Hamlet

Introduction Hamlet's revenge

About the play The causes of Hamlet's desire for revenge
Oral and performance activities The course of Hamlet's revenge
Story-telling Hamlet's soliloquies and words to Horatio
What happens in Hamlet? A study of Hamlet's soliloquies
Hamlet on film Act 1, scene 2, lines 129-159
Elsinore and the ghost Act 2, scene 2, lines 522-580
Hamlet and Claudius Act 3, scene 1, lines 56-88
Gertrude Act 3, scene 2, 362-373
Other characters Act 4, scene 4, lines 32-66
Theatrical techniques General questions on the soliloquies
A personal response

Introduction
This web page is intended for students who are following GCSE syllabuses (a UK exam) in English
Language and English literature. It may also be of general interest to students of Shakespeare's plays. If
you have the text of the play as an electronic document (an e-text), you can use your text editor (such as
WordPad) or word processor (such as Word, WordPro or WordPerfect) to search for items of interest,
and help you in other ways.

This study guide is designed to help you respond to this play, which you should have seen in
performance on stage or on film. Perhaps the most accessible treatment is Franco Zeffirelli's 1991
feature film version, with Mel Gibson in the title role. This uses an edited and shortened form of the
text, with some scenes and details omitted. The film is shot on location, mainly in Denmark at the real
castle of Elsinore, and does not attempt to show the play as it would be on stage. The cast includes
many well-known “star” actors. You may compare this version with Laurence Olivier's 1948 film or
Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version, which makes no cuts to the text.

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About the play

Hamlet is a play: it was not written to be read in schools, but to be seen and heard in live performance.
It is possible, and can be enjoyable, to act out Shakespeare's plays, but you should not expect to enjoy
or understand everything. Why not? Because Shakespeare uses a form of English which often differs
from how we speak. Even in his own day, he used a far wider vocabulary (range of words) than almost
anyone in his audience. He refers to ideas, people or objects with which the audience in his day would
be familiar because these things were part of their education or current events. But modern audiences
will not always know about them in detail. Also, the plays require great skill in the actors: it is easy to
perform them incompetently. Shakespeare makes great demands of his actors, because he knows how
good they are at what they do.

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Although there are many beautiful and interesting speeches, Shakespeare was just as interested in
narrative, that is telling a story in words and actions. Modern editions of the plays, for use in schools,
have extensive notes to explain the meaning of odd terms or unfamiliar ideas. If you use these for your
own reading and acting, you may begin to enjoy the plays. You should also try to see video or feature
film versions, or listen to radio productions, but a good performance in the theatre should be better
than all of these.

This guide is intended to support study of the play by an examination class. A range of activities will be
described, from which students should make their own choice, or a selection negotiated with the
teacher.

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Oral and performance activities

To perform the whole play requires a large, very competent, cast and takes weeks, but a short episode
can be performed by a small group or pair; a very short part can even be done as a monologue. You
could read the episode, learn the lines and then direct yourself in performance. A simpler approach is to
split readers and actors. Each part is read by one person, while another does the actions in mime.There
are many striking and beautiful speeches which you could learn, perform or recite. Your teacher will
help you make a suitable choice.

UK exam boards may allow you to present some of your work for assessment in reading, as a spoken
activity - rather than submit a written essay, you may present a spoken essay, or record a radio or TV
type “broadcast” on audio or video tape.

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Story-telling
In Shakespeare's day there were no novels, films or television drama. If you wanted to tell a story, you
either wrote a long poem (a very few highly-educated people would read it) or made it into a play. Until
the 16th century most plays in England were rather crude acted versions of Bible stories. These were
performed by tradesmen who might be very good at their craft, but were not professional actors. When
Shakespeare started acting (first) and (later) directing and writing, the English theatre was as new a
medium as television is today, and just as fashionable. In London, theatres were built where people
could see the plays. Occasionally travelling companies, as today, would take plays to other towns, or to
the houses of rich noblemen for private performances.
All of Shakespeare's plays tell stories, and tell them in entertaining ways, with conflict, humour, love,
violence, a mixture of language and very good plotting. Most of these stories had to be told in a single
performance, so the story would be fitted into a two to four hour telling. Only with stories from history
did Shakespeare split the drama into parts (though each of these made a perfectly good play in its own
right).

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A good approach to Hamlet is to take a part (not all) of the narrative and tell it in other ways. To practise
your writing you could do any of the following: a character might keep a diary or journal in which he or
she would record a day's events, with comments on his or her view of these. In this way you could tell
one character's part of the story with suitable comment. This would work for Ophelia, Gertrude, or
Rosencrantz and Guildernstern. A more sympathetic view could come from Horatio.

You could also try to modernize and or shorten the play to produce a script which tells the story in a
simplified form.

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What happens in Hamlet?

This play is among the longest and most complex of all of Shakespeare's works. You will notice that
some details of the narrative as summarized here do not appear in Zeffirelli's interpretation, or other
film versions. This enables the director to make the plot clearer, and keep the film to a manageable
length.

Old Hamlet, the King of Denmark has died, and has been succeeded by his brother, Claudius who has
married Hamlet's widow, Gertrude. The heir to the throne is Prince Hamlet who has been recalled from
university in Wittenberg (Germany) for his father's funeral. Hamlet is told by his friend Horatio of a
ghost, resembling his father, which walks on the battlements of the royal castle, at Elsinore. Hamlet
meets the ghost: it is that of his father, who tells him that he was murdered - Claudius has told people
that Old Hamlet died of a snakebite, but in reality Claudius poured poison into his ear as he slept in his
orchard.

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Hamlet intends revenge, but is fearful of discovery, so feigns madness. He behaves strangely towards
Ophelia whom he courted previously. Her father, Polonius a foolish old counsellor, believes she is the
cause of Hamlet's madness. Claudius, already wary of Hamlet, employs the prince's old schoolfellows,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him.

A troupe of travelling players comes to Elsinore, and, on Hamlet's instructions, perform a version of an
old play, The Murder of Gonzago, adapted so that the victim is killed as described by the ghost:
Claudius's reaction confirms his guilt. He plans at once to have Hamlet sent to England, and to his death,
then kneels in prayer; Hamlet sees him praying, but declines the opportunity (he is alone) of revenge, as
he wishes to ensure Claudius's damnation. He confronts his mother with her treachery to his father, her
first husband. She has been speaking to Polonius, who hides behind an arras (a curtain or wall-hanging)
at Hamlet's approach, to eavesdrop. As Hamlet threatens his mother violently, Polonius cries out, and is
stabbed, fatally, through the arras by the prince, who now sees and hears again the ghost, which is
invisible to and unheard by his mother.

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Supposedly to protect Hamlet from the consequences of killing Polonius, Claudius sends away the
prince, who tells Horatio much later of what happens on the voyage (to England): not being able to
sleep, he steals into his companions' cabin and takes away the letter they carry from Claudius to the
English king. This he finds to be an order for his own immediate death; he alters it so that it commands
the death of the bearers (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) and returns it. The next day, a pirate vessel
attacks the ship: trying to repel the attack, Hamlet boards the ship, which then moves away. While he
negotiates his release with the pirates, his old friends sail on to their deaths.

Ophelia has a brother, Laertes, who returns to France, having come home for Claudius's coronation and
wedding, at the start of the play. Learning of his father's death he now returns, to find that Ophelia has
gone mad, his grief completed when he hears, a little later, from Gertrude, that his beloved sister has
drowned. Claudius persuades him that Hamlet is to blame for all his troubles, and agrees to a plot to kill
him. The two men meet at Ophelia's funeral, where they quarrel. Claudius arranges a fencing match,
having bet on Hamlet's superior skill. But he gives Laertes a sword with a poisoned tip. As a precaution,
Claudius also has poisoned the wine provided to refresh Hamlet during the contest.

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When Hamlet evades his enemy's sword repeatedly, while scoring various hits, Claudius forces the issue,
putting a pearl into the cup, which Hamlet can secure by drinking its contents. Gertrude takes the cup
and drinks from it before Claudius can stop her. At last Laertes wounds Hamlet, in a scuffle, at the end of
which they change swords, and Laertes is also wounded. As Gertrude falls dying, Laertes confesses his
treachery to Hamlet, who kills Claudius, makes his peace with the dying Laertes, and bids farewell to
Horatio, before he, too, dies.

There are two odd sequels to Hamlet's death.

Old Hamlet had a rival, Fortinbras of Norway, whom he killed in battle, the Norwegian throne passing to
Fortinbras's brother. The son and nephew, respectively, of these two is Young Fortinbras. He has
mobilized the Norwegian forces, and gained permission to pass over Danish territory to fight a Polish
army. Fortinbras now returns to pay his respects, just as the dying Hamlet has foretold and approved his
accession to the Danish throne. This sub-plot is entirely omitted from the Zeffirelli version.

The other sequel is the arrival of the English ambassador with news that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are dead. Of those on stage, only Horatio shares the audience's understanding of the significance of this
information.
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Hamlet on film

Zeffirelli's is one of several notable versions of Hamlet. Perhaps the best known is Sir Laurence Olivier's
1948 film, in which he plays the prince. Kenneth Branagh has directed a 1996 feature film version, and a
full-length broadcast radio production for BBC Radio 4, in the early 1990s. In order to discuss it as a film,
you should look at a number of different things.

First of all, how clear is the story? (Are there things in the summary above that you had not noticed?)

What parts of it seem to you to work best?

How has the director chosen to play particular episodes?

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Elsinore and the ghost

Shakespeare sets the action at Elsinore and goes out of his way to create a sense of atmosphere,
especially when the ghost appears at the start of the play.

Is anything gained by being able to show this very spectacular old castle, surrounded by the sea, as
Zeffirelli does? (Shakespeare would not have seen it and may well have had no idea what it really looked
like! Kenneth Branagh's version is set at a stately home, with no sea anywhere near)

What is your opinion of the way the director presents the ghost? Is this something which works well on
film?

The final scene of the play is one in which action is very important: what do you think of the way this is
handled?

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Hamlet and Claudius

This play is dominated by Hamlet, and to a less degree by his arch-enemy, Claudius: we see each
scheming against the other, who is more or less aware of what is going on.

How is this brought out in the film version?

What is your opinion of the way in which the actors play these parts? (Most critics reviewed Mel
Gibson's performance very favourably, if with some surprise).

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 Gertrude
Between the two comes Gertrude, whose sympathies move during the play from Claudius to Hamlet:

how does she appear in the versions you have seen?

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Other characters
Consider how other characters (Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) position
themselves, or are manipulated, in relation to this power struggle.

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Theatrical techniques
You may wish to consider technical details such as costume, props or lighting. In Zeffirelli's version,
although the costume is very basic, black or white garments are often used symbolically to indicate good
or evil: this is most obvious in the play's last scene. In order to contrast Hamlet's virtue with Claudius's
corruption Zeffirelli uses effects of colour: the camera moves from the drunken revellers in the hall
below, in brightly coloured garments (red or orange) and lighted by flaring torches, to the cold grey
stones of the castle, and the drab clothes of Hamlet and his friends.

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A personal response
In conclusion, you are asked to say how far you liked the versions of the play you have seen, and why.

What did you like best?

Is film a good way to enjoy Shakespeare today? In what ways?

Give any other honest personal opinion you wish to express.

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Hamlet's revenge
One way of looking at the play is to study the theme of revenge. This will mean concentrating on
Hamlet's battle of wits with Claudius. Tragedies about revenge were fairly popular in Shakespeare's
time, although it is a central theme only in one other of Shakespeare's plays, his earliest tragedy, Titus
Andronicus. Its contemporary equivalent is found in some western films, notably the “spaghetti”
westerns of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood.
In order to write about this, you should consider the causes of Hamlet's desire for revenge, and the
manner in which he pursues it. Some things that influence the course of Hamlet's revenge would be:

his attitude to Claudius;

his encounters with the ghost;

the Murder of Gonzago;

his relationship with his mother;

Polonius and his children;

Rosencrantz and Guildernstern.

We are helped to understand his actions and motivation by his soliloquies (speeches made when he is
alone on stage) and some things which he tells Horatio. What follows is some explanation of each of
these. You can gain fuller information by studying the text or the play in performance, or both. It is quite
acceptable to refer to differences between the play as written and how it is performed in stage or film
versions.

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The causes of Hamlet's desire for revenge

At the start of the play, Hamlet's father has died, and his mother has married Claudius, brother to the
late king, and uncle to Prince Hamlet.

What has Claudius given as the “official” cause of old Hamlet's death?

How does the prince feel about what has happened, especially his mother's remarriage?

Why does Hamlet say: “Frailty, thy name is woman”?

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In revenge tragedies, it is customary for secret information to be revealed by a ghost.

What do you think of the introduction of the ghost in this play?

Why does Hamlet question the guards about the ghost's dress and appearance?

When Hamlet follows the ghost, what story does it tell him, and what does it instruct him to do?

How much does Hamlet tell Horatio about this, and why?

Hamlet seems convinced that the ghost is honest. Is he ready to act on what it has told him?

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The arrival, at Elsinore, of a group of travelling players (actors), enables Hamlet to verify (check) what
the ghost has told him.

How does he do this, by adapting The Murder of Gonzago (a well-known story)?

As the play is acted, what does Hamlet watch?

How are his suspicions confirmed?

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The course of Hamlet's revenge

Almost at once, Hamlet has a chance of revenge, finding Claudius (praying) alone and vulnerable.

Why does he not take this opportunity?

As he is not ready to kill Claudius yet, Hamlet goes to his mother, to urge her to keep from sexual
relations with Claudius.

How does this lead to the death of the meddling Polonius?

How does Polonius's death help Claudius in his attempts to kill Hamlet?

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Hamlet is also in some danger, as Claudius sees that Hamlet knows of his crime. Of course, Claudius
cannot say anything without admitting to his evil deed.

Why does this place Hamlet in some danger?

Claudius employs Hamlet's old friends to spy on him.

Why is Hamlet not likely to be taken in by Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, as they make a show of
renewed friendship towards him?

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The death of Polonius means that Claudius can persuade Hamlet, apparently for his own good, to leave
Denmark temporarily.

How does this help Claudius devise a plot to kill the prince?

Hamlet tells Horatio, partly in a letter, mainly in conversation, how he survives this plot through a
mixture of luck and his own wits.

Explain the way in which he does so.

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Ophelia is an innocent victim of others' schemes. Hamlet likes her, but is too troubled by his father's
death to think of her as a lover would.

Why are her father and Gertrude (for different reasons) eager for Hamlet to fall in love with her?

Why does Hamlet pretend to be driven to madness by love for her?

Why is his pretended madness not convincing to the audience?

When her father is killed and Hamlet, for whom she cares, goes away, Ophelia really goes mad, and later
drowns herself.

How does this help Claudius?

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Laertes, Polonius's son, returns to Denmark for his father's funeral, only to attend that of his sister.

Explain what happens when he confronts Claudius.

Does Claudius defend Hamlet, or encourage Laertes to seek revenge on the prince?

Why is Hamlet so ready to accept Laertes' challenge to a fencing-match?

Why, having been so cautious in relation to Claudius, is Hamlet so trusting of Laertes?

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In the last act of the play, things seem to be going the way of Claudius.

How has he tried to ensure that Hamlet will be killed in the fencing-match?

In case this fails (if Laertes does not score any hits) Claudius has a back-up plan: what is this?

When it looks as if Laertes cannot strike Hamlet, what does Claudius do?

How does he try to tempt Hamlet to drink, even though he feels no need to do so?

What is the result of his request, and why is he unable to intervene?

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Because Laertes, angry with Hamlet, strikes him during a pause in the match (very unsporting) there is a
scuffle, in which both men drop their swords. When they pick them up, the weapons are swapped, so
Laertes is also fatally wounded.

How does Laertes' awareness that he is dying alter his attitude to Hamlet?

Can you explain his refusal, before the fight, to be reconciled to Hamlet, and his now asking for pardon?
How does Hamlet respond to his request?

Why is it more appropriate, in a revenge-tragedy, for Claudius to be killed now, rather than when
Hamlet has his earlier opportunity?

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As Hamlet dies, he makes a last request of Horatio.

What does he ask of him, and why, in your opinion does he ask for this?

The play does not quite end with the prince's death.

Why should Shakespeare wish to finish the play with the arrival of Fortinbras (heir to the throne of
Norway, and nominated by Hamlet to succeed him in Denmark) and

the news that Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are dead?

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Hamlet's soliloquies and words to Horatio

This is a brief overview - below you will find a detailed account of all Hamlet's soliloquies. Where most
revengers would use soliloquies (solo speeches; thinking aloud) to tell the audience of their plans,
Hamlet uses these opportunities to give reasons for uncertainty and delay, or to comment on the
meaning or meaninglessness of life in general, and his life, in particular. He wishes he were dead at one
point, and appears to contemplate suicide at another. In conversation and, once, in a letter, he tells
Horatio some things, but not others. At the end of the play he asks Horatio to tell his story to the world,
but unless he has (off-stage) filled in the gaps, Horatio will not be able to tell the full story, as we know
it. For example, would he be able to guess, from The Murder of Gonzago, the truth about old Hamlet's
death?

By studying, closely, the soliloquies and Hamlet's conversation with Horatio, you may be able to explain
better his own ideas about himself and his motives. Some of this, of course, may distract you from the
simpler idea of revenge. If you do this, you should quote short passages of dialogue with explanation
and comment, as you feel appropriate.

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A study of Hamlet's soliloquies

This section contains detailed comments on Hamlet's soliloquies.

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 Act 1 scene 2, lines 129-159
The context of the first soliloquy

In Act 1, scene 1 we learn much of the political background; of Hamlet only that Horatio will alert him to
the appearance of the ghost.

In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius at first dominates the dialogue: he deals eloquently, and with appropriate
ceremony and dignity, with affairs of state. We have no reason to dislike him though we note, as he
justifies it, the haste of Gertrude's re-marriage, and the apparent strain between him and Hamlet, which
he seeks to remove by courting Hamlet's favour. Save to remark on the distinction between the
common outward display of grief and the inward reality, Hamlet has said nothing of substance.

Thus, Hamlet first reveals certain things to the audience, making it clear that even his friends will not,
necessarily, be privy to these.

Note also that Hamlet denounces Claudius before his father's ghost has told the prince of the murder.
Hamlet's comments refer to Claudius's general ignobility. Hamlet may suspect foul play though he does
not speak of it here - his comment to the ghost (Act 1, scene 5, lines 40-41: “0 my prophetic soul! My
uncle”) shows this. The disclosure of the murder bears out Hamlet's general aversion: the action, though
extreme, is suited to the actor, Claudius.

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The content of the soliloquy

Hamlet's thoughts are presented in a naturalistic sequence - he allows his disgust to flow freely and one
thing leads to another but the outline of his meditation is as follows:

A wish for death as an escape from a corrupt world;

A comparison of Hamlet and Claudius, leading to

A condemnation of Gertrude's behaviour.

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Questions for discussion

Why does Hamlet seek death? Why can he not kill himself?

Comment on the comparison of the two kings, as like that of “Hyperion to a satyr”? Is Hamlet merely
saying in an eloquent way that his father was much better than Claudius?

What attitude is revealed to Gertrude and her behaviour?

Is “It is not nor it cannot come to good” a description, a prophecy or a wish? Why?

How does Shakespeare make the speech resemble a natural train of thought? (Look at use of
ejaculations and interruption.)

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Act 2, scene 2, lines 522-580

The context of the soliloquy

The ghost has told Hamlet of the murder. He inclines to believe this, but must be sure. He thinks of the
play, prompted by the arrival of the itinerant actors, as a device to confirm Claudius's treachery - as he
later explains to Horatio (Act 3, scene 2, lines 71-83). Hamlet has studied at the Protestant University of
Wittenberg, which explains his suspicion that the apparent ghost may be a lying demon, sent to undo
him. Protestant theology teaches that the souls of the dead go straight to heaven or hell - so what
appears to be a ghost must be an evil and deceitful spirit.

The content of the soliloquy

Again the soliloquy breaks down into three parts:

Wonder at the actor's ability to produce passion for nothing;

Condemnation of himself for cowardly inaction;

Explanation of the trap for Claudius and his fears about the ghost.

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Questions for discussion

What is the substance of Hamlet's unfavourable comparison of himself to the player? Is it reasonable?

Hamlet reproaches himself for inaction: is the self-accusation justified?

Is the play (within the play) a device to confirm Claudius's guilt or an excuse for more delay or both?

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Act 3, scene 1, lines 56-88

One could argue that this is not a soliloquy as Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius are all on-stage. But,
clearly, it is, as Hamlet is unaware of this and speaks as if to himself (soliloquy means “speaking alone”).

The context of the soliloquy

The context is similar to that of the previous speech: Claudius and Polonius, alarmed by the prince's
distraction decide to plant Ophelia in his way and spy on his reaction. The first part of what follows is
unexpected, as Hamlet takes some time to notice Ophelia, at which point his soliloquy gives way to the
expected conversation (of unexpected character). There is irony in the position of this episode: Hamlet
has just devised a ruse, which involves spying (and he, too, will have a confidant, Horatio) on Claudius;
now Claudius and Polonius attempt to gain the advantage of him by spying: their device leads to less
satisfactory results.

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The content of the soliloquy

The content is close to that of the opening of the first soliloquy but more fully expressed. Because there
is no certainty that death will bring relief from oppression, we fear to exchange the known evil for a
possibly greater torment - thus Hamlet appears to believe that there is, or can be, no escape. Out of
context the universality and beauty of the speech explain its celebrity.

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Questions for discussion

How would one answer a critic who said this in just a very pompous and long-winded way of saying that
death is to be avoided because we fear what may come after it?

Does this soliloquy move the play forward in any way (e.g. give us a new insight into the prince's
thinking)?

What problems are created for the actor/director by the extreme familiarity of these lines?

How can these be overcome, if at all?

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Act 3, scene 2, lines 362-373

A short speech. For once Hamlet believes he can act but he moves for Gertrude, to confront her and,
perhaps, correct her.

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Act 4, scene 4, lines 32-66

The context of the soliloquy

The “Mouse Trap” has succeeded beyond Hamlet's expectations. Claudius considers how, with the aid of
his compliant henchmen, he can eliminate the danger to himself: he knows that Hamlet knows - knows
too much for the safety of both. Hamlet declines the opportunity to kill Claudius at prayer, reproaches
his mother, kills Polonius and is sent to England where he will be safe, but not in the sense usually
intended by this word. (The safety Claudius seeks is his own.) Before embarkation (presumably on the
way to his vessel) Hamlet watches the Norwegian army crossing Danish territory en route to do battle
with the Polish forces.

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The content of the soliloquy

The readiness of Norwegian and Pole to fight for a worthless prize (like the player's ability to conjure
passion for a fiction) is seen by Hamlet as a rebuke to his sloth. The speech falls into two parts:

A general discourse on man's capacity for decision and action;

A comparison of Fortinbras's capacity for action and sense of honour with Hamlet's deficiency in these
respects.

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Questions for discussion

What argument does Hamlet produce to show that man should make decisions and act on them?

How does Hamlet view Fortinbras? Is he wholly fair to himself in the comparison he makes here?

How is action affected by questions of honour, in Hamlet's opinion?

Why, after so much stalling by Hamlet, should the audience believe that the final couplet will lead to
corresponding deeds?

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General questions on the soliloquies

How does Shakespeare exploit the repeated use and cumulative effect of these speeches to sway the
audience's sympathy?

There is one other long soliloquy in the play ? Claudius's at Act 3, scene 3, lines 36?72 (and 97 and 98).
What does Shakespeare achieve by this device?

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