Hamlet Journal
Sandra Irmisch
Literary Genre
Plot Points
- A secret murder
- A ghostly visitation
- A descent into either real or feigned madness
- An eruption of general violence at the end
Ghosts in Shakespeare's plays
- seen by mentally ill
The authentic ghost who has died without the opportunity of repentance or vengeance
- influenced by Catholicism
The false ghost which is capable of many types of manifestations
- possibly the devil
Major Themes
2. Mortality
3. Corruption
4. Madness
5. Doubt
Characters
- Francisco, Bernando, Horatio, Marcellus, Ghost
Act 1 Scene 2
- King Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, Queen, Hamlet, Voltimand, Cornelius
Act 1 Scene 3
- Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes
Act 1 Scene 4
- Hamlet, Horatio, Ghost, Marcellus
Act 1 Scene 5
- Hamlet, Ghost, Horatio, Marcellus
Act 2 Scene 1
- Polonius, Reynaldo, Ophelia
Act 2 Scene 2
- Hamlet, Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Claudius, Gertrude, Voltimand, Cornelius
Act 3 Scene 1
Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hamlet
Act 3 Scene 2
Hamlet, Players,first player, Polonius, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Horatio, Claudius, Ophelia, Gertrude, (Lucianus)
Act 3 Scene 3
Claudius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, Hamlet,
Act 3 Scene 4
Gertrude, Polonius, Hamlet, Ghost
Act 4 Scene 1
Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern,
Act 4 Scene 2
Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern
Act 4 Scene 3
Claudius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hamlet
Act 4 Scene 4
Fortinbras, Captain, Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern
Act 4 Scene 5
Horatio, Gertrude, Gentleman, Ophelia, Claudius, Laertes, Messenger
Act 4 Scene 6
Horatio, Servant, Sailors
Act 4 Scene 7
Claudius, Laertes, Messenger, Gertrude
Act 5 Scene 1
Gravedigger, Other, Hamlet, Horatio, Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Priest
Act 5 Scene 2
Hamlet, Horatio, Osric, Lord, Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Fortinbras, Ambassador
Plot - Exposition
Francisco, Bernando, Marcellus, and Horatio meet in the Hallway. They want Horatio to see the ghost they saw lately. The ghost appears and Horatio tries to talk to him. The ghost doesn't answer him and disappears.
Act 1 Scene 2
Claudius explains his marriage with Gertrude, Hamlets mother, to all the other present characters. He also talks about the king of Norway and says that he wrote a letter to him. Hamlet complains about the fact that his mother married him, so Claudius gets mad and calls Hamlet unmanly and tells him that he wouldn't do right in gods eyes. When Hamlet is alone, he talks to himself. He says, he wants to die. Horatio comes to him at the end of the scene to ask Hamlet to keep watch with him at night so he can see his fathers ghost.
Act 1 Scene 3
Laertes is about to go on his trip. He talks to Ophelia about Hamlet and their love for each other. He also warns her about him being a royal son with responsibilities. After he left, Polonius talks to her about Hamlet as well and wants her to be careful and says, she doesn't need to spend so much time with him.
Act 1 Scene 4
Hamlet and the two other guys stand in the hallway while everyone else is partying. The ghost appears and wants Hamlet to follow him. The guys try to hold him back but Hamlet wants to know what his father wants to tell him, so he does it.
Act 1 Scene 5
The King tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him and that he wants revenge. But he also tells him to let God decide about his mother. As the ghost leaves, the 2 guys come back in and think Hamlet went crazy. Hamlet makes them swear to not tell anybody what they saw.
Plot - Rising Action
Polonius talks to Reynaldo and wants him to spy on Laertes. He seems to manipulate what happens. Later, Ophelia comes in. She looks like she was scared and tells his father about what just happened to her. Hamlet came into her room, pale and almost naked and shook her without saying something. She says, he looked insane and walked out of the room without using his eyes. Her father wants to go to Claudius to talk to him about this. It seems dangerous to him.
Act 2 Scene 2
Claudius and Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They tell them to figure out whats wrong with Hamlet since they're his friends. Polonius, Voltimand and Cornelius enter. They talk about that Norway doesn't want to attack Denmark, they want to attack Poland. Then Voltimand and Cornelius leave and Polonius starts talking about Hamlets love and craziness to Ophelia. They make a plan to test Hamlet. Hamlet comes in and Claudius and Gertrude leave to let Polonius talk to Hamlet.
Hamlet is dressed very casual in this scene. He wears a shirt with muscles on it. It is a misconception and symbolizes Illusion. In the whole scene, he puts on a show. Starting with this shirt. Polonius talks to him while Hamlet is making fun of him. Hamlet is very rude but Polonius remains calm and polite. When Polonius leaves, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come back in to talk to Hamlet. Hamlet already knows that they try to spy on him and somebody told them to do it. So he asks them about it. They admit what they do. Hamlet puts on a show while he talks to his friends and they start thinking he's crazy. Polonius comes back in and people with furniture. Hamlet has a speech and another man talks after him. When everybody left, he destroys the camera on the wall and wants to be alone. He talks to himself, going crazy first and then depressive in the end.
Plot - Climax
Act 3 Scene 1
Claudius and Gertrude talk to Guildenstern and Rosencrantz about Hamlets behavior, but they couldn't figure out whats wrong with him. They also talk about the play in the evening and decide to come. Hamlets enters the room and Polonius and the King hide. Hamlet talks to himself about suicide (to be or not to be). Ophelia comes and tells Hamlet to keep some distance from her. Hamlet gets mad and claims he had never loved her. After this, Claudius doesn't believe anymore that Hamlet was insane because of his love to Ophelia. In fear, Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England. Polonius and he discuss a plan afterwards. Polonius wants to hide in Gertrudes bedroom to make sure Hamlet is not mad of love.
Act 3 Scene 2
Hamlet tells his players how to play. He wants them to be truthful, so they can show what really happened. Horatio comes in and Hamlet asks him to watch Claudius during the play. Before the actual play, the players perform a short version, which seems to be like a joke. In the actual play, Claudius gets mad and leaves the room. Horatio agrees with Hamlet that this behavior was weird. Afterwards, Hamlet goes to his mothers room to talk to her.
Act 3 Scene 3
Claudius is terrified, so he asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England. Polonius enters and reminds the King of their plan. When he leaves, Claudius approaches to pray. Hamlet walks by and sees a chance to finally kill Claudius. But he decides not to do it because this would send him to heaven and this is not what Hamlet wants, so he waits for a better moment.
Act 3 Scene 4
Polonius is with Gertrude in her bedroom, waiting for Hamlet. When Hamlets comes, Polonius hides. Hamlet and Gertrude get into an argument. Gertrude gets scared and cries for help. Polonius in his hiding plays calls for help as well. Hamlets expects the King there and stabs Polonius. Hamlet discovers Polonius and his mother and he keep arguing until the ghost appears. The ghost talks to Hamlet, but his mother is not able to see or hear him. King Hamlet reminds Hamlet that he has not killed Claudius yet. Hamlet tries to convince Gertrude that he is not insane. She promises to keep this secret and in the end of the scene, hamlet leaves dragging Polonius' corpse behind him.
Plot - Falling Action
Act 4 Scene 1
Gertrude comes to Claudius and tells him that Hamlet just killed Polonius. Claudius decides that he has to ship Hamlet to England as soon as possible.
Act 4 Scene 2
Hamlet just hid the corpse when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet him. They ask him where Polonius is but Hamlet doesn't answer them yet. Instead, he tells them what he thinks about them and their loyalty as friends towards him.
Act 4 Scene 3
Claudius and some attendants question Hamlet Hamlet about the place where Hamlet has hidden Polonius. After some sarcastic anwers, Hamlet tells them where to find him. Claudius sends the attendants to look there for the corpse. Meanwhile, he tells Hamlet that he would have to go to England and Hamlet agrees. Claudius hopes that the English King will kill Hamlet like he asked him to do.
Act 4 Scene 4
Fortinbras sends a captain to Denmark to ask for permission to march through this country. The captain meets Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. Hamlet asks the captain what he wants and the captain answers, they are going to fight with Poland about a little worthless piece of land. Hamlet is disappointed in himself because he didn't kill Claudius yet for revenge.
Act 4 Scene 5
Gertrude talks to Horatio about Ophelia. She enters with flowers and acts insane. Claudius enters and hears Ophelia singing. He says that she is grieving because of her fathers dead. Laertes storms into the hall and wants revenge for his dead father. Gertrude tells him that Claudius has nothing to do with it.
Act 4 Scene 6
Sailors arrive at the castle and give Horatio a letter from Hamlet, which says that he was attacked by pirates and would return to Denmark now. They also have letters for the King and Queen.
Act 4 Scene 7
Claudius explains to Laertes why he couldn't punish Hamlet in front of everyone. They receive the Letter from Hamlet, which says that he would come home on the next day. Laertes is glad that he will finally get his revenge. The King and laertes make a plan how to kill hamlet. They agree for a fencing match with poisoned swords and in case that wont work, Claudius will poison his drink. Gertrude enters and explains Ophelias recent death.
Plot - Resolution
Act 5 Scene 1
On the graveyard, two gravediggers shovel out Ophelias grave and discuss if she is allowed to have a christian burial. Hamlet and Horatio enter and Hamlet figures out that Ophelia died. Everyone else enters the scene and Hamlet declares his love to Ophelia and gets into a fight with Laertes.
Act 5 Scene 2
Hamlet has sent a letter to England. In the letter, he pretends to be the King and demands the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because they betrayed him. Osric comes to Hamlet to tell him that the King wants him to fence with Laertes. Hamlet agrees, thinking he has a chance to win and it would only embarrass him if he loses. When Hamlet makes the first hit in the fight, Gertrude rises her drink for him and drinks the poisoned liquid. She dies. Laertes got hit by the poisoned sword. Hamlet in rage, goes up to the King and forces him to drink his own poison. The King dies too. Hamlet tells Horatio that he is dying but wants him to tell everybody the truth. Fortinbras comes and declares the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Horatio tells him that he is going to tell him and everybody the story about what happened.
Important Quotes
"Do not for ever with thy vailed lids. Seek for thy noble father dust."
Explanation:
Gertrude, the King, Laertes, Polonius, Hamlet, Voltimant, and Cornelius are all together in a large room and the King just explained his marriage to Gertrude. Hamlet got mad and said something smart. He indicated that his mother wouldn't mourn enough for her father and he criticized that she isn't really sad. His mother responses with this quote, which means that he can't mourn for his father's death forever and he has to move on.
Polonius Act 2 Scene 1
"Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth; And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, With windlasses and with assays of bias, by indirections find directions out."
Polonius told his servant to spy on Laertes. He wants to figure out, whether he is loyal to the kingdom or not. Laertes is supposed to bring a letter to France.
Polonius Act 2 Scene 2
"How say you by that? still harping on my daughter. yet he knew me not at first; he said i was a fishmonger. he is far gone. and truly, in my youth, i suffered much extremity of love, very near this."
Polonius talks to himself and was confused by Hamlet's behavior and show. Polonius tries to understand why Hamlet is acting like this and he thinks it is because of his love to Ophelia.
Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2
"Why, then tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. to me, it is a prison."
Hamlet talks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He puts on a show and his friends think he is crazy. Hamlet tries to trick everybody by putting on a show.
Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1
"To be or not to be..."
Hamlet talks to himself (monologue) about killing himself, but he decides not to do it.
He is thinking about whether it is worth killing himself or not.
Hamlet Act 4 Scene 1
"Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more."
This is Hamlet's final soliloquy. He is talking about the human being, which might be only there to sleep and eat. He shows ab uncertain searching of modern subjectivity in his attempt to formulate this very confusion.
Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2
"HOR. If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are not fit."
Hamlet is not longer his old questioning, searching self. Now he accepts things as they actually are. His speech contains several paradoxes. He doesn't try to understand the unknowable anymore but accepts it as an inescapable condition of all existence.