synopsis of Hamlet

Hamlet

Author: Shakespeare

Setting : Elsinore Denmark

Plot: Check this very helpful Sparknotes video http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/video/hamlet  Hamlet is a young man who is returning to Elsinore from college in Germany. He is returning because his father has died and his mother has gotten married. She has married Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet of course feels betrayed by this action. Hamlet learns, from his father’s ghost that Claudius murdered him and Hamlet is instructed to murder Claudius. Hamlet does not fulfill this filial duty until the very end of the play. Throughout the entire play we question who Hamlet really is. We also question who is really on Hamlet’s side and who is against him. I am not really sure about the meaning of this play.

Significant characters

Hamlet- Hamlet is very complicated. There is always more to him than meets the eye.  He is the prince of Elsinore. At the start of the play he is a moody 30 something home from college.  He is the first to find out what happened to his father and vows to kill Claudius.

Gertrude- She is Hamlet’s mother, Claudius’ wife, Hamlet SR.’s wife. It is unclear whether she loves Claudius but it is pretty unclear she did not love Hamlet sr. It is also unclear whether or not she had a hand in her husband’s death. 

Claudius- Claudius murdered his brother either for the love of Gertrude or the more probable he murdered him to get the crown. Claudius has little sympathy. He is also greedy.

The ghost- The ghost appears to Hamlet and really gets the ball rolling as far as the action goes.

Horatio-Hamlet’s closest college friend. In the end he is the only friend Hamlet has

Ophelia- denies Hamlet and this drives over the edge because he feels he is loosing all of his support system

Point of view- There isn’t really a person telling the story. The audience gets most of the news as Hamlet gets the news.

Tone-  This is really hard to peg.  The tone could be angry. The tone could be reminiscent.

Imagery- You get a good image of the ghost. You can really feel the chill of the ghost. Another image is the feelings between Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet and his mother and Gertrude and Claudius.

Symbolism- There is not a lot of physical symbols in this show. One really important symbol is the skulls. The skulls represent the coming death and Hamlet’s realization of his own mortality.

Memorable quotes

“That it should come to this!
But two months dead!—nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on:”  This shows how high of a platform Hamlet gives to his father. He ignores what his mother wants, what Claudius and even a little of what he wants. Hamlet is very childish.

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”  This is showing how wrong everything has gone since Hamlet Sr. has died.

Theme

The theme is that the future is never certain.

How we know: Hamlet doesn’t know what is going to happen, he doesn’t know what is going to happen. Also the multiple deaths that happen at the end are definitely unexpected.