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Ghost Is Seen
Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio are outside the castle late at night and they encounter the ghost. Bernardo and Marcellus have already seen the ghost before but this time they were showing Horatio. The men are terrified and believe that it is the ghost of the King. Horatio attempts to speak to the ghost but he does not respond. He suggests they tell Hamlet and that likely the ghost (Hamlet's father) would talk to him. -
Claudius and Gertrude
Claudius (the dead Kings brother) announces his marriage to Gertrude (his brothers wife/Hamlet's mother). Claudius is now the new King of Denmark. -
Informing Hamlet
Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo find Hamlet and inform him of what they have seen, the ghost which they think is his father. Hamlet agrees to watch with them later that night and hopefully get the chance to speak with the ghost. -
Laertes Is Leaving
Laertes is leaving for France but makes sure to give his sister Ophelia a speech telling her not to fall in love with Hamlet. According to Laertes, Hamlet is too far above her by birth to be able to love her honorably. After Laertes leaves, Polonius their dad, asks what he was speaking of and Ophelia replies "So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet" (I,iii,89) Polonius reinforces Laertes advice to Ophelia. -
Ghost Comes Back
Hamlet and the other men are outside at night waiting to see if the ghost comes. The new king is spending the night carousing. The ghost finally arrives and asks Hamlet to follow him. Hamlet claims he does not care for his life, so he follows after the ghost, leaving his friends worries. Horatio and Marcellus decide to follow after Hamlet and the ghost. -
Truth Comes Out
Hamlet and the ghost get their chance to talk in private and Hamlet is informed of some extremely devastating things. The ghost is in fact his father and was murdered by Claudius. The ghost asks of Hamlet to seek revenge. Hamlet is too distraught to tell the others about the information he has just learned but makes them swear to never say a thing if people notice that Hamlet is acting different. -
Worried Ophelia
Ophelia goes to her father informing him that Hamlet, unkempt and wild-eyed, has accosted her, by grabbing her, holding her, and sighed heavily, but not speaking to her. Polonius senses that it must be a part of his "moodiness" -
Polonius and Claudious
The two men plan to hide and listen to Ophelia and Hamlets conversation in the near future. The men are going to plan so that the two come together and talk, allowing them to gain more knowledge about this questionable "love". -
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Enter
The King and Queen have arranged for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to come from Wittenberg and see what's up with Hamlet. His strange behaviour is concerning the two of them and they hope Hamlet will open up to his friends. Hamlet is smarter than to fall for that trick and knows that they were sent to see him. The two men admit that they were sent and Hamlet does not confess anything to them. -
Planning: The Murder of Gonzago
Hamlet announces that the players will be performing The Murder of Gonzago the next night with an addition that was wrote by himself. The players will be acting out the murder of Hamlets dad, having the King watch so that he can see if there are any signs of guilt. He is doing this to assure that the ghost was telling the truth, before he takes further action. -
Sneaky Polonius and Claudius
Polonius sets it up so that Hamlet and Ophelia will meet in the hallway and have a conversation. Polonius and Claudius are hiding and listening to the conversation trying to figure out if Hamlet has gone crazy due to his love for Ophelia. The two men observe that Ophelia is not the cause of his insanity though he is madly in love with her "Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go" (III,i,189) -
The Play
The players act out the murder scene in front of the King and Queen while Horatio watched the King closely to see if he shows signs of guilt. When the murderer pours the poison into the sleeping king’s ear, Claudius rises and cries out for light "Give me some light. Away." (III,ii,258) This excited Hamlet because it proved to him that the King is guilty. -
Claudius confession
When Claudius is left alone, he is speaking to himself confessing guilt over his brother's murder. Hamlet sneaks into the room, planning to kill Claudius. It seemed to Hamlet that the King was praying and if he were to end the King’s life when he was seeking forgiveness for his sins, it would send Claudius’s soul to heaven. Hamlet decides to wait until the King is sinning to kill him. -
Death of Polonius
Hamlet is in his mother's chamber, expressing his thoughts on Claudius and his father's death. Polonius is heard from behind the tapestry. Hamlet stabs the tapestry and ends up killing Polonius. The queen says his action was a “rash and bloody” deed, and Hamlet replies "A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother." (III.iv.28) Hamlet's mother is stunned by what he is saying, soon after Hamlet leaves dragging Polonius behind him. -
England
Hamlet is sent off to England by Claudius. The captain meets Hamlet Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and informs them that the Norwegian army rides to fight the Poles. -
Ophelia and Laertes
Ophelia has gone mad, roaming around singing strange songs, etc. Laertes has secretly sailed back from France. Claudius and Gertrude break the news to the two siblings that their father has been killed. -
Pirates
Hamlet writes a letter to Horatio telling him that his ship was captured by pirates, who have returned him to Denmark. He asks that the sailors are brought to the king and queen as they have information to tell them. After they speak with the King and Queen, Horatio followed by them to find Hamlet. -
Ophelias Death
Gertrude breaks the news that Ophelia had drowned in the river "One woe doth tread upon another's heel, So fast they follow. Your sister's drown'd laertes" (IV,vii163) Laertes' rage is rewoken from the horrible news. -
Revenge Plan
Claudius and Laertes plan revenge on Hamlet for the death of Polonius. They decide that the two men will battle and Laertes will use a sharpened sword as well as a poisoned sword so that even a scratch from it will kill Hamlet. The king suggests that as a backup plan, if Hamlet succeeds in the duel, Claudius will offer him a poisoned cup of wine to drink from in celebration. -
Cool Down
Hamlet and Laertes are separated and Hamlet storms off, followed by Horatio. Claudius tells Laertes to relax and remember their plan for revenge. -
Yorick
Prince Hamlet and Horatio are with the gravediggers, now knowing that the grave is being dug for Ophelia. Hamlet picks up a skull, and the gravedigger tells him that the skull belonged to Yorick, his jester. Hamlet was so upset at the sight of the skull and realizes that all men will eventually become dust, he even thinks about great men such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar "Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away" (V,i,197) -
Blowup at the funeral
Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, and others come and begin the funeral rites. Hamlet notices that something is off and they seem as though it was a suicide. Wondering who has passed, he sees Ophelia being layed into the ground and Laertes blowing up on the priest because his sister is not receiving a proper Christian burial. Hamlet bursts out from his hiding and confesses his anger and sadness due to his love for Ophelia. He leaps in the grave and begins to fight with Laertes. -
Battle
Laertes and Hamlet choose their weapons and begin to fight. The King declares that if Hamlet wins the first or second hit, he will drink to Hamlet’s health, (then throw into the cup poison and give it to Hamlet.) -
Gertrudes Death
Hamlet won the first round but declined the drink and said he wished to battle one more round before having it. He wins against Laertes again and Gertrude raises the glass to drink. Claudius tells her not to drink but she does anyway. The queen falls and calls out to Hamlet saying that the glass must have been poisoned. She dies. -
Laertes Death
Laertes and Hamlet fight again, Laertes scores a hit on Hamlet and draws blood. The battle some more and Hamlet gets a hold of the dangerous sword, cutting Laertes with his own blade. Laertes tells Hamlet that he has also been slain by his own poisoned sword "I am just kill'd with mine own treachery" (V.ii.301) and that the king is responsible both for the poison on the sword and for the poison in the cup. The two men give their last forgiveness and Laertes dies. -
Claudius Death
Hamlet is filled with anger and rage so he runs over to Claudius and forces the rest of the poisoned drink down his throat. He dies while calling for help. -
Hamlets Death
Hamlet dies along with all the others due to being poisoned by the sword. Just before he passes, he wishes his friend not to commit suicide but instead to stay alive and tell his story. He says that he wishes Fortinbras to be made King of Denmark. -
Ending
Fortinbras enters with the English ambassadors, announcing that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Horatio says that he will tell everyone the story that led to the gruesome disaster. Fortinbras orders for Hamlet to be carried away like a soldier.
