Hamlet In a Nutshell
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is in mourning for his father and deeply disturbed by the speedy remarriage of his mother, Gertrude, to Claudius, her deceased husband’s brother. When his father’s ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet decides to feign madness until an opportunity for revenge presents itself. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, thinks that Hamlet’s behaviour springs from love for his daughter, Ophelia, but Claudius suspects otherwise when he sees Hamlet savagely berating her. The arrival of a traveling theatre company gives Hamlet the idea of re-enacting his father’s murder to startle Claudius into revealing his guilt. The performance causes an uproar and as Gertrude remonstrates with her son, Hamlet kills the eavesdropping Polonius, mistaking him for Claudius. Ophelia, driven mad by grief, later commits suicide. Having already evaded one attempt by Claudius to have him put to death, Hamlet agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes – who secretly poisons the tip of his sword. Both combatants, however, receive wounds from the poisoned blade. The dying Laertes reveals the plot, whereupon Hamlet kills Claudius before succumbing to his own inevitable fate.
Interesting World Events
Here are some little known, yet interesting facts about world events around the time of Shakespeare's writing of Hamlet.
Click Here
2 comments:
It's an interesting fact that the play Linda and I are assigned, "Much Ado About Nothing," was one of the first performed in the Globe Theatre. Great list of facts overall!
I have to look over the web address for this site, for I go first to a page very difficult to read. I am thrilled that we will get to see the version of Hamlet that you post.
Bill
Post a Comment