The tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, summary. W. Shakespeare "Hamlet": description, characters, analysis of the work
In the era of online games and movies, few people read books. But bright shots will disappear from memory in a few minutes, but classic literature, which has been read for centuries, is remembered forever. It is irrational to deprive yourself of the opportunity to enjoy the immortal creations of geniuses, because they not only provide answers to many questions that have not lost their urgency after hundreds of years. Such diamonds of world literature include “Hamlet”, brief retelling which awaits you below.
About Shakespeare. "Hamlet": history of creation
The genius of literature and theater was born in 1564, baptized on April 26. And here exact date birth is unknown. The biography of this amazing writer is overgrown with many myths and guesses. Perhaps this is due to the lack exact knowledge and replacing them with speculation.
It is known that little William grew up in a wealthy family. WITH youth he attended school, but was unable to graduate due to problems financial difficulties. Soon there will be a move to London, where Shakespeare will create Hamlet. The retelling of the tragedy is intended to encourage schoolchildren, students, people those who love literature, read it in its entirety or go to the play of the same name.
The tragedy is based on a “vagrant” plot about the Danish prince Amleth, whose uncle killed his father in order to take over the state. Critics found the origins of the plot in the Danish chronicles of Saxo Grammar, dating back to approximately the 12th century. During the development period theatrical arts an unknown author creates a drama based on this plot, borrowing it from French writer Francois de Bolfort. Most likely, it was in the theater that Shakespeare learned this plot and created the tragedy “Hamlet” (see a brief retelling below).
First act
A brief retelling of Hamlet by act will give an idea of the plot of the tragedy.
The act begins with a conversation between two officers, Bernardo and Marcellus, about what they saw at night a ghost that looks very much like the late king. After the conversation, they actually see a ghost. The soldiers try to talk to him, but the spirit does not answer them.
Next, the reader sees the current king, Claudius, and Hamlet, the son of the deceased king. Claudius says that he took Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, as his wife. Upon learning of this, Hamlet is very upset. He remembers what a worthy owner of the royal throne his father was, and how his parents loved each other. Only a month has passed since his death, and his mother got married. The prince's friend, Horatio, tells him that he saw a ghost that looked incredibly like his father. Hamlet decides to go with a friend on night duty to see everything with his own eyes.
The brother of Hamlet's bride Ophelia, Laertes, leaves and says goodbye to his sister.
Hamlet sees a ghost on duty. This is the spirit of him dead father. He tells his son that he died not from a snake bite, but from the treachery of his brother, who took his throne. Claudius poured henbane juice into his brother's ears, which poisoned and killed him instantly. The father asks for revenge for his murder. Later, Hamlet gives a brief retelling of what he heard to his friend Horatio.
Second act
Polonius talking to his daughter Ophelia. She is scared because she saw Hamlet. He had a very strange appearance, and his behavior spoke of great confusion of spirit. The news of Hamlet's madness spreads throughout the kingdom. Polonius talks to Hamlet and notices that, despite the apparent madness, the prince's conversations are very logical and consistent.
His friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to Hamlet. They tell the prince that a very talented acting company has arrived in the city. Hamlet asks them to tell everyone that he has lost his mind. Polonius joins them and also reports on the actors.
Third act
Claudius asks Guildenstern if he knows the reason for Hamlet's madness.
Together with the queen and Polonius, they decide to arrange a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia in order to understand whether he is going crazy because of love for her.
In this act, Hamlet pronounces his brilliant monologue “To be or not to be.” A retelling will not convey the full essence of the monologue; we recommend reading it yourself.
The prince negotiates something with the actors.
The show begins. Actors portray the king and queen. Hamlet asked to perform the play, a very brief retelling to the actors latest events allowed them to show on the stage the circumstances of the fatal death of Hamlet's father. The king falls asleep in the garden, is poisoned, and the criminal gains the queen's trust. Claudius cannot stand such a spectacle and orders the performance to be stopped. They leave with the queen.
Guildenstern conveys to Hamlet his mother's request to talk to her.
Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he wants to send the prince to England.
Polonius hides behind the curtains in Gertrude's room and waits for Hamlet. During their conversation, the spirit of his father appears to the prince and asks him not to horrify his mother with his behavior, but to focus on revenge.
Hamlet hits the heavy curtains with his sword and accidentally kills Polonius. He reveals to his mother terrible secret about the death of his father.
Act Four
The fourth act of the tragedy is full of tragic events. More and more, it seems to those around him, Prince Hamlet (a brief retelling of Act 4 will give a more accurate explanation of his actions).
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask Hamlet where Polonius' body is. The prince does not tell them, accusing the courtiers of only seeking privileges and the king's favor.
Ophelia is brought to the queen. The girl went crazy from the experience. Laertes returned secretly. He and a group of people supporting him defeated the guards and rushed to the castle.
Horatio is brought a letter from Hamlet, which says that the ship on which he sailed was captured by pirates. The prince is their prisoner.
The king tells Laertes, who seeks revenge for who is to blame for his death, hoping that Laertes will kill Hamlet.
The Queen is brought the news that Ophelia has died. She drowned in the river.
Fifth act
A conversation between two grave diggers is described. They consider Ophelia a suicide and condemn her.
At Ophelia's funeral, Laertes throws himself into a pit. Hamlet also jumps there, sincerely suffering from the death of his former lover.
Afterwards Laertes and Hamlet go to duel. They hurt each other. The Queen takes the cup intended for Hamlet from Claudius and drinks. The cup is poisoned, Gertrude dies. The weapon that Claudius prepared is also poisoned. Both Hamlet and Laertes are already feeling the effects of the poison. Hamlet kills Claudius with the same sword. Horatio reaches for the poisoned glass, but Hamlet asks him to stop so that all the secrets can be revealed and his name cleared. Fortinbras discovers the truth and orders Hamlet to be buried with honors.
Why read a summary of the story "Hamlet"?
This question often worries modern schoolchildren. Let's start by asking a question. It is not quite correctly defined, since “Hamlet” is not a story, its genre is tragedy.
Its main theme is the theme of revenge. It may seem irrelevant, but its essence is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, many subthemes are intertwined in Hamlet: loyalty, love, friendship, honor and duty. It is difficult to find a person who remains indifferent after reading the tragedy. Another reason to read this immortal work- Hamlet's monologue. “To be or not to be” has been said thousands of times, here are questions and answers that, after almost five centuries, have not lost their poignancy. Unfortunately, a brief retelling will not convey all the emotional coloring of the work. Shakespeare created Hamlet based on legends, but his tragedy outgrew its sources and became a world masterpiece.
William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" was written in 1600 - 1601 and is one of the most famous works world literature. The plot of the tragedy is based on the legend of the ruler of Denmark, dedicated to the story of the protagonist's revenge for the death of his father. In Hamlet, Shakespeare raises a series important topics concerning issues of morality, honor and duty of heroes. The author pays special attention philosophical topic life and death.
Main characters
Hamlet – Prince of Denmark, the son of the former and nephew of the current king, was killed by Laertes.
Claudius- Danish king, killed Hamlet's father and married Gertrude, was killed by Hamlet.
Polonium- the chief royal adviser, the father of Laertes and Ophelia, was killed by Hamlet.
Laertes- the son of Polonius, Ophelia's brother, a skilled swordsman, was killed by Hamlet.
Horatio- Hamlet's close friend.
Other characters
Ophelia- Polonius’s daughter, Laertes’ sister, went crazy after her father’s death and drowned in the river.
Gertrude– the Danish queen, Hamlet’s mother, Claudius’s wife, died after drinking wine poisoned by the king.
Hamlet's Father's Ghost
Rosencrantz, Guildenstern – Hamlet's former university friends.
Fortinbras- Norwegian prince.
Marcellus, Bernardo - officers.
Act 1
Scene 1
Elsinore. The area in front of the castle. Midnight. Officer Bernardo relieves Soldier Fernardo on duty. Officer Marcellus and Hamlet's friend Horatio appear in the square. Marcellus asks Bernardo if he has seen the ghost, which the castle guards have already noticed twice. Horatio finds this just a trick of the imagination.
Suddenly, a ghost resembling the late king appears. Horatio asks the spirit who he is, but he, offended by the question, disappears. Horatio believes that the appearance of a ghost is “a sign of turmoil threatening the state.”
Marcellus asks Horatio why Lately The kingdom is actively preparing for war. Horatio says that Hamlet killed “the ruler of the Norwegians, Fortinbras” in battle and, according to the agreement, received the lands of the vanquished. However, the “younger Fortinbras” decided to recapture the lost lands, and this is precisely the “pretext for confusion and turmoil in the region.”
Suddenly the ghost appears again, but disappears with the crow of a rooster. Horatio decides to tell Hamlet about what he saw.
Scene 2
Reception hall in the castle. The king announces his decision to marry his late brother's sister, Gertrude. Outraged by the attempts of Prince Fortinbras to regain power in the lost lands, Claudius sends courtiers with a letter to his uncle, the king of the Norwegians, so that he will nip his nephew's plans in the bud.
Laertes asks the king for permission to leave for France, Claudius allows it. The Queen advises Hamlet to stop grieving for his father: “This is how the world was created: what is alive will die / And after life it will go into eternity.” Claudius reports that he and the queen are against Hamlet returning to study in Wittenberg.
Left alone, Hamlet is outraged that his mother, a month after her husband’s death, stopped grieving and married Claudius: “O women, your name is treachery!” .
Horatio tells Hamlet that for two nights in a row he, Marcellus and Bernardo saw the ghost of his father in armor. The prince asks to keep this news secret.
Scene 3
A room in Polonius's house. Saying goodbye to Ophelia, Laertes asks his sister to avoid Hamlet and not take his advances seriously. Polonius blesses his son on the road, instructing him how to behave in France. Ophelia tells her father about Hamlet's courtship. Polonius forbids his daughter to see the prince.
Scene 4
Midnight, Hamlet and Horatio and Marcellus are on the platform in front of the castle. A ghost appears. Hamlet turns to him, but the spirit, without answering anything, beckons the prince to follow him.
Scene 5
The ghost tells Hamlet that he is the spirit of his deceased father, reveals the secret of his death and asks his son to take revenge for his murder. Contrary to general opinion, the former king did not die from a snake bite. Killed him brother Claudius poured henbane infusion into the king's ear while he was sleeping in the garden. In addition, even before the death of the former king, Claudius “drew the queen into shameful cohabitation.”
Hamlet warns Horatio and Marcellus that he will deliberately behave like a madman and asks them to swear that they will not tell anyone about their conversation and that they saw the ghost of Hamlet's father.
Act 2
Scene 1
Polonius sends his confidant Reynaldo to Paris to take a letter to Laertes. He asks to find out as much as possible about his son - about how he behaves and who is in his social circle.
Frightened Ophelia tells Polonius about Hamlet's crazy behavior. The adviser decides that the prince has gone crazy with love for his daughter.
Scene 2
The king and queen invite Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hamlet's former university friends) to find out the reason for the prince's madness. Ambassador Voltimand reports the Norwegian's answer - having learned about the actions of Fortinbras's nephew, the King of Norway forbade him to fight with Denmark and sent the heir on a campaign to Poland. Polonius shares with the king and queen the assumption that the reason for Hamlet's madness is his love for Ophelia.
Talking with Hamlet, Polonius is amazed at the accuracy of the prince’s statements: “If this is madness, then it is consistent in its own way.”
In a conversation between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet calls Denmark a prison. The prince understands that they did not come at will, but by order of the king and queen.
Actors invited by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to Elsinore. Hamlet greets them kindly. The prince asks to read Aeneas' monologue to Dido, which talks about the murder of Priam by Pyrrhus, and also to play The Murder of Gonzago at tomorrow's performance, adding a short passage written by Hamlet.
Left alone, Hamlet admires the actor's skill, accusing himself of impotence. Fearing that the Devil appeared to him in the form of a ghost, the prince decides to first follow his uncle and check his guilt.
Act 3
Scene 1
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and queen that they were unable to find out from Hamlet the reason for his strange behavior. Having set up a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet, the king and Polonius hide, watching them.
Hamlet enters the room, pondering what stops a person from committing suicide:
“To be or not to be, that is the question.
Is it worthy
Resign yourself to the blows of fate,
Or must we resist
And in mortal combat with a whole sea of troubles
End them? Die. Forget yourself."
Ophelia wants to return Hamlet's gifts. The prince, realizing that they are being overheard, continues to behave like a madman, telling the girl that he never loved her and no matter how much virtue is instilled in her, “the sinful spirit cannot be smoked out of her.” Hamlet advises Ophelia to go to a monastery so as not to produce sinners.
Having heard Hamlet’s speeches, the king understands that the reason for the prince’s madness is different: “he’s not exactly cherishing / In the dark corners of his soul, / Hatching something more dangerous.” Claudius decides to protect himself by sending his nephew to England.
Scene 2
Preparations for the play. Hamlet asks Horatio to look carefully at the king when the actors play a scene similar to the episode of his father's death.
Before the play begins, Hamlet places his head in Ophelia's lap. Starting with pantomime, the actors depict the scene of the poisoning of the former king. During the performance, Hamlet tells Claudius that the play is called "The Mousetrap" and comments on what is happening on stage. At the moment when the actor on stage was about to poison the sleeping man, Claudius rose sharply and left the hall with his retinue, thereby revealing his guilt in the death of Hamlet’s father.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that the king and queen are very upset about what happened. The prince, holding a flute in his hand, replied: “Look, what kind of dirt you mixed me with. You are going to play on me." “Call me any instrument, you can upset me, but you can’t play me.”
Scene 3
The king is trying to atone for the sin of fratricide with prayer. Seeing Claudius praying, the prince hesitates, because he can take revenge for the murder of his father right now. However, Hamlet decides to delay the punishment so that the king's soul does not go to heaven.
Scene 4
Queen's room. Gertrude called Hamlet to talk to her. Polonius, eavesdropping, hides behind the carpet in her bedroom. Hamlet is rude to his mother, accusing the queen of insulting the memory of his father. Frightened Gertrude decides that her son wants to kill her. Polonius calls the guards from behind the carpet. The prince, thinking it is the king, stabs the carpet and kills the royal advisor.
Hamlet blames his mother for the fall. Suddenly a ghost appears, which only the prince sees and hears. Gertrude becomes convinced of her son's madness. Dragging Polonius' body, Hamlet leaves.
Act 4
Scene 1
Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius. The king orders to find the prince and take the body of the murdered adviser to the chapel.
Scene 2
Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he “mixed the body of Polonius with the earth to which the corpse is akin.” The Prince compares Rosencrantz “to a sponge living on the juices royal favors» .
Scene 3
Amused, Hamlet tells the king that Polonius is at dinner - “at one where he is not dining, but he is being eaten,” but then he admits that he hid the adviser’s body near the gallery stairs. The king orders Hamlet to be immediately lured onto the ship and taken to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Claudius decides that the Briton must repay his debt by killing the prince.
Scene 4
Plain in Denmark. The Norwegian army is passing through local lands. They explain to Hamlet that the military is going to “take away a place that is not noticeable by anything.” Hamlet reflects that the “decisive prince” is “glad to sacrifice his life” for a cause that is “not worth a damn,” but he himself still has not decided to take revenge.
Scene 5
Upon learning of Polonius's death, Ophelia goes crazy. The girl grieves for her father and sings strange songs. Horatio shares his fears and concerns with the queen - “the people are grumbling”, “all the dirt has surfaced from the bottom”.
Laertes, who secretly returned from France, breaks into the castle with a crowd of rebels who proclaim him king. The young man wants to avenge the death of his father, but the king pacifies his ardor, promising to compensate for the loss and help “in an alliance to achieve the truth.” Seeing the mad Ophelia, Laertes becomes even more passionate about revenge.
Scene 6
Horatio receives Hamlet's letter from the sailors. The prince reports that he has ended up with the pirates, asks to give the king the letters he sent and to rush to his aid as quickly as possible.
Scene 7
The king finds an ally in Laertes, pointing out to him that they have a common enemy. Letters from Hamlet are delivered to Claudius - the prince writes that he was landed naked on Danish soil and asks the king to receive him tomorrow.
Laertes is waiting to meet Hamlet. Claudius proposes to guide the young man’s actions so that Hamlet dies “himself of his own free will.” Laertes agrees, deciding to be sure before the battle with the prince to smear the tip of the rapier with poisonous ointment.
Suddenly the queen appears with the news that Ophelia has drowned in the river:
“She wanted to cover the willow with herbs,
I grabbed the branch, and he broke,
And, as it was, with a pile of colored trophies,
She fell into the stream."
Act 5
Scene 1
Elsinore. Cemetery. The gravediggers dig a grave for Ophelia, discussing whether it is possible to give a suicide a Christian burial. Seeing the skulls thrown away by the gravedigger, Hamlet wonders who these people were. The gravedigger shows the prince the skull of Yorick, the royal skoromokh. Taking it in his hands, Hamlet turns to Horatio: “Poor Yorick! “I knew him, Horatio.” He was a man of endless wit,” “and now this very disgust and nausea comes to the throat.”
Ophelia is buried. Wishing in last time Saying goodbye to his sister, Laertes jumps into her grave, asking her to bury him with his sister. Outraged by the falseness of what is happening, the prince, who was standing aside, jumps into the grave into the ice behind Laertes and they fight. By order of the king, they are separated. Hamlet says that he wants to “settle the rivalry” with Laertes in a fight. The king asks Laertes not to take any action for now - “just chat. Everything is coming to an end."
Scene 2
Hamlet tells Horatio that he found a letter from Claudius on the ship, in which the king ordered the prince to be killed upon arrival in England. Hamlet changed its contents, ordering the immediate death of the bearers of the letter. The prince understands that he sent Rosencrantz and Guildestern to their deaths, but his conscience does not torment him.
Hamlet admits to Horatio that he regrets the quarrel with Laertes and wants to make peace with him. The king's close associate Ozdrik reports that Claudius bet with Laertes six Arab horses that the prince would win the battle. Hamlet has a strange premonition, but he brushes it off.
Before the duel, Hamlet asks Laertes for forgiveness, saying that he did not wish him harm. Unnoticed, the king throws poison into the prince's glass of wine. In the midst of the battle, Laertes wounds Hamlet, after which they exchange rapiers and Hamlet wounds Laertes. Laertes realizes that he himself was “caught in the net” of his cunning.
The Queen accidentally drinks from Hamlet's glass and dies. Hamlet orders to find the culprit. Laertes reports that the rapier and drink were poisoned and the king is to blame. Hamlet kills the king with a poisoned rapier. Dying, Laertes forgives Hamlet. Horatio wants to drink the remaining poison from the glass, but Hamlet takes the cup from his friend, asking him to tell the uninitiated “the truth about him.”
Shots and a march are heard in the distance - Fortinbras returns from Poland with victory. Dying, Hamlet recognizes Fortinbras' right to the Danish throne. Fortinbras orders the prince to be buried with honor. A cannon salvo is heard.
Conclusion
In “Hamlet” using the example of an image Danish prince Shakespeare portrays a personality of modern times, whose strength and weakness lie in his morality and sharp mind. Being a philosopher and humanist by nature, Hamlet finds himself in circumstances that force him to take revenge and bloodshed. This is the tragedy of the hero’s position - having seen the dark side of life, fratricide, betrayal, he became disillusioned with life and lost his understanding of its value. Shakespeare does not give a definite answer to the eternal question “To be or not to be?” in his work, leaving it up to the reader.
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“Hamlet” - Shakespeare's tragedy, summary which is presented below. There is a record of it from July 1602 as “recently performed.” A short “bad” quarto was published in 1603, another text, already twice as long, in 1604-1605. In the Folio (1623), several fragments were added that were not in the second quarto, and some, on the contrary, were omitted. The main non-dramatic source of the play was the narrative placed by Saxo Grammaticus in his “Acts of the Danes” as presented by Belfort in “ Tragic stories” (Histoires Tragiques).
The brother of the recently deceased old Hamlet, King of Denmark, Claudius usurps the throne and marries his widow Gertrude. The young Prince Hamlet, returning from the University of Wittenberg, learns from the ghost of his father that he was killed by Claudius, who poured poison into his ear. The Ghost tells Hamlet to take revenge on the murderer, but not to harm Gertrude.
Hamlet warns his friend Horatio and the guard (who also saw the ghost) that he intends to pretend to be mad, and makes them swear to secrecy. Immediately after his famous monologue-meditation “To be or not to be” (III, i), he renounces his beloved, Ophelia, while he is watched by Claudius and Ophelia’s father, Polonius. He welcomes the arrival of a troupe of traveling actors and orders them to perform a play about fratricide (“The Mousetrap”). Claudius, in fear and anger, interrupts the performance when the actor Lucian acts out the scene of the murder of his uncle, into whose ear he pours poison.
Before accusing his mother of passion for Claudius, he kills the old chancellor Polonius in her bedroom, stabbing him through the carpet with a sword. Claudius sends Hamlet away to England, handing him a pre-sealed letter ordering him to be killed upon arrival. However, Hamlet manages to deceive Claudius. He returns to Denmark, having first sent his old friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, his uncle's spies, to their deaths.
During his absence, Ophelia goes mad from grief caused by the death of her father, as well as the fact that Hamlet abandoned her. She is found drowned. Ophelia's brother, Laertes, returns from France with the intention of avenging his sister's death. Hamlet and Laertes meet in the cemetery where Ophelia is to be buried and fight in her grave. Claudius arranges a sword duel between Hamlet and Laertes. He hands Laertes a poisoned sword. But as a result of the exchange of weapons, both Hamlet and Laertes die. Before this, Gertrude drinks poison from a cup intended for her son, and Hamlet, dying, manages to kill Claudius. The Norwegian prince Fortinbras, mentioned throughout the play, the personification of military heroism, returns after a successful war with Poland and gives Hamlet a funeral according to military tradition.
Elsinore. The square in front of the castle. The clock strikes twelve. Francisco and Bernardo are on duty. Marcellus arrives, and with him Horatio, who was attracted by rumors that a ghost appeared twice in a row at midnight, “with the posture of the dead king.” The friends decide to “inform Prince Hamlet of what they have seen,” hoping that the spirit will “break the silence before him.”
They find the prince in the castle's reception hall. Hamlet suffers from the thought that his mother, less than two months after his father’s death, married his brother, an insignificant and stupid man, “an overweight sack of meat.” Having learned about the ghost, he decides to stand guard at night with his friends:
Father's double in arms! The fat is in the fire!
Some kind of deception. If only it got dark!
And there, soul, patience: a trail of intrigues,
Bury them in the ground and they will come to light.
At this time, Laertes and Ophelia say goodbye to Polonius. The brother, leaving to study in France, asks his sister to write to him, “not to miss opportunities.” He is also haunted by the thought that Ophelia is accepting the courtship of the prince, who is “himself in captivity of his own birth” and, when choosing a wife, will do as “the general voice of Denmark wants.” He believes that the sister should beware of attraction like fire; “It’s easy to slander even virtue.” (“As long as our character is not experienced and young, shyness is our best guardian.”) Polonius, who came to say goodbye to his son, gives him instructions: do not make your cherished thoughts public, beware of fights, listen to everyone, hide your judgments, dress as you allow wallet, do not borrow money: “by lending money, we lose money and friends...”
On the site in front of the castle, Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus wait for the ghost to appear. There is noise coming from the castle, there new king“he doesn’t sleep and dances until he drops, and drinks and revels until the morning...” A ghost appears and beckons Hamlet with him, only to him alone can he tell the secret of his death, how he “was by the hand of his brother... in a dream deprived of his crown, life, queen,” how the sleeping man was poisoned by henbane juice. The spirit of the father asks to take revenge on the murderer, not to allow “the bed of the Danish kings to serve incest and debauchery. However, no matter how the revenge turns out,” do not desecrate the soul, do not encroach on the mother: “God is her judge and deep pricks of conscience.”
The meeting with the spirit of his father greatly changed the Prince of Denmark, “he is so unrecognizable internally and externally”: he lost his former cheerfulness and habit of activities. The queen, the king, Ophelia, and her father find traces of changes in him. But Polonius sees “here is an obvious explosion of love attraction.” The king asks Hamlet's schoolmates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out what secret is tormenting the prince and whether there is a cure for it. Queen Gertrude blames herself for everything; she believes that the reason for her son’s strange behavior is the death of the king and the haste of her wedding.
Actors are coming to Elsinore. Hamlet asks one of them to read a soliloquy, especially the part where the murder of Priam is mentioned. The prince and the actors agree to play “The Murder of Gonzago” tomorrow evening, but a passage in lines sixteen written by Hamlet will be inserted into the play. Polonius conveys an invitation to the august couple to come to the performance.
Polonius and the king ask Ophelia to summon Hamlet to straight Talk to find out whether love was the reason mental disorder? The Prince of Denmark delivers his famous monologue:
To be or not to be - that is the question;
What is nobler in spirit - to submit
To the slings and arrows of furious fate
Or, taking up arms in the sea of turmoil, defeat them
Confrontation? Die, sleep...
And dream, perhaps?
That's the difficulty;
What dreams will you have in your death sleep?...
Who would bear the lashes and mockery of the century,
The oppression of the strong, the mockery of the proud,
The pain of despised love, the slowness of judges,
Arrogance of the authorities and insults (...),
If only he could give himself a reckoning
With a simple dagger? Who would trudge along with the burden(...)
Whenever the fear of something after death (...) -
To earthly wanderers, - did not confuse the will,
Inspiring us to endure our adversities
And not to rush to others hidden from us?
This is how thinking makes us cowards...
The king, who overhears the conversation, comes to the conclusion that the prince is not absorbed in love at all, “besides, although there is no connection in his words, there is no madness in them.” It was decided to send Hamlet to England “to collect the unpaid tribute.”
Perhaps the sea, new lands
And people will knock it out of his heart
What sits there and what he himself is above
He racks his brain to the point of stupor.
The performance begins, during which Horatio must watch the king. But here is the decisive scene: Lucian pours poison into the ear of Duke Gonzago, and then “enlists the love” of his wife. The king cannot stand it and leaves, he feels very bad. His retinue leaves with him. Left alone, Hamlet and Horatio come to the conclusion that the king is guilty of the death of the former king.
Returning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell how upset the king is and how perplexed the queen is about Hamlet’s behavior. But the prince does not want to obey someone else’s will, takes the flute and invites Guildenstern to play it. He refuses: “But I don’t know how to take on this.” Hamlet says with anger: “Look, with what filth you have mixed Me up! You're going to play on me. You take credit for your knowledge of my valves. You are sure that you will squeeze out of me the voice of my secret.”
King Claudius, who, in his words, is “stamped with the most ancient curse: the murder of his brother,” decides to pray, but...
Words soar, but feelings bend downward,
But words without feelings are not recognized above.
At this time, Hamlet passes by: he goes to his mother’s chambers. But the prince does not want to kill the king during prayer. “Back, my sword, to a more terrible meeting.”
The pain tormenting the heart of the Prince of Denmark makes his tongue bold. The Queen has never seen her son like this, she becomes scared, she gets scared and screams. The eavesdropping Polonius finds himself in the queen's chambers, behind the carpet. Hamlet shouting “Rat, rat!” pierces him with a sword, he is sure that this is the king. The Queen begs Hamlet for mercy: “You turned your eyes with your pupils into your soul, and there are black traces everywhere, and there is nothing to remove...” A ghost appears... The Queen does not see or hear him, it seems to her that Hamlet is talking to emptiness. Her son really looks like a madman. The ghost demands that Hamlet spare the queen.
The murder of Polonius (“he was buried in secret”) and fear force the king to decide to “sell off” the prince at lightning speed. A secret order was sent to England to kill him.
Laertes returns secretly from Paris. He learns about the death of his father, “stays away, lives by rumor and believes the talkers.” He is concerned with “the mystery of death, the mystery of funerals, ... the circumvention of rituals, the violation of forms...”. But another misfortune awaits him: Ophelia has gone crazy from grief. “She is always delusional about her father, accuses the whole world of lying, beats herself in the chest...” The thought that Hamlet killed her father turned out to be fatal for her. Laertes seeks revenge. Armed, with a crowd of rioters, he breaks into the king's chambers. The king calls Hamlet the culprit of all the young man's misfortunes,
Sailors arrive at the castle, they bring letters. From them, Horatio and then the king learn that the prince’s ship was attacked by corsairs, and Hamlet returned home. The king gives Laertes his word to arrange the matter in such a way that the end of the prince “will not strike rumors, and even his mother, without suspecting intrigue, will see chance in everything.” A pretext has also been found: Hamlet has long wanted to fight Laertes with rapiers (he heard flattering reviews about the latter’s martial art from the Norman nobleman Lamond). It was decided that during the duel the blunt rapier would be replaced with a combat rapier, the tip of which would be smeared with poison. Prince of Denmark
Like a carefree and direct person
And alien to tricks, he will not
Consider the rapier...
Queen Gertrude arrives and brings sad news - Ophelia has drowned herself.
Elsinore. Cemetery. Two gravediggers are digging a grave. Hamlet and Horatio also come here. Hamlet talks about the vanity of everything on earth, recalling Alexander the Great. “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander became dust, dust is earth; Clay is extracted from the earth. Why shouldn’t the clay he turned into end up in the coating of a beer barrel?”
Appears funeral procession. Ophelia is buried. Laertes jumps into the grave and asks to be buried with his sister. A quarrel breaks out between him and Hamlet. Hamlet speaks of his love for a girl:
I loved
Ophelia, and forty thousand brothers
And all their love is no match for mine.
The king asks Laertes to be patient and reminds him of their agreement. Everyone leaves. The prince tells his friend how he stole the royal letter, how he learned about his uncle’s “crowned meanness,” how he wrote another, sealing it with his father’s seal, that now Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sailing towards their death. Hamlet regrets “that he made such a fuss with Laertes,” because in his misfortunes he sees a reflection of his own, and speaks of his desire to make peace with him.
Osric arrives. He reports that King Claudius "bet... On six Arabian horses" that out of twelve fights, Laertes' advantage over Hamlet "will not exceed three blows." The Prince of Denmark “does not feel good at heart,” but one must be above superstitions: “without God's will Not even a sparrow will perish.” Before the fight, Hamlet asks his opponent for forgiveness:
Everything I could touch
I am your feelings, honor and position,
Please believe me, it was illness.
...
Let everyone know: I did not wish you harm.
By mistake I shot an arrow over the house
And he wounded his brother.
A duel begins, during which the king continually offers Hamlet poisoned wine. But the cup ends up in the wrong place: the Queen Mother drinks to her son’s victory. In a fight, opponents exchange rapiers.
First Hamlet is wounded, then Laertes. The queen dies. Knowing that it will soon be his turn, Laertes confesses everything:
I myself am dying for meanness and will not rise.
No queen. I can not anymore...
The king of everything, the king of everything!
The dying Hamlet strikes the murderer of his father and mother with a poisoned blade. The prince, feeling the approach of death, asks Horatio:
You are alive. Will you tell the truth about me
To the uninitiated.
Horatio wants to finish the poisoned wine so he can follow his friend. Hamlet protests:
What
I will be covered in ignominy in posterity,
No one knows the truth yet!
Shots are heard, the kingdom has arrived English ambassadors, Fortinbras, whom the deceased Hamlet would like to see on the throne, returned with victory from Poland. Horatio publicly tells everyone
About the terrible ones,
Bloody and merciless deeds,
Vicissitudes, murders by mistake,
Punished by duplicity...
By order of Fortinbras, Hamlet is carried to the platform by four captains. "If he had lived, he would have become king deservedly."
The pinnacle of world drama is Shakespeare's tragedy “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” For several centuries now, the play has been a programmatic work of literature and a permanent performance in theater repertoires around the world. Such popularity of the work speaks of the urgency of the problems raised in the work, which are relevant at all times in the development of society.
The tragedy takes place in Denmark, in royal residence Elsinore. The other day, the whole country was shrouded in a sad event - the king passed away. After the death of the monarch, his brother Claudius takes the throne. Having gathered his subjects, he announces two news: that he will be crowned, and also that he will marry the current queen, that is, the widow of his late brother. The son of the deceased king, Hamlet, is extremely upset by the death of his father and the fact that his mother and uncle so quickly forgot their grief.
The night watchmen noticed that at the same hour a ghost appeared that looked very much like the late king. They are frightened and call Horatio, who recognizes the former king in the night image. He understands that the deceased wants to tell about something, and decides to report everything to Hamlet. The next night, the prince sees the ghost of his father, who told him that his brother Claudius poisoned him by pouring poison into his ear in order to gain the state and the queen. Hamlet's father convinces him to avenge his death.
Seeing Hamlet's strange state, Claudius tries to understand the reasons. The king's closest confidant and adviser, Polonius, learns of Hamlet's love for his daughter Ophelia. He convinces his daughter not to believe his words and take care of her honor. The girl returns all the gifts and letters to the prince. Why does Hamlet realize that his feelings were not mutual. Polonius explains Hamlet's strange behavior to the royal couple as the suffering of a lover and offers to keep an eye on the prince to make sure of this. Realizing this, Hamlet pretends to be crazy. Eavesdropping, the king understands the prince's belligerent attitude and realizes that the hidden reason is not love.
To distract the prince, the king invites Hamlet's university friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to the court, who bring a theater troupe with them. Hamlet is tormented by doubts whether his uncle is really a murderer and must pay for his act, and what if the ghost is a demon that confuses Hamlet’s thoughts and leads him to sin. In order not to make a mistake and to be convinced of the king’s guilt, Hamlet asks the actors to perform the play “The Murder of Gonzago.” In the plot of the play, a nephew kills his uncle and seduces his wife. Hamlet adds his poems to it and gives instructions to the actors on how to play, and also asks Horatio, the only person he trusts, to observe the king’s reaction. The latter cannot stand it and leaves the hall before the end of the performance. Now Hamlet is confident in the veracity of the ghost's words.
The king begins to fear Hamlet and asks the queen mother to influence him. Polonius helpfully offers to eavesdrop on their conversation and hides behind the carpet. During the conversation, Hamlet appeals to his mother's conscience, condemning her marriage to a traitor. Polonius gives himself away, and Hamlet, believing that this is the king, in his anger hits the carpet with his sword and kills the adviser. Hamlet feels sorry for the wise old man, but he himself chose his fate and died the fate he deserves. After the murder of Polonius, the king is completely frightened and decides to send the prince to England under the supervision of his imaginary friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, giving them a covering letter with the royal seal, in which he demands to kill Hamlet.
Polonius is buried in secret and without honors, so as not to attract attention. The news of his father's death reaches Polonius's son, Laertes. He explains the mystery of his father’s death by saying that the king committed a vile act, and begins to turn the Danes against Claudius. Upon learning of this, the king reveals to Laertes the real murderer and supports his desire to avenge his father's death.
At this time, Hamlet, having opened the royal letter and learned of Claudius's intentions, replaced it with another, in which he orders the execution of his traitorous friends, and he himself leaves the ship and returns to Denmark. The grief of her father's death led Ophelia to lose her mind and she drowned in the lake. Hiding in the cemetery, Hamlet and Horatio are placed as witnesses to Ophelia's funeral. Hamlet, unable to bear it, approaches the grave, where a conflict occurred between him and Laertes. Hamlet cannot understand Laertes' belligerence. The king, meanwhile, invites Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet so that in the eyes of the queen and society it does not look like murder. They decide to challenge the prince to fight with rapiers for a bet. To absolutely guarantee Hamlet's death, Laertes smears the rapiers with poison, and the king poisons the wine.
During the fight, Queen Gertrude, worried about her son, drinks wine and dies. Laertes and Hamlet wound each other by exchanging weapons. Laertes dies. The prince, having understood everything, wounds Claudius with a poisonous rapier and gives him wine to drink. Before his death, Hamlet asks Horatio to tell the people everything he knows and to vote for Fortinbras as the future king. The Norwegian prince Fortinbras became king, burying Hamlet with great honors.
Analysis of the work
The social and philosophical tragedy was created by Shakespeare based on the medieval legend of Prince Amleth. Folk work repeatedly amenable to literary adaptations. However, it was Shakespeare’s creation that became immortal.
Historical facts and the character of the hero
The time period of the play is not clearly indicated. Depicting the past, the author raises in the work problems that were actuarial both during Shakespeare’s life and in our days. Historical authenticity and eventfulness in the work fade into the background, allowing the plot to focus all its attention on the personal tragedy of Prince Hamlet.
The composition of the tragedy is built on the basis of two storylines: Hamlet's path to revenge for the death of his father and the honor of his mother; treacherous actions, full of intrigue and intrigue, on the part of King Claudius. A striking example Shakespeare's author's style is such a feature of the composition of the tragedy as its saturation with Hamlet's monologues, the role of which is in summing up certain phenomena and events, their understanding by both the hero and the reader. The monologues of the main character add a peculiar philosophical character to the general style of the tragedy and give the work a touch of subtle lyricism.
The time periods of the work cover only a few days, but the system of characters in the tragedy is quite developed. All heroes can be divided according to their ideological significance into three groups: main characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude; images influencing the course of action: the ghost of Hamlet's father, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Horatio, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Fortinbras; minor characters: watchmen, gravediggers, captain, sailors, nobles and others. Conventionally, the author himself divides the characters into two categories with the ability to see a ghost. After all, only those who were pure in soul and heart could see him.
The main character is Hamlet - a controversial and complex character. The peculiarity of this character is revealed in Shakespeare's extraordinary skill in showing the hero in development. Since Hamlet at the beginning of the work and at the end is completely different images. Split consciousness, attempts to analyze one’s capabilities, the desire to live according to conscience, doubts and reproaches - all this tempers and shapes an effective character from a thinking hero. In a philosophical and humanistic vein, the image of Hamlet is a talisman universal human values: morality, truth, honor and justice.
In the work, the author raises the main problem of the Renaissance - the collapse of the ideals of morality, humanism, honor, which are replaced by the power of money and power. In the tragedy, the author tries to solve the main philosophical question - why does a person live, what is the meaning of his existence, if everything in this world is perishable.
This universal, eternal problem is embodied in famous phrase: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” That is why Hamlet’s remarks are filled with thoughts about death, about the meaning of existence. The answer to this question is the idea of the value of human morality, the ability to comprehend the past and present, to feel, to love. Hamlet sees the meaning of human life in this.
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