Hamlet

Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet's father, suddenly dies, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king.

A spirit who claims to be the ghost of Hamlet's father describes his murder at the hands of Claudius and demands that Hamlet avenge the killing. When the councilor Polonius learns from his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet has visited her in an apparently distracted state, Polonius attributes the prince's condition to lovesickness, and he sets a trap for Hamlet using Ophelia as bait.

To confirm Claudius's guilt, Hamlet arranges for a play that mimics the murder; Claudius’s reaction is that of a guilty man.  Hamlet, now free to act, mistakenly kills Polonius, thinking he is Claudius. Claudius sends Hamlet away as part of a deadly plot.

After Polonius's death, Ophelia goes mad and later drowns. Hamlet, who has returned safely to confront the king, agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, who secretly poisons his own rapier. At the match, Claudius prepares poisoned wine for Hamlet, which Gertrude unknowingly drinks; as she dies, she accuses Claudius, whom Hamlet kills.  Then first Laertes and then Hamlet die, both victims of Laertes's rapier.

Hamlet character map

Understanding and interpreting Hamlet

Insider's Guide: Hamlet
This video provides an introduction to the play's major characters and plot points.

Hamlet's Journey
Cast and crew from Folger Theatre's 2010 production of the play discuss the main character and his transformation.

Hamlet's Soliloquies
Soliloquies feature heavily in Hamlet as the troubled prince of Denmark examines himself and works through a plan to take his revenge. Learn about these famous speeches.

How Catholic and Protestant beliefs affect Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s ghost
When Hamlet first encounters his father’s ghost, the Danish prince’s reactions reflect Shakespeare’s understanding of the theological differences between early modern Catholics and Protestants regarding the spiritual realm.

Hamlet in performance: Notable actors and productions

The ABCs of Performing Hamlet
Explore how Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Michael Redgrave, Jonathan Slinger, Richard Burton, and many others have portrayed one of Shakespeare’s most memorable and mercurial characters.

Derek Jacobi: Playing Hamlet
Renowned actor Derek Jacobi talks about the Shakespearean role for which he is best known, Hamlet.

The Globe to Globe Hamlet Tour
In 2014, Shakespeare’s Globe in London sent a group of actors on a two-year tour to perform Hamlet all around the world.

Hamlet 360: Virtual Reality Shakespeare
Hear the behind-the-scenes story of Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit, an hour-long virtual reality adaptation of Shakespeare’s play that puts the viewer in the center of Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Hamlet wasn't always the prince with the common touch
Today we might assume that every Hamlet will be colloquial, familiar, and down to earth. But this approach to the role was a break with convention in the 1860s.

Theater history: Portraits in Hamlet
In staging the confrontation between Hamlet and Gertrude, directorial choices significantly affect what audiences see when Hamlet says, "Look here upon this picture, and on this."

Ophelia

Ophelia in 19th-century English art
Explore the evolution of artistic ideas about the character of Ophelia.

Ophelia and Madness
This short, educational video explores Ophelia's madness.

Lisa Klein on 'Ophelia'
Lisa Klein’s YA novel, now a movie starring Daisy Ridley, approaches the events of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view.

Adaptations

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Read dramaturg Michele Osherow's notes on the 2015 Folger Theatre production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which retells Hamlet from the perspective of two minor characters.

Gravedigger's Tale
In 2016 the Folger commissioned an interactive one-man play called Gravedigger’s Tale, in which the character of the Gravedigger answers questions from the audience using lines from Shakespeare's text.

Famous quotes

Each quote is followed by the character who's speaking and the act, scene, and line number. Read the quote in context on the Folger Shakespeare site.

O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt… (Hamlet —1.2.133)

…frailty, thy name is woman! (Hamlet — 1.2.150)

In my mind’s eye (Hamlet —1.2.193)

This above all: to thine own self be true (Polonius —1.3.84)

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Marcellus —1.4.100)

…brevity is the soul of wit (Polonius —2.2.97)

Though this be madness, yet there is method in ‘t. (Polonius —2.2.223-24)

What a piece of work is a man… (Hamlet —2.2.327)

The play’s the thing (Hamlet—2.2.633)

To be or not to be—that is the question (Hamlet—3.1.64)

Suit the action to the word, the word to the action (Hamlet—3.2.18-19)

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. (Queen—3.2.254)

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio (Hamlet—5.1.190-91)

Sweets to the sweet (Gertrude—5.1.2)

Not a mouse stirring. (Francisco—1.1.11)

A little more than kin and less than kind (Hamlet—1.2.67)

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Hamlet—1.5.187)

The time is out of joint. (Hamlet—1.5.210)

…there is nothing either good or bad but thinking
makes it so (Hamlet—2.2.268)

There’s a divinity that shapes our ends. (Hamlet—5.2.11)

There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. (Hamlet—5.2.232)

The readiness is all. (Hamlet—5.2.236)