messy politics... but also one of Shakespeare's more well-known
works...
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Hamlet
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, has multiple woes. The ghost of his
father haunts Elsinore; his uncle, Claudius, has married Queen
Gertrude, his mother, and assumed the throne; and Fortinbras of
Norway threatens Denmark with an invading army. When Hamlet meets
the ghost, his dead father reveals that Claudius poisoned himand
the ghost demands that Hamlet exact revenge. In order to carry this
out, Hamlet feigns madness; as part of his insanity, he scorns the
affections of Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, to whom he had made
romantic overtures. Polonius grows concerned over the apparent
insanity that has beset Hamlet and reveals it to the King and
Queen. Meanwhile, Hamlet struggles to convince himself that
Claudius is the murderer of his father, and in an attempt to "catch
the king's conscience," Hamlet convinces a traveling troupe of
actors to perform a play in which the action closely resembles the
events related to him by the ghost.
While Hamlet, judging the reaction of Claudius, is convinced of the
new king's guilt, he can't bring himself to slay him outright.
Instead, Hamlet rebukes Gertrude with the news that she is sleeping
with the killer of her husband. Unfortunately, Poloniuswho is
hidden behind a tapestry in the Queen's chamber,
eavesdroppingpanics and cries for help; Hamlet stabs him, thinking
it is Claudius. Of course, when this news is given to Claudius, the
King sends Hamlet to England with the ostensible purpose of
securing Hamlet's safety and the recovery of his senses.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two childhood friends of Hamlet's who
are now little more than spies for Claudius, are to accompany him.
The trick is that Hamlet will bear a letter to the King of England
in which Claudius asks England to sentence Hamlet to death.
In the midst of these events, Ophelia loses her own sanity; she is
driven to madness by Hamlet's condition and the death of Polonius.
Laertes, her brother, returns to Elsinore from his studies and vows
his vengeance upon Hamlet for what the prince has done to his
family. News is brought that Hamlet has returned to Denmark, much
to the surprise of Claudius, and that Ophelia has drowned herself
in a river. Claudius now plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet upon his
return to Elsinore. Meanwhile, Hamlet meets Horatio, his best
friend, and tells how he altered the letter so that the execution
order was for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead of him. At the
end of Hamlet's tale, Ophelia's funeral procession enters, and
Laertes and Hamlet confront one another. Laertes challenges Hamlet
to a duel.
This is all part of Claudius's plot; instead of dull blades,
Laertes will select a sharp one. In addition, Laertes is to poison
the tip of his blade so that a wound will kill the prince. And,
just in case the previous measures are not enough, Claudius will
keep a poisoned chalice from which Hamlet will drink. The plan goes
awry from the beginning; Laertes is unable to wound Hamlet during
the first pass. Between rounds, Gertrude raises a toast to Hamlet
with the poisoned chalice. Then, in the heat of the duel, Laertes
manages to wound Hamlet but loses the poisoned rapier to him, and
Laertes himself is poisoned as well. Gertrude swoons to her death;
Laertes falls and reveals the plot against Hamlet, telling him he
has "not a half-hour's life" in him. Enraged, Hamlet stabs Claudius
with the poisoned foil, then makes him drink from the chalice that
slew Gertrude. This done, Hamlet collapses and dies in Horatio's
arms as Fortinbras enters the castle. Fortinbras is left to rule
Denmark, as the entire royal family is dead, and he bids his men
give Hamlet and the rest a proper funeral.
