PlotOverview

Briefly,butusingtheentirespace,discusstheplot,
conflict,andrisingactiontosummarizetheplot.
Useyourownwords.

Theplayopensoncastlewatchmen
observingaghostthatresemblesthe
recentlydeceasedkingofDenmark.The
watchmenagreetotelltheprotagonist,
Hamlet,abouttheghost.Hamletisthe
princeofDenmark,andhisfather(the
formerking)hasrecentlydied.Hamlets
uncleClaudiustakesthethroneand
marriesHamletsmother(theQueen.)
Hamletthenmeetswiththesupposed
ghostofhisfather.Theghostrevealsto
HamletthatClaudiusmurderedhimby
pouringpoisoninhisearwhilehewas
sleeping,andtheghostordersHamletto
avengehisfather.Hamletdevisesa
masterplantoachievehisgoal.Thefirst
stageofhisplanistoactlikea
madman,andhisgirlfriendOphelia
believesHamlethaslostit.Opheliatells
herfather,Polonius,aboutHamlet,and
thenPoloniusbringsthenewstoKing
Claudius.Claudiusdecidesitwasbest
tospyonthecoupletofindoutif
OpheliaisthesourceofHamlets
madness.TheKingandQueencallthe
childhoodfriendsofHamlet,
RosencrantzandGuildensterntospyon
Hamlet.Abandofactorscomesto
Elsinore,andHamletconvincesthemto

AbouttheAuthor

NovelNotes

Hamlet

William
Shakespeare

Includeimportantinformationabouttheauthor.You
maywanttoincludewhatinspiredthem,other
workstheyhavewritten,significantlifeevents,what
timeperiodheorshewrotein,andhowthetime
periodinfluencedthewriting.

WilliamShakespearewasbornonApril
26,1564.HewasanEnglishpoet,
playwright,andactor.Heisoften
referredasthegreatestwriterofthe
englishlanguage.Hewrote
38 plays,
154 sonnets, and two long narrative
poems. Shakespeare did most of his
work during the late 1500s and early
1600s. HIs early plays were mainly
comedies, while his later work included
tragedies and romances. His work is
still read and recited to this day. Some
examples of his writing are
Romeo and
Juliet, Othello, and Macbeth.

William
ShakespearediedonApril23,1616at
theageof52.

EliasPimentel

January4th,2016

EssentialQuotes

Addtwoquotesthatcapturetheessenceofthe
novel.Besuretocitethequotationsproperly.

Somethingisrotteninthestateof
Denmark
(Shakespeare24).

Tobe,ornottobe:thatisthequestion
(54).

HistoricalContext

Includeinformationonthetimeperiod,social,

performaplaythatdepictsthemurderof
theformerKinginfromofKingClaudius.
TheplanwastowatchKingClaudius,if
hereacted,hewaspresumedguilty.
DuringtheplayHamletgivesoneofthe
mostfamoussoliloquyinhistoryand
observesasClaudiusleavesthetheater
duringthemurderscene.Hamletfinds
Claudiusguilty,andplanstokillhim.
Instead,Hamletaccidentallykills
Poloniusinfrontofhismother.Claudius
sendsHamlettoEngland,butHamlet
getsmustgobacktoavengehisfather.
Meanwhileatthecastle,Opheliahas
gonecrazy,andherbrotherLaertesis
furiousatHamlet.ClaudiusandLaertes
plottokillHamletbyusingapoisoned
gobletofwineandbystagingafriendly
duelinwhichLaerteswillstabHamlet
withapoisontippedsword.Ophelia
thendrownsinalake(possiblysuicide)
andHamletarrivesinDenmarkforher
funeral.HamletandLaertesmeetand
eventuallyhavethefriendlyduelthat
KingClaudiusaspiredfor.Duringthe
duel,QueenGertrudeaccidentally
drinksthepoisonedwineanddies,
Laertescutshamletwiththepoisoned
blade,andHamletendsupwithLaertes
swordandstabshimwithit.Hamletthen
stabsClaudiuswiththepoisonedsword
andforceshimtodrinktheleftoverwine
fromthegoblet.Finally,Hamletisleft
dyingonthefloorandhetellshisfriend
Horatiototellhisstory.Justthen
Fortinbras,thekingofNorwaywalksin

economical,cultural,andothersignificant
influencesthatcharacterizethisnovel.

Hamlet
takesplaceinthelatemiddle
ages(1300to1499.)Thestoryissetin AddWorkCitedHere:(googlehowtodothis)
oraroundElsinore,Denmark.Thisisthe
timeperiodofKingsandQueens(

Hamlet
byWilliamShakespeare
sadly,nodragons.)Hamletspolitical
backgroundexplainshisburningdesire
toavengetheKinghewasonceloyalto.
Italsoexplainsthepopularityoftheater
andacting.Thestorywaswritten
between1599and1601.Thiscauses
oldtimeyEnglishtobeusedinthe
writing.Italsocallstoallusionsinthe
storythatrefertoothereventsduring
thosetimes.

onthebloodbathanddeclareshimself
KingofDenmark.

CharacterAnalysis

Identifyeachmajorcharacterinthenovel.
Describethemostimporttraitsthatcharacterize
thisperson.(
S
peech,
T
houghts,
E
ffectsonother,
A
ction,
L
ooks)

Themes

Identifyandanalyzesomeofthesignificantthemes
inthenovel.

Revenge/AvengementThewhole
conflictisbasedsolelyonaorderof
HamletHamletisayoungmanthat
vengeanceaghostgivestoHamlet.All
hadtogotthroughthedeathofhis
otherconflictsallarisefromthemurder
father.Heisalunatic,andevenvery
oftheformerking,andtheplanto
educatedoveranalyzerscanteven
avengetheformerking.
decipherwhathestalkingabout.He

questionsandridiculeseverything,and SanityCharactersin
Hamlet
haveto
heseemstobedrawntochallenges.He dealwiththeircurrentlevelofsanity.For
isoneofthemostinterestingcharacters some,insanityisnotaproblem.
outthere,atrueachievementof
However,othersaresoinsanethatthey
Shakespeare.
maketheaudiencequestionwhetheror

nottheyneedseriouspsychiatricaid.
ClaudiusTheprotagonistofthisplay,
Thisaddsconflicttotheplot,andmakes
Claudiusisgreedy,evil,andjust
thestoryveryinteresting.
downrightcreepy.Hemurderedhis

brotherandmarriedhisbrotherswidow DeathHamletseemstolovetalking
beforeinaheartbeatallfortheDanish
aboutsuicide,andhegoesonforever
throne.Hethendecidestokillhis
aboutit.Othercharacterstalkabout
nephew(nowstepson?)becausehe
deathandmortalitytoo,anditbecause
seeshimasathreat.Claudiusistwisted afocalpointintheplay.Hamletsimply
andmaniacalman,andthisonlymakes goescrazyatthethoughtofit.The
himatrulymemorablevillian.
formerkinggetsmurdered,Polonius

getsaccidentallystabbed,Opheliagoes
GertrudeAlthoughGertrudeplaysan
crazyanddrowns,Gertrudegets
importantrolethestory,weknowlittle
poisonedandperishes,Laertesgets
aboutherthoughts,feelings,or
stabbedwithhisownswordandkicks
motivations.Herhusbanddied,soshe
thebucket,KingClaudiusgetspoisoned
feelsitwasbesttoaccepthisbrothers andcroaks,andHamletgetsstabbed
handinmarriage.Sheraisesmany
andkeelsover.Therereallyseemsto
questionsthatseemtobeunanswered benoescapefromit.

MotifsandSymbols

Identifyandinterpretsomeofthemajormotifsand
symbolsinthenovel.

Yoricksskullduringthebigplay,
Hamletspeakstotheunearthedskullof
aformerroyaljesternamedYorick.The
speakingtotheskullrepresents
Hamletsturningpointwhenitcomesto
hisviewondeath.Theskullisasymbol
forHamletsacceptanceofhisfateof
death.Heconcludesbysayingthat
everyhuman,nomattertheir
importance,willendupbeingapileof
dust.

MisogynyOneofthemoreobvious
motifs(whichiswhyIpickedit)
misogynyrunsthroughouttheplay.The
biggestvictimofthismisogynyis
Ophelia.Opheliamustdowhatthemen
inherlife(Hamlet,Polonius,and
Laertes)tellhertodo.Hamletorders
Opheliatogotoanunnery,and
PoloniusdemandsOpheliatostop
seeingHamlet.However,misogynywas
normalduringthetimesof
Hamlet.

suchas
Whymarryyourdead

husbandsbrotherabouttwoseconds

afterhedied?Doyouknowthat
Claudiuskilledhim?Wereyouapartof
hisdeath?
andsoon.Gertrudemay
foreverbeoneofShakespearesmost
onedimensionalcharactersever.

OphelialoyalgirlfriendofHamlet,
Opheliaisaverypassivecharacter.She
findsherselfinanabusiverelationship
withHamletandherfather,Polonius.
Sheseemstohavenocontroloverher
body,herrelationships,andherchoices
duetoherpassivenature.She
eventuallysnapsandgoesnuts.She
eventuallyisfounddrownedinariver
throughapossiblesuicide.