Hamlet

Chapter-by-chapter summary

Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole plot, including the ending.

Act 1: The Ghost Appears

The play opens on the battlements of Elsinore castle, where guards see the ghost of the late king. Horatio, a scholar and the prince's friend, doubts what they describe until the ghost appears again. At court, Claudius, the dead king's brother, has taken the throne and married the widowed Queen Gertrude. Prince Hamlet, still grieving, is deeply troubled by the speed of it all. Laertes warns his sister Ophelia to keep her distance from the prince, and Polonius repeats the warning. Then the ghost speaks to Hamlet and reveals that Claudius poisoned him in his sleep. Hamlet swears to avenge him and decides to act strangely while he works out what to do. This act sets up the central problem: a truth no one else will believe, and a son who must act on it.

Act 2: Spies and a Plan

Hamlet's behavior alarms the court. Polonius sends a servant to spy on his son Laertes in France, then suggests that Hamlet's strange mood is caused by love for Ophelia. Ophelia reports that Hamlet came to her looking wildly disturbed. The king and queen call in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet's old school friends, and ask them to find out what is wrong. Hamlet sees through them. He speaks bitterly about the rot in Denmark and admires humanity in a long, ironic speech. When a company of traveling players arrives, he asks them to perform a play that echoes his father's murder, planning to watch the king's reaction.

Act 3: The Play Within the Play

Claudius now fears Hamlet and watches him with Ophelia, while Polonius hides nearby. In a famous soliloquy Hamlet asks whether it is nobler to suffer or to fight against a sea of troubles, and then he rejects Ophelia coldly. In the hall, the players perform, and the poisoning scene makes Claudius rise and leave. Hamlet is sure now that the ghost spoke the truth. He later finds the king alone at prayer, but holds back, reasoning that a man killed in prayer would go straight to heaven. In his mother's room, Hamlet hears a noise behind the hanging cloth and stabs through it, believing he has struck the king. It is Polonius. The ghost returns to remind Hamlet of his task, and asks him to be gentle with Gertrude.

Act 4: Exile and Poison

Claudius learns that Polonius is dead and decides to send Hamlet to England. Hamlet hides the body and answers the king with a grim joke about where it is. Two courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, escort him, carrying a letter that asks the English king to have him executed. Ophelia, grieving her father, loses her mind, sings broken songs and hands out flowers. Laertes returns from France in a rage, and Claudius persuades him that Hamlet is to blame. Fortinbras's army marches across Denmark, and Hamlet is shamed by soldiers who fight over a worthless patch of land. Pirates attack Hamlet's ship, and he finds his way back to Denmark. Gertrude reports that Ophelia drowned, and Claudius and Laertes plan a rigged duel with a poisoned blade and a poisoned cup.

Act 5: The Graveyard and the Duel

The gravediggers are preparing Ophelia's grave and joke about who deserves a Christian burial. Hamlet picks up a skull that proves to be Yorick, the jester of his childhood, and reflects on death. At the graveside, Laertes attacks him in grief. Then the courtier Osric brings a challenge to a duel. Hamlet senses danger but accepts. During the match, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup meant for Hamlet and falls. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned blade, but the swords are exchanged, and Hamlet wounds Laertes in turn. Dying, Laertes reveals Claudius's plot. Hamlet stabs the king with the poisoned sword and makes him drink the poisoned wine. Hamlet, dying, asks Horatio to tell his story.

Characters

• Hamlet: The prince of Denmark and the play's center. A student at Wittenberg, he returns home for his father's funeral and finds his world changed. He is witty, grieving and furious, and he struggles to act on what the ghost has told him.
• Claudius: Hamlet's uncle, who has taken the throne and married Gertrude. He calms the court with smooth words and public piety, but he is a murderer who plots to kill Hamlet in secret. He is the play's main antagonist.
• Gertrude: Hamlet's mother and the widowed queen, who marries Claudius soon after her husband's death. She loves her son but often seems blind to the danger around her. Her choices and her loyalty to Claudius put her at the center of the family's tensions.
• Ophelia: Polonius's daughter and Hamlet's former love. Obedient to her father and her brother, she is caught between them and the prince. Her grief after her father's death shows through songs and flowers, and she remains one of the play's most haunting figures.
• Polonius: The chief counselor to the king, fond of long advice and quick to spy. He sends a servant to watch his son, hides behind a curtain to overhear Hamlet and Ophelia, and believes Hamlet's madness is caused by love.
• Laertes: Polonius's son and Ophelia's brother, who is studying in France. He is quick to anger and takes his father's and sister's troubles personally. Claudius easily turns his grief into a plan against Hamlet, and the two men agree to a duel.
• Horatio: Hamlet's friend from Wittenberg and a level-headed scholar. He doubts the ghost at first, then accepts what he has seen. Hamlet trusts him more than anyone, and Horatio remains loyal until the final scene.
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Two courtiers and former schoolmates of Hamlet. Claudius and Gertrude send them to find out what is troubling the prince, and Hamlet sees their purpose at once. Later they escort him to England with a letter that orders his death, and their part in the plot ends badly.
• Fortinbras: The prince of Norway, whose army crosses Denmark on its way to fight over a small piece of land. He appears in the final scene and takes command of the Danish state. Hamlet's dying words favor him as the next ruler.
• The Ghost of King Hamlet: The late king of Denmark, who appears in armor on the battlements. He demands revenge against Claudius, but he asks Hamlet to leave Gertrude to heaven. His appearances drive the whole plot forward.

Writing about this book

Hamlet suits essays about how people make decisions. Start with a question rather than a summary: why does Hamlet wait so long, and is his delay a flaw, a sign of wisdom, or a realistic response to a ghost's word? Pick one scene that stays with you, such as the play within the play or the graveyard, and explain why it stands out. Then connect it to your own experience. Have you ever known what needed doing and struggled to begin? Compare what you felt with Hamlet's reasons. Keep plot retelling short, because your reader already knows the story; spend your words on your reading. Quote sparingly and always cite the act and scene. Use the evidence in the text, not only your memory, and check each claim against the scene before you write it down. A strong conclusion asks a question the play leaves open, such as whether Hamlet is a hero, a victim or both. Your teacher will likely value one clear argument, backed by two scenes, more than a long summary.