Hamlet by Shakespeare - Essay Example

Hamlet is the longest play by Shakespeare. The play, happening in the kingdom of Denmark begins with the news that the king of Denmark, Hamlet is dead. The kingdom is in a state of high alert as there is war threat from the king of Norway, young Fortinbras. At this juncture in front of the Ellsinore castle, there appears a ghost who resembles the late king Hamlet. After the death of Hamlet, Claudius had become the king. He had married Hamlet’s wife queen Gertrude .All these incidents have made the young Hamlet frustrated.

In his first soliloquy, he explains that he is unhappy about his mother marrying King Claudius, just with in a month after the death of his father .More over he does not trust King Claudius. At the same time Ophelia who is in love with young Hamlet is advised against this love affair by her father Lord Chamberlain Polonius as well as her brother Laertes, which makes Hamlet more unhappy. Young Hamlet meets his father’s ghost who tells him that he was killed by Claudius by poisoning. The ghost wants young Hamlet to take revenge for his death.

The ghost asks him not to punish his mother for marrying King Claudius, for she will get judged and prosecuted by her own consciousness and in the heaven. Hamlet wants to take revenge on the king, but is fed up with the vanities and deceits of life. “ To be, or not to be , that is the question : /Whether ‘ts nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/And by opposing end them.” (Act 111, Scene1, 56-60) Meanwhile different theories arise regarding the strange behavior of young Hamlet.

Hamlet had met Ophelia, badly dressed and left with out uttering much to her. Knowing this incident Polonius theorizes that Hamlet’s strange behavior is due to the rejection of him by Ophelia. Queen Gertrude believes that, it is the death of his father and her hurried marriage that is disturbing Hamlet. King Claudius entrusts two of his courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet and to find out the reason for his strange behavior. Hamlet wants to propagate the truth, which he knew from the ghost, about his father’s death and tries to use a play for the purpose.

Through the king’s spies he requests both the king and queen to watch a play worded by him .The play called “The Murder of Gonzago " convinces King Claudius that Hamlet had known the secret plot behind the death of his father. He fears revenge from Hamlet and decides to send him to England. Meanwhile Polonius is killed. Though Hamlet refuses to reveal to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern where the body of Polonius is hidden, he revels that to King Claudius. King Claudius sends Hamlet to England.

and plans to get him killed there. Ophelia becomes mad in the grief of losing her father and dies drowning where as Laertes joins the plot to kill Hamlet with King Claudius. According to the plot a fencing match is to be arranged between Hamlet and Laertes.Hamlet arrives to fight Laertes. As the fighting goes on queen Gertrude drinks a poisoned cup meant for Hamlet and dies. After two successful rounds of fighting Hamlet gets wounded by the poisoned sword of Laertes.As they exchange swords, hamlet wounds and poisons Laertes too.

While dying Hamlet stabs King Claudius and kills him and makes Young Fortinbras the next king of Denmark. The play ends with the death of Hamlet and as a story of the tragedy of the king of Denmark as told by his friend Horatio. ------------------------- The sources referred: 1) Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Philip Edwards, ed., updated edition 2003. (New Cambridge Shakespeare)