match. During the bout, by accident, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes succeeds in piercing Hamlet with a poisoned blade but, in the struggle, is wounded by it himself. With Laertes and Hamlet mortally wounded, Gertrude dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reveals the king's plot to Hamlet, and they are reconciled. Hamlet manages to kill Claudius and, just before dying himself, names Fortinbras as heir. When Fortinbras arrives, Horatio recounts the tale and Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body borne off in honour.

1027 WORDS

Re-revised & further mark up in red
The central character is Prince Hamlet, the son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and the nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Claudius has married King Hamlet's widow Gertrude, who is Hamlet's mother. Hamlet is grieving at his father's death, and suspects him murdered by Claudius.

The play opens on a cold winter night at Elsinore, the royal castle. Two sentries—Marcellus and Barnardo—are trying to persuade Hamlet's friend Horatio that they have seen King Hamlet's ghost, when the Ghost appears again.

Claudius and Gerturde hold court, sending ambassadors to Norway to avert a possible attack on Denmark by Prince Fortinbras. They grant leave to Laertes, the son of Denmark's chief counsellor Polonius, is granted leave to return to study in France. Claudius and Gertrude try to persuade Hamlet to cease his mourning, and refuse his request to return to his studies in Wittenburg. Hamlet meets Horatio and the sentries, who tell him of their encounter with the Ghost. He resolves to join them on the platform, that night.

Laertes, leaving for France, knows that Hamlet has courted is aware that his sister Ophelia is being courted by Hamlet, and he warns her off him. Polonius gives some fatherly advice to his son before his departure, and then orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet.

Hamlet encounters the Ghost, who reveals that he was poisoned by Claudius poisoned him, and urges Hamlet to avenge his death him. Hamlet resolves to feign madness, so as to avert suspicion from his plans for revenge.

Opehlia approaches Polonius, having been upset by Hamlet's appearance in her chamber, and by his strange behaviour. Polonius concludes an "ecstasy of love" is to blame for Hamlet's madness. Claudius and Gertrude send two student friends of Hamlet's—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—to seek out the reason for his madness. Polonius reveals his theory to the King and Queen, and they agree to arrange for Ophelia to meet Hamlet in the lobby, so that Claudius and Polonius may eavesdrop. Hamlet greets Rozencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but quickly guesses their purpose. Their arrival is followed by that of a group of players. Hamlet resolves to stage a play—The Murder of Gonzago—in which he will re-enact a king's murder, and determine Claudius' guilt or innocence by watching his response.

Polonius has revealed his theory to the King and Queen, and they agree to arrange for Ophelia to meet Hamlet in the lobby, so that where Claudius and Polonius may eavesdrop. Claudius and Polonius hide themselves to witness Hamlet's encounter with Ophelia. Hamlet berates her Ophelia for her immodesty and dismisses her to a nunnery—a cruel double entendre as nunnery was Elizabethan slang for brothel—causing her great distress.

Hamlet directs the actors' preparations. The court assembles and the play begins; Hamlet provides a running commentary throughout, renaming the play "The Mousetrap". At the moment where the Player King is poisoned, Claudius rises abruptly and leaves, proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt. Hamlet is summoned to his mother's bedchamber and, en route, discovers Claudius praying. Poised to strike, Hamlet hesitates, reasoning that to kill Claudius in prayer would send him to heaven. Reaching his mother's chamber, Hamlet confronts Gertrude, who panics and cries out. Polonius, hidden behind a tapestry, reacts, prompting Hamlet to stab wildly at the tapestry. Hamlet hopes he stabbed the king but instead discovers Polonius' corpse. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of complicity in his father's death. The Ghost then appears but is visible only to Hamlet. He urges Hamlet to treat Gertrude gently but to avenge his death on Claudius. Unable to see the apparition, Gertrude takes Hamlet's behaviour for a sign of madness. Hamlet drags Polonius' corpse away and hides it.

Claudius sends Hamlet to England accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. On their way to the ship, they encounter Fortinbras' army, and talk with a captain. Hamlet compares the soldiers' resolution with his own inactivity, and decides that his future thoughts must "be bloody, or be nothing worth".

At Elsinore, Ophelia wanders the court in grief-induced madness, singing snatches of bawdy songs. Laertes arrives at the castle with a mob, seeking revenge for his father's death. The sight of Ophelia's madness further incenses him. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for it all. Letters arrive, indicating that Hamlet is returning. Claudius proposes a rigged fencing-match, using poisoned rapiers, as a means of achieving Laertes' revenge, backed up with a cup of poisioned wine in case the first plan fails. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned.

Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide, while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with a gravedigger, who unearths the skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick. Ophelia's funeral procession approaches. Laertes leaps into her grave, Hamlet advances and he and Laertes grapple. The brawl is broken up.

Back at Elsinore, Hamlet recounts to Horatio how he escaped from Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, with pirates who had attacked their ship. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were carrying a letter requesting the prince's execution, but Hamlet had discovered this, and amended it so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be executed in his place. Osric, a courtier, interrupts to invite Hamlet to the planned fencing match with Laertes. The court enters, ready for the match. During the bout, by accident, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes succeeds in piercing Hamlet with a poisoned blade but, in the struggle, is wounded by it himself. Gertrude dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reveals the king's plot to Hamlet, and they are reconciled. Hamlet manages to kill Claudius and, just before dying himself, names Fortinbras as heir. When Fortinbras arrives, Horatio recounts the tale and Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body borne off in honour.

913 WORDS

Final Revision
The central character is Prince Hamlet, the son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and the nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Claudius has married King Hamlet's widow Gertrude, who is Hamlet's mother.

The play opens on a cold winter night at Elsinore, the royal castle. Two sentries—Marcellus and Barnardo—are trying to persuade Hamlet's friend Horatio that they have seen King Hamlet's ghost, when the Ghost appears again.

Claudius and Gerturde hold court, sending ambassadors to Norway to avert a possible attack on Denmark by Prince Fortinbras. They grant leave to Laertes, the son of Denmark's chief counsellor Polonius, to return to study in France. Claudius and Gertrude try to persuade Hamlet to cease his mourning, and refuse his request to return to his studies in Wittenburg. Hamlet meets Horatio and the sentries, who tell him of their encounter with the Ghost. He resolves to join them on the platform, that night.

Laertes, leaving for France, knows that Hamlet has courted his sister Ophelia, and he warns her off him. Polonius gives some fatherly advice to his son before his departure, and then orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet.

Hamlet encounters the Ghost, who reveals that Claudius poisoned him, and urges Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet resolves to feign madness, to avert suspicion from his plans for revenge.

Opehlia approaches Polonius, having been upset by Hamlet's appearance in her chamber, and by his strange behaviour. Polonius concludes an "ecstasy of love" is to blame for Hamlet's madness. Claudius and Gertrude send two student friends of Hamlet's—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—to seek out the reason for his madness. Hamlet greets Rozencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but quickly guesses their purpose. Their arrival is followed by that of a group of players. Hamlet resolves to stage a play—The Murder of Gonzago—in which he will re-enact a king's murder, and determine Claudius' guilt or innocence by watching his response.

Polonius has revealed his theory to the King and Queen, and they arrange for Ophelia to meet Hamlet in the lobby, where Claudius and Polonius may eavesdrop. Hamlet berates Ophelia for her immodesty and dismisses her to a nunnery—a cruel double entendre as nunnery was Elizabethan slang for brothel—causing her great distress.

Hamlet directs the actors' preparations. The court assembles and the play begins; Hamlet provides a running commentary throughout, renaming the play "The Mousetrap". At the moment where the Player King is poisoned, Claudius rises abruptly and leaves, proof positive for Hamlet of his uncle's guilt. Hamlet is summoned to his mother's bedchamber and, en route, discovers Claudius praying. Poised to strike, Hamlet hesitates, reasoning that to kill Claudius in prayer would send him to heaven. Reaching his mother's chamber, Hamlet confronts Gertrude, who panics and cries out. Polonius, hidden behind a tapestry, reacts, prompting Hamlet to stab wildly at the tapestry. Hamlet hopes he stabbed the king but instead discovers Polonius' corpse. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of complicity in his father's death. The Ghost then appears but is visible only to Hamlet. He urges Hamlet to treat Gertrude gently but to avenge his death on Claudius. Unable to see the apparition, Gertrude takes Hamlet's behaviour for a sign of madness. Hamlet drags Polonius' corpse away and hides it.

Claudius sends Hamlet to England accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. On their way to the ship, they encounter Fortinbras' army, and talk with a captain. Hamlet compares the soldiers' resolution with his own inactivity, and decides that his future thoughts must "be bloody, or be nothing worth".

At Elsinore, Ophelia wanders the court in grief-induced madness, singing snatches of bawdy songs. Laertes arrives at the castle with a mob, seeking revenge for his father's death. The sight of Ophelia's madness further incenses him. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for it all. Letters arrive, indicating that Hamlet is returning. Claudius proposes a rigged fencing-match, using poisoned rapiers, as a means of achieving Laertes' revenge, backed up with a cup of poisioned wine in case the first plan fails. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned.

Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide, while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with a gravedigger, who unearths the skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick. Ophelia's funeral procession approaches. Laertes leaps into her grave, Hamlet advances and he and Laertes grapple. The brawl is broken up.

Back at Elsinore, Hamlet recounts to Horatio how he escaped from Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, with pirates who had attacked their ship. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were carrying a letter requesting the prince's execution, but Hamlet had discovered this, and amended it so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be executed in his place. Osric, a courtier, interrupts to invite Hamlet to the planned fencing match with Laertes. The court enters, ready for the match. During the bout, by accident, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes succeeds in piercing Hamlet with a poisoned blade but, in the struggle, is wounded by it himself. Gertrude dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reveals the king's plot to Hamlet, and they are reconciled. Hamlet manages to kill Claudius and, just before dying himself, names Fortinbras as heir. When Fortinbras arrives, Horatio recounts the tale and Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body borne off in honour.

882 WORDS