Synopsis (Sandbox) edit
Act one edit
On a cold winter night, Horatio, a student, listens sceptically to the ghost-story of two castle watchmen, when a ghost appears resembling the recently-deceased King Hamlet. Horatio resolves to bring Prince Hamlet to the place the following night, in hopes that the ghost may return.
With great pomp and ceremony, Claudius (having inherited the throne from his brother and taken the Queen, Gertrude, as his wife) decrees an end to the period of mourning. Prince Hamlet, however, remains stubbornly grief-stricken, despite Gertrude's entreaties and Claudius' reasoning. Claudius insists that Hamlet should not return to university in Germany and Gertrude concurs; Hamlet begrudgingly acquiesces. Alone, Hamlet vents his frustration at Claudius' usurpation of the throne and his mother's hasty remarriage. He is interrupted by Horatio and the watchmen, who inform him of the night's portentous apparition. Hamlet interrogates them about its appearance, eventually resolving to join them that night.
The ghost appears to Hamlet and speaks as his father, revealing that he was poisoned by Claudius. It commands Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet agrees to do so and swears his companions to secrecy. He decides to disguise his true intents by feigning madness.
Act two edit
Ophelia reports to her father, the King's councillor Polonius, how Hamlet came to her bedroom in a fit of madness. Previously, Ophelia had repelled all Hamlet's advances on her father's orders. Polonius deduces an "ecstasy of love" is to blame for this behaviour.
Claudius feigns ignorance of the possible cause of Hamlet's transformation. He enlists two of Hamlet's school-friends (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) to inform on him, in order to discover it. Claudius arranges with Polonius to spy on Hamlet, to ascertain whether the latter's theory is correct. Alone with Polonius, Hamlet's indecorous behaviour apparently confirms his unhinged state of mind.
Hamlet greets Rozencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but soon discerns their duplicitous intent. He confesses a disaffection with the world, for which Rozencrantz recommends a troupe of actors, who soon arrive. Hamlet solicits a passionate performance from one of them. Alone, he reflects on the feigned passion of the actor and his own failure to act. Unsure whether the ghost was genuine, he resolves to confirm his uncle's guilt by observing his response to the staging of a play, The Mousetrap.
Act three edit
Claudius interrogates Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, but learns little. Encouraged to hear of Hamlet's interest in the play, he agrees to attend. He and Polonius withdraw to observe Hamlet's behaviour with Ophelia. Hamlet, thinking he is alone, reflects on his predicament, until Ophelia alerts him to her presence. He berates her immodesty and [orders] her to a nunnery, causing her great distress. The King concludes that Hamlet is not mad but malcontent and orders him sent to England. Polonius persuades him first to allow the Queen to attempt to discover the cause of Hamlet's grief.
As the players prepare, Hamlet instructs them in the detail of their performance. Commending Horatio's loyalty and temperance, he enlists his help in assessing the King's guilt during the play. The court assembles and the performance begins; Hamlet offers a running commentary throughout. When the action shows a King poisoned, Claudius rises abruptly and leaves. Once the court has cleared, Hamlet and Horatio confer. Hamlet is summoned to his mother's bedchamber. Alone, Hamlet tries to temper the fury of his desire for vengeance.
Claudius searches his guilty conscience; he kneels in prayer just as Hamlet arrives, seeking his revenge. Poised to kill, Hamlet hesitates. He reasons that to kill Claudius at this moment would send him to heaven (since prayer absolves sin); Claudius' murder of Hamlet's father, in contrast, condemned him to the torments of purgatory. Hamlet vows to act at a more apposite moment.
Hamlet confronts his mother in her chamber. His forcefulness panics Gertrude and she cries out. Polonius, who had been hiding behind a curtain, responds, prompting Hamlet to stab wildly in that direction. Hoping it was the King, he discovers Polonius' corpse. Forcing Gertrude to remain seated, Hamlet directs a sustained accusation at her. She concedes some guilt, yet he remains unrelenting, until the ghost enters to bid him treat her more gently and to spur him on to his revenge. Unable to see the apparition, Gertrude takes Hamlet's behaviour for a sign of madness. She promises not to reveal what he has said, and Hamlet drags the corpse away.
Act four edit
Claudius deports Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who carry a secret request for his execution. Having watched the army of Fortinbras (nephew to the Norwegian King) pass through, Hamlet reflects on his own inaction.
Ophelia wanders the court in grief-induced madness, singing incoherently. Laertes (Polonius’s son recently returned from abroad), seeking revenge for his father's murder, bursts into the royal chamber at the head of a rabble that clamours for him to be King. The sight of his sister, Ophelia, in her distracted state further incenses him. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame and excuses his own leniency. Learning of Hamlet's escape and return to Denmark, Claudius proposes a rigged fencing-match as a surreptitious vehicle for Laertes' revenge. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned.
Act five edit
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Two clowns debate the legality of Ophelia's apparently suicidal action whilst 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, which Hamlet observes from a distance. On hearing that it is Ophelia's and seeing Laertes leap into her grave, Hamlet advances and the two grapple. They are separated and Hamlet leaves, pursued by Horatio.
Hamlet relates to Horatio his discovery of the request for his execution and his forging of an order for the deaths of Rozencranz and Gildernstern in his place. He outlines his case against Claudius and Horatio encourages haste. A courtier informs Hamlet of the King's wager on a fencing match with Laertes. Hamlet agrees to participate.
The court enters, ready for the match. Claudius orders cups of wine prepared, one of which he has poisoned. During the bout, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes succeeds in piercing Hamlet with his poisoned blade, but in the struggle, is wounded by it himself. Gertrude dies, and with his dying breath, Laertes reveals the king’s plot. Hamlet kills Claudius before succumbing to the fatal poison. He names Fortinbras, the Norwegian prince, as heir. As Fortinbras arrives, Horatio promises to recounts the tale. Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body to be carried away in honour.