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Laertes tells Hamlet that he, too, has been slain, by his own poisoned sword, and that the king is to blame both for the poison on the sword and for the poison in the cup. Hamlet, in a fury, runs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies crying out for help.
- Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas...
- Quick Quiz
Why does Marcellus say, “Something is rotten in the state of...
- Full Play Summary
On a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of...
- Act V: Scene II
Why does Marcellus say, “Something is rotten in the state of...
- Themes
Does Hamlet consider suicide? Why is Hamlet so cruel to Ophelia? Why does Laertes break into Claudius’s chamber? Why does Ophelia go mad? Does Ophelia actually kill herself? What is the significance of the gravediggers? How does Hamlet’s view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern change?
- Scene I
- Scene II
- Scene III
- Scene IV
- Scene V
- Scene Vi
- Scene VII
Two guards at Elsinore Castle see the ghost of the recently dead King Hamlet. Horatio decides to tell Hamlet. Read a full Summary & Analysis of Act I: Scene i.
Gertrude and King Claudius, who are recently married, ask Hamlet to stay in Denmark a while longer. Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost. Read a full Summary & Analysis of Act I: Scene ii.
Laertes counsels his sister Ophelia not to fall in love with Hamlet, and their father Polonius agrees. Polonius advises Laertes on how to conduct himself at school.
Hamlet waits with Horatio and Marcellus for the ghost to appear. When it does appear, Hamlet runs after it, and the others follow. Read a full Summary & Analysis of Act I: Scenes iii & iv.
The ghost of Hamlet’s father says that Claudius murdered him with poison, and that he wants Hamlet to kill Claudius, but spare Gertrude. Hamlet swears he will and tells his companions that he will pretend to be insane to get to the truth.
Horatio receives a message that Hamlet’s ship was attacked by pirates and that Hamlet has quietly returned to Denmark. Read a full Summary & Analysis of Act IV: Scenes v & vi.
Claudius and Laertes plot to kill Hamlet in a fencing contest. Laertes will fight with a poisoned sword, and Hamlet will be given a goblet of poison wine if he does well. Read a full Summary & Analysis of Act IV: Scene vii.
Seeing Claudius kneeling, Hamlet draws his sword, aware that this would be the perfect time to kill Claudius and avenge his father. He pauses, however, upon noticing that Claudius appears to...
The first thing Claudius reveals in his soliloquy is the most significant: he admits that he has murdered his brother. Up until this point in the play, we have had only the Ghost's accusation of ...
KING CLAUDIUS. Thanks, dear my lord. [Exit POLONIUS] O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder. Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will: My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;
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Study focus: Claudius – a tragic hero? Claudius's unexpected soliloquy is one of Shakespeare finest achievements; exploring a character utterly different from Hamlet's, we have here the germ from which Macbeth will develop. In a play already longer than anything he had produced before, Shakespeare does not have the scope to develop Claudius's ...
