William Shakespeare

Hamlet

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.

His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century.

He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet.

Shakespeare’s biography

Hamlet

Hamlet is the son of the late King Hamlet (of Denmark), who died two months before the start of the play. After King Hamlet's death, his brother, Claudius, becomes king, and marries King Hamlet's widow, Gertrude (Queen of Denmark). Young Hamlet fears that Claudius killed his own brother (Hamlet's father) to become king of Denmark, greatly angering Hamlet. Two officers, Marcellus and Barnardo, summon Hamlet's friend Horatio, and later Hamlet himself to see the late King Hamlet's ghost appear at midnight. The ghost tells Hamlet privately that Claudius had indeed murdered King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear. Hamlet is further enraged and plots of how to revenge his father's death. 

Synopsis

Title:The title is very straightforward, as long as the protagonist is named Hamlet.

Main Characters: Hamlet -  The Prince of Denmark, the title

character, and the protagonist.  Claudius -  The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s

uncle, and the play’s antagonist. Gertrude -  The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s

mother, recently married to Claudius.

Analysis

Polonius -  The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court, a pompous, conniving old man. Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia.

Horatio -  Hamlet’s close friend, who studied with the prince at the university in Wittenberg.

Ophelia -  Polonius’s daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love.

Laertes -  Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, a young man who spends much of the play in France. 

Fortinbras -  The young Prince of Norway, whose father the king (also named Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlet’s father (also named Hamlet).

The Ghost -  The specter of Hamlet’s recently deceased father. The ghost, who claims to have been murdered by Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge him.

Setting:Hamlet sets in the middle ages (XIV or XV) in

the royal palace in Elsinore, Denmark.

Theme:The Impossibility of CertaintyThe Complexity of ActionThe Mystery of DeathThe Nation as a Diseased BodyEdipo’s complex

To be or not to be?