Hamlet short summary & analysis

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Hamlet - William Shakespeare

Categories:Classics

Hamlet Analysis

William Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers in the world. Shakespeare has produced a wide range of genres and has more than a hundred works. The English writer, who has made great contributions to English, has earned respect and love after his death like many other writers, even though he earn the respect when he was still living. Almost all of his works are adapted to theater, cinema and opera, let’s see his work called “Hamlet”.

Hamlet is a work of tragedy who was written by Shakespeare and though we don’t know in what years it was written, it is estimated between 1599 and 1601. Hamlet is the author's longest work, but is also at the forefront of his well-known works. From the time it was written to today, it was played in many theaters and adapted to films. Very well-known for its famous quote, “To be or not to be, that's the whole point” is in this work. As a classical Shakespeare classic, it has many plots.

Hamlet Short Summary

Let’s get to the summary of Hamlet;

Hamlet is not only loved by his family but also the whole country, he is honest and chivalrous. He is also the son of the Danish king. Hamlet is sent to Germany to receive a good education by his father. While Hamlet is studying in Germany, one day he learns that his father is dead and he is devastated. As he heard the news, he returned to his country, and his uncle, Claudius, had already taken his father's place and declared himself the ruler. However, it is Hamlet's right to rule. Hamlet, however, does not focus on this and begins to deal with his father's death. As if this were not enough, cruel Claudius married his mother, persuading her. It is up to Hamlet to enlighten everything.

One night, two Danish soldiers stand guard on a hill and see the ghost of the dead king. These soldiers are Horatio and Marcellus, very close friends of Hamlet. At first, the soldiers are surprised and then try to communicate with the ghost, but somehow they fail. When the roosters started to sing, the ghost had disappeared. They think they should tell this situation immediately to Hamlet and they tell Hamlet. Hearing the events, Hamlet is very surprised at first, but the next evening he wants to see the same scenery with the soldiers on the same hill, to stand guard with the guards. After some time, the ghost of the king appears again, and Hamlet tries to understand whether or not this is Satan’s work. But after a bit of effort, he is really close to believing that it's his father's ghost when he gets in touch. The ghost explains to him that, in fact, he did not died with a bite of a snake, but with the treacherous plans of his uncle and mother, he died by poison they dripped to his ear one day while he was sleeping. Hamlet wants to believe the ghost, but he also believes that this is the work of Satan and he does not want to accuse his uncle and his mother. The young lad starts thinking about a remedy to this situation. Maybe he'll act crazy for a while hoping that he can learn something. This madness is estimated to be the love of Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, one of the assistants of King Claudius.

In those days there was a theater group traveling to the palace and the same evening they are going to play. Hamlet secretly speaks with this group and tells them to play his own script. The group accepts this script. Hamlet's screenplay is the scene of death his father that he learned from the ghost. Its purpose is to see the queen and the king’s reactions. That night everyone is gathered, the theater is being watched, but before the end, the King stops the play and Claudius leaves the hall. After this act, he realizes that his father's killer is really his uncle. When the theater disintegrates, he goes to his mother's room and speaks all the facts with him. Meanwhile, Polonius, the king's assistant, listens to them behind the curtain. When the curtain moves a little, Hamlet notices this and believes Claudius as the person behind the curtain, and stabs the sword on the curtain, Polonius dies. Beautiful Ophelia, who cannot stand the death of her father, drowns in a river and dies.

Realizing that Hamlet had learned everything, the king sensed the danger and decided to send Hamlet to England. He agreed with the king of England, the purpose is to kill Hamlet there. But Hamlet is aware of everything and returns to Denmark from his journey. When he returns to the palace, Polonius' son, Ophelia's brother Laertes sees him coming. Before Hamlet arrived, King Claudius agreed with Laertes and asked Hamlet to challenge him to kill him with a poisoned sword. Hamlet accepts Laertes' challenge and they start fighting. The king prepares a venomous liquid to secure his work and during the duel he will make sure that this liquid is drank by Hamlet. But a mix up will happen and the queen drinks this liquid and dies. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisonous tip of his sword. Hamlet's death is final, but before he is dead, he takes Laertes, the poisoned sword, and kills him and then his cruel uncle, Claudius. While he was breathing his last breath, his friend Horatio says he does not want to live. But Hamlet convinces him even when he is dying and tells him that he is the only one who knows the truth, that he must tell everyone the truth.

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