Plot Summary (Grade 12 NSC Matric English HL): Revision Notes
Plot Summary
The ghost and the revelation
The story begins on a dark winter night at Elsinore Castle in Denmark, where a mysterious ghost appears on the ramparts. This ghost is first spotted by watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, and bears a striking resemblance to the recently deceased King Hamlet. The ghost's appearance creates immediate tension and foreboding.
The ghost's brother Claudius has taken the throne and married the king's widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet to see the ghost, it speaks only to him.
The ghost reveals a shocking truth: Claudius murdered Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear while he slept in the garden. The ghost demands that Hamlet avenge his father's death, but warns him not to harm his mother, leaving that punishment to heaven.
Hamlet's struggle with revenge
After learning the truth, Prince Hamlet becomes deeply troubled and contemplative about his mission of revenge. His melancholy and apparent madness worry Claudius and Gertrude, who fear for the prince's mental state and their own safety. They ask Hamlet's old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him and discover the cause of his strange behaviour.
Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, believes Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter Ophelia. This theory represents one of several attempts by the court to explain Hamlet's increasingly erratic behaviour.
Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet during a conversation with Ophelia, but when they observe the encounter, Hamlet appears mad rather than lovesick. He even tells Ophelia to "get thee to a nunnery" and declares he wishes to ban all marriages.
The play within a play
A group of travelling actors arrives at Elsinore, giving Hamlet a clever idea to test his uncle's guilt. He arranges for the players to perform a scene that closely mirrors the murder his father's ghost described - if Claudius is truly guilty, he will surely react when he sees the performance.
The Mouse Trap Strategy
Step 1: Hamlet commissions a play that recreates his father's murder
Step 2: He observes Claudius's reaction during the performance
Step 3: When the murder scene plays out, Claudius jumps up and flees
Step 4: This reaction confirms Claudius's guilt to both Hamlet and Horatio
During the performance, when the moment depicting the murder arrives, Claudius jumps up and leaves the room in obvious distress. This reaction convinces both Hamlet and Horatio of Claudius's guilt. However, when Hamlet goes to kill Claudius afterwards, he finds his uncle praying. Hamlet decides not to kill him during prayer, believing this would send Claudius's soul to heaven, which he considers inadequate revenge. Instead, he chooses to wait for a moment when Claudius is engaged in sinful behaviour.
The confrontation and Polonius's death
Hamlet goes to confront his mother in her bedchamber, where Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry to eavesdrop. When Hamlet hears a noise from behind the tapestry, thinking it might be the king, he draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. This impulsive act has serious consequences - Hamlet is immediately sent to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as his escorts.
Unknown to Hamlet, Claudius has given his escorts sealed orders demanding that the King of England execute Hamlet upon his arrival. This represents Claudius's attempt to eliminate the threat Hamlet poses whilst appearing to show mercy through banishment rather than immediate execution.
Ophelia's madness and tragedy
Following her father's death, Ophelia is consumed by genuine grief and madness, ultimately drowning in the river. Her brother Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage, convinced that Hamlet is responsible for both his father's and sister's deaths.
When Horatio and the king receive letters indicating that Hamlet has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius devises a deadly plan.
Claudius will use Laertes's desire for revenge to arrange a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes, believing this will secure Hamlet's death whilst appearing to be an accident.
The final duel and multiple deaths
A foolish courtier named Osric arrives to arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes on Claudius's orders. The sword-fighting begins with Hamlet scoring the first hit, but he declines to drink from the king's offered goblet.
Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from the goblet and is quickly killed by the poison Claudius had placed in it. During the continued fighting, Laertes successfully wounds Hamlet, though the prince does not die from the poison immediately. The swords become mixed up, and Hamlet then stabs Laertes with the poisoned sword.
As Laertes lies dying, he reveals to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen's death. With this knowledge, Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink the remaining poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately afterwards, finally achieving his revenge.
The restoration of order
At this tragic moment, Norwegian Prince Fortinbras arrives with his army. Earlier in the play, Fortinbras had led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland. Now he enters to find the entire royal family dead and sprawled across the floor.
Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet's final request, tells Fortinbras the complete tragic story of what has transpired. Fortinbras, stunned by the gruesome sight of the royal family's destruction, moves to take control of the kingdom. He orders that Hamlet be given a proper burial befitting a fallen soldier, recognising the prince's noble nature despite the tragic circumstances.
Key Plot Points to Remember:
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The ghost's revelation drives the entire plot - King Hamlet was murdered by his brother Claudius, who then married Gertrude and took the throne.
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Hamlet's internal struggle between contemplation and action creates the play's central tension - he delays his revenge due to his thoughtful, melancholic nature.
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The play within a play serves as the turning point where Hamlet confirms Claudius's guilt and the tragic events accelerate.
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Multiple characters seek revenge - Hamlet for his father, Laertes for his father and sister, creating parallel revenge plots that intersect fatally.
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The final scene brings complete destruction to the royal family, but order is restored through Fortinbras's arrival and Horatio's survival to tell the story.