When the play begins, King Hamlet of Denmark has died within the past month. The late king’s brother Claudius is now king. King Claudius has married the late king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. The late king’s son, Prince Hamlet, is upset and over this turn of events.

Act 1: Prince Hamlet’s good friend Horatio sees the Ghost of the late king, saying (this spirit, dumb speechlesss to us, will speak to him Princess Hamlet). A guard says(something is rotten in the state of Denmark). With little success, Claudius tries to comfort the depressed Prince Hamlet. However, Hamlet says that he wished his (sullied flesh would melt into a dew.) The Ghost talks with Hamlet, letting him know that Claudius killed him and that he needs to seek revenge. Polonius, the Prime Minister, has two children, Laertes and Ophelia; Ophelia is Hamlet’s beloved young woman. Polonius offers them wise counsel.

Act 2: A troop of actors arrives to entertain the king (Claudius). Hamlet asks them to act (The Murder of Gonzago) about a brother killing his king brother). Hamlet says (we’ll have it tomorrow night).

Act 3: Hamlet provides us with his famous soliloquy, (to be or not to be). Thereafter, Hamlet breaks up with Ophelia. The (Gonago) play begins. The plot includes a king who kills his brother, who then becomes king, and who then marries the late king’s wife. Having seen the play, Claudius rushes out of the theatre. Claudius makes plans to send Hamlet on a one way trip to England. Hamlet inadvertently kills Polonius. The Ghost reappears and reminds Hamlet (Do not forget revenge).

Act 4: Hamlet is sent to England. Ophelia’s heart is broken, having lost Hamlet and her father Polonius. Laertes, having been in France, returns and is angry for the death of his father, Polonius and seeks revenge. Hamlet has escaped the ship and returned to Denmark. Claudius sets up a duel between laertes and Hamlet. In the duel, the tip of Laertes’ foil (sword) will be poisoned. The available wine will be poisoned. Ophelia drowns and dies, having suffered grief over losing Hamlet and her father.

- An Analysis of Hamlet’s Character:
There are six main aspects of Hamlet’s character:
1) His Introspection (His seeing through himself): In his soliloques, Hamlet express his innermost thoughts and feeling. Hamlet often speaks about who and what he is.

2) His Madness: is either real because of the pressure on his mind after his father’s death, or his madness is pretended to protect himself against Claudius.
3) His Puns and Paradoxes: A pun is a play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings. A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory yet true. (Polonius is at supper). These are Hamlets weapons of choice for use against the fools in his life.

4) His Thoughts of Death: In his soliloquies, Hamlet meditates on the possibility of his own death, and on the significance of death.
5) His Delay: In the first act, Hamlet says he will sweep to revenge, but in the last act he says he has plenty of time. In between the first and last acts, he blames himself repeatedly for his delay in taking revenge and calls himself a coward.

6) His Thoughts about Woman: (Frailty! Thy name is woman!) is one of Hamlet’s thoughts about women. His mother married his uncle Claudius only a month after his father’s death. He asks Ophelia to go to nunnery.
7) His Oedipus Comlex: Hamlet suffers from a neurotic Oedipus Complex; he has a strong attachment to his mother, which prevents him from having an easy relationship with women (represented by Ophelia) or accepting Claudius as a fether-figure.