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The

protagonist

of

Hamlet

is

Prince Hamlet

of Denmark, son of deceased

King Hamlet

and his wife,

Queen Gertrude

.

The story opens on a chilly night at

Elsinore

, the Danish royal castle. Francisco, one of the sentinels,

is relieved of his watch by Bernardo, another sentinel, and exits while Bernardo remains. A third

sentinel, Marcellus, enters with

Horatio

, Hamlet's best friend. The

sentinels

inform Horatio that they

have seen a ghost that looks like the dead King Hamlet. After hearing from Horatio of the Ghost's

appearance, Hamlet resolves to see the Ghost himself. That night, the Ghost appears again. It leads

Hamlet to a secluded place, claims that it is the actual spirit of his father, and discloses that he

—

the

elder

Hamlet

—

was

murdered

by

Claudius'

pouring

poison

in

his

ear.

The

Ghost

demands

that

Hamlet avenge him; Hamlet agrees, swears his companions to secrecy, and tells them he intends to

[7]

(presumably to avert suspicion). Hamlet initially attests to the ghost's

reliability, calling him both an

about the ghost's nature and intent, claiming these as reasons for his inaction.

Polonius

is Claudius' trusted chief counsellor;

Polonius

's son,

Laertes

, is

returning to France, and

Polonius

's daughter,

Ophelia

, is courted by Hamlet. Both Polonius and Laertes warn Ophelia that

Hamlet is surely not serious about her. Shortly afterward, Ophelia is alarmed by Hamlet's strange

behaviour, reporting to her father that Hamlet rushed into her room, stared at her, and said nothing.

Polonius assumes that the

[8]

is responsible for Hamlet's

informs Claudius and Gertrude.

Perturbed by Hamlet's continuing deep mourning for his father and his increasingly erratic behavior,

Claudius sends for two of Hamlet's acquaintances

—

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

—

to find out the

cause

of

Hamlet's

changed

behavior.

Hamlet

greets

his

friends

warmly

but

quickly

discerns

that

they have been sent to spy on him.

Together, Claudius and Polonius convince Ophelia to speak with Hamlet while they secretly listen.

When

Hamlet

enters,

she

offers

to

return

his

remembrances,

upon

which

Hamlet

questions

her

honesty and furiously rants at her to

[9]

The

[10]

(Artist:

Eugè

ne Delacroix

1839)

Hamlet remains uncertain whether the Ghost has told him the truth, but the arrival of a troupe of

actors

at

Elsinore

presents

him

with

a

solution.

He

will

have

them

stage

a

play,

The

Murder

of

Gonzago

, re-enacting his father's murder and determine Claudius's guilt or innocence by studying

his

reaction

to

it.

The

court

assembles

to

watch

the

play;

Hamlet

provides

an

agitated

running

commentary throughout.

When the murder scene is

presented, Claudius

abruptly

rises and leaves

the room, which Hamlet sees as proof of his uncle's guilt.

Gertrude

summons

Hamlet

to

her

closet

to

demand

an

explanation.

On

his

way,

Hamlet

passes

Claudius

in

prayer,

but

hesitates

to

kill

him,

reasoning

that

death

in

prayer

would

send

him

to

heaven.

However,

it

is

revealed

that

the

King

is

not

truly

praying,

remarking

that

never

made

it

to

heaven

without

[11]

An

argument

erupts

between

Hamlet

and

Gertrude.

Polonius,

spying

on

the

scene

from

behind

an

arras

and

convinced

that

the

prince's

madness

is

indeed real, panics when it seems as if Hamlet is about to murder the Queen and cries out for help.

Hamlet,

believing

it

is

Claudius

hiding

behind

the

arras

,

stabs

wildly

through

the

cloth,

killing

Polonius.

When

he

realizes

that

he

has

killed

Ophelia's

father,

he

is

not

remorseful,

but

calls

Polonius

wretched,

rash,

intruding

fool.

[12]

The

Ghost

appears,

urging

Hamlet

to

treat

Gertrude

gently,

but

reminding

him

to

kill

Claudius.

Unable

to

see

or

hear

the

Ghost

herself,

Gertrude takes Hamlet's conversation with it as further evidence of madness.

Claudius, now fearing for his life, finds a legitimate excuse to get rid of the prince: he sends Hamlet

to

England

on

a

diplomatic

pretext,

accompanied

(and

closely

watched)

by

Rosencrantz

and