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Summary Hamlet, ISBN: 9780486272788 English
This document contains in depth notes for Hamlet; including setting, characters analysis, scene analysis, summary, themes, quotes, and character foils.
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Hamlet: IntroductionSetting
● Physical setting; Elsinore, Denmark
● Late medieval period
Main Characters
● Hamlet (Prince of Denmark)
○ Protagonist
○ Attending college
● Horatio
○ Hamlet’s best friend
○ Shows good judgement
○ Attends the same college as Hamlet
● Queen Gertude
○ Hamlet’s mother
○ King Hamlet’s widow
○ Just married Claudius, which is her brother-in-law
● King Claudius
○ New ruler of Denmark
○ Just married his dead brother’s widow wife
○ Doesn’t like or trust Hamlet
● King Hamlet's Ghost
○ Appears several times
○ Speaks only to his son, Hamlet
● Ophelia
○ Hamlet’s girlfriend
○ Sweet and innocent
○ Dutiful daughter
○ Father is a member of King Claudius’ court; she is nobility and her family is
affected by what is happening with the monarchy
● Laertes
○ Ophelia’s brother
○ Attends college in France
○ Great at fencing
● Polonius
○ Father of Ophelia and Laertes
○ Trusted advisor of King Claudius
○ Worried about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia
, ● Fortinbras
○ Prince of Norway, Denmark’s neighbour
○ King Hamlet killed his father in battle
○ Chip on his shoulder against Hamlet and King Claudius
○ Presents a threat to Denmark’s security
At first, Fortinbras wants to attack Denmark and later he goes to attack Poland. But he wants to
travel through Denmark to get there.
- The story is likely inspired by Amleth, which is a Danish myth
- Versions of this myth are found in ancient Greece and ancient Rome (the myth of
Amleth)
- Hamlet is probably not based on historical fact, though history is filled with bad people
Important to know- FOIL
A character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight
particular qualities of the other character
Hamlet’s character foils: Ophelia, Laertes, Fortinbras
At one point, there will be actual foils, or swords, in the fencing scene
-Keep on eye on how these characters (Ophelia, Laertes, Fortinbras) draw the reader's attention
to Hamlet’s flaws (Hamlet is a flawed character b/c tragic hero)
Parallels to King Hamlet
Julius Caesar is a leader whom people fear and have him assassinated
There are themes connected to Julius Caesar
Caesar, emperor of Rome, assassinated by man he trusted
Similar themes of sin, guilt, and vengeance
Shakespeare finished Julius Caesar roughly one year before writing Hamlet. This is why many
critics align these two plays
Both stories are related
CONFLICTS
Man vs Man:
● Quest for power and justice
● JUSTICE- Hamlet vs Claudius (Prince of Denmark vs the man he suspects killed his
brother)
● POWER- Fortinbras vs Clausdius
,Character vs Circumstance:
● Hamlet vs dealing with his broken family
● Hamlet vs dealing with his duty as a royal son
Character vs Society
● Elite class vs working class
● The treatment of woman (misogyny)
● The kings desires vs the people's needs
Character vs self
● Internal Conflict- Hamlet faces personal doubts and fears
ACT 1 SCENE 1
Hamlet was written during 1600 in the final years of the reign on Queen Elizabeth
- Queen Elizabeth I, who had been monarch of England for more than forty years and was
sixty
- Many were anxious of who would replace her because she had no son
Hamlet is about the transfer from one monarch to the next. This brings uncertainty, betrayals, and
upheavals.
- In Hamlet, the King is succeeded by his brother, not his son
- The guards in the beginning of A1S1 are fearful and suspicious
- The appearance of the ghost tells us that something is not right
- Something about his death has upset the balance of nature
- Horatio sees the ghost as a bad omen
- The ghost functions as foreshadowing
- Horatio is the only main character in the scene
- When Horatio changes his mind and takes the ghost seriously, the audience is called on to
do the same
- Scene opens at night with a tone of mystery and edginess when Bernardo arrives and
gives the password for the night, “Long live the King!”
- Francisco has been afraid (sick at heart) b/c there are rumors of a ghost appearing lately
- When Marecllus arrives on the scene, he asks if “this thing has appeared again tn?”-
meaning the ghost.
- The original audience had a different awareness of the supernatural than we do. They take
ghosts SERIOUSLY
- Ghost represents the past and Hamlet’s father
- The ghost is wearing the same armor just like King Hamlet when he defeated Norway
- Foreshadowing
, - Go through Denmark to get to Poland
- A1S1 introduces the themes of retribution (you get what you give) and honor
Act 1 Scene 2
● Shakespeare aligns Prince Hamat with the Protestant Church which represents a
questioning of authority and taking your life into your own hands
● Hamlet is staying not to be obedient to the King Clausdius but to appease his mother
because he loves his mother (Hamlet’s relationship with his mother is delicate and
significant)
● Hamlet: Oh, that this too too solid flesh would melt, line 129
○ He doesn't want to exist anymore, suiside
● The setting at the beginning of scene 2 is festive
● The King wants to pretend that nothing is out of the ordinary
● The festivities are superficial
● Claudius’ speech is filled with contradictions
● Hamlet does not want Claudius’s advice
● If it were not for Claudius, Hamlet would be the King at present
● This scene highlights the corruption and the weakness of the King
● Denmark is unsound (things are not good)
● Hamlet will not play along with the facade
● On one hand, he’s honest, and on the other hand, he can be seen as someone who refuses
to participate for the greater good of everybody else
● Hamlet questions women in general, look at Line 146
● This conflict with women will continue with her relationship with Ophelia
● Suicide will become a central theme
● This will lead to the Line: “To be, or not to be: that is the question”
● As the play continues, we watch Hamlet’s view of the world crumble/unravel
● Religion fails to offer Hamlet a easy solution and he cannot find peace in his family
Act 1 Scene 3
● Hamlet is prince so he won't be able to pick his wife, he will be put in arranged marriage
● If Hamlet and Ophelia sleep with each other, he will leave in the end and they will never
get married
● Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship is problematic b/c Polonius is already royalty and they
do not trust Hamlet and believe he will take her virginity and then leave her, ruining her
and her family’s reputation, and won’t have good men that want to marry her b/c she is
no longer a virgin
● Laertes is telling Ophelia, harshly, to not sleep with Hamlet because she must remain a
virgin before marriage and if she does lose her virginity, her reputation affecting her
entire family’s reputation. Keep her soluicy
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