Hamlet Analysis Essay

Ghost appears and then leaves Horatio decides to tell Hamlet about the ghost He tells Hamlet about the ghost Hamlet decides that he wants to see the ghost Hamlet sees the ghost Hamlet follows the ghost Ghost tells Hamlet about his death Hamlet decides to get more information / prove what the ghost was saying before doing anything about it Hamlet swears his friends to secrecy about what the ghost said and about his plans to act crazy in order to get more information Offstage trigger – Hamlet acting crazy with Ophelia) Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet has gone crazy Polonius concludes that this is because Hamlet loves Ophelia Polonius decides to tell this reasoning to Claudius (side track 1– Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out what is afflicting Hamlet) Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet is crazy because of Ophelia Polonius speaks to Hamlet and decides to plan a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia (side track 1 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak with Hamlet and tell him of the players) side track 1 – Hamlet decides to use the players to weed out the truth from Claudius) (side track 1 – Hamlet asks Polonius to have the Claudius and Gertrude watch the play) Hamlet meets Ophelia while Claudius and Polonius hide and listen Hamlet says he doesn’t love Ophelia Polonius and Claudius decide there must be another reason for Hamlet’s madness and plan to figure out what it is by watching him (side track 1 – Hamlet speaks with the players to make sure everything is going to go exactly the way he has planned it) side track 1 – Hamlet asks Horatio to watch the king during the play) (side track 2 – the players enact the Murder of Gonzago) (side track 2 – Hamlet comments on the play) (side track 2a – Claudius rises and leaves mid-play, very upset, along with Gertrude , who is also upset) (side tracks 1 & 2a converge – Hamlet and Horatio decide that because of Claudius’ reaction to the play, the ghost was telling the truth) (side track 1 – Hamlet decides to take violent action) (side track 2b – Gertrude asks to speak with Hamlet) side track 2b – Hamlet agrees to speak with Gertrude, and sends Polonius to tell her so) (side track 2c – Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because he is becoming a danger) Polonius decides to hide and listen to Hamlet and Gertrude (side track 2b – Hamlet is on his way to speak to Gertrude and sees Claudius ‘praying’) (side track 2b – Hamlet decides not to kill him then because he would go to heaven) (side track 2b – Hamlet decides to go on and talk to Gertrude) Polonius hides when Hamlet enters side track 2b – Hamlet speaks with Gertrude, then hears a noise) Polonius makes a noise Main thread and side tracks 1 & 2b converge – Hamlet stabs Polonius an d kills him Hamlet takes Polonius’ body Gertrude tells Claudius about Hamlet’s actions Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find where Hamlet put Polonius’ body Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk to Hamlet and bring him back to talk with Claudius Main thread and side track 2c converge – Claudius talks with Hamlet and officially sends him to England (to be killed) side track 3 – Fortinbras is passing through Denmark and speaks to Hamlet) (side track 3a – Hamlet decides that he is not giving up – ‘my thoughts be bloody†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢) (side track 4 – Ophelia has gone crazy) (side track 5 – Laertes gets back, learns of Polonius’ death, and blames Claudius) (side track 5 – Laertes confronts Claudius) (side track 5 – Claudius tells Laertes that Polonius’ death was not his doing) Offstage trigger – pirates attack Hamlet’s ship Offstage trigger – pirates take Hamlet prisoner and return him to England Main thread and side track 3a converge – Horatio hears news of Hamlet’s return (side track 5 – Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet was the cause of Polonius’ death) (side track 5 – Claudius tells Laertes that he has a plan to kill Hamlet) (side track 5 – Laertes asks to be the instrument of Hamlet’s death) (side track 5 – Claudius plans for Laertes and Hamlet to duel, Laertes with a poison- tipped sword, and adding a poisoned drink, just in case, to ensure Hamlet’s death) (side track 4 – Gertrude says that Ophelia has drowned herself) Main thread and side track 4 converge – Horatio and Hamlet meet in the graveyard and learn of Ophelia’s death, and see Laertes jumping into the grave Hamlet also jumps into the grave and accuses Laertes of putting on a show of emotion Hamlet and Laertes scuffle then are pulled apart Hamlet feels bad for accusing Laertes the way he did and scuffling with him Hamlet agrees to do whatever Laertes wishes of him (side track 5 – Osric come to tell Hamlet of the proposed duel between him and Laertes) Main thread and side track 5 converge – Hamlet agrees to duel Laertes Hamlet and Laertes begin to duel Claudius poisons a cup and plans to offer it to Hamlet Hamlet refuses the cup and continues dueling (side track 6 – to cheer on Hamlet, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup) Hamlet gets scratched by the poisoned rapier Hamlet and Laertes scuffle and switch rapiers Laertes gets scratched by the poisoned rapier (side track 6 – Gertrude dies) Main thread and side track 6 converge – Laertes says that Claudius poisoned the cup, and that the rapier-tip was poisoned, then he dies Hamlet realizes that he is dying and that he now has the excuse to kill Claudius Hamlet stabs Claudius and makes him drink of the cup Claudius dies Hamlet entreats Horatio to tell the story of their deaths, then dies (side track 3b – Fortinbras is returning through Denmark and happens upon the scene) main thread and side track 3b converge – Horatio plans to tell Fortinbras et. al. the story of what happened, and Fortinbras plans to take his claim over the country Part II: Events Tracked Backward for Hamlet†¦ Hamlet†¦ Stops Horatio from drinking the poisoned cup Tells Horatio to be the messenger – to tell everyone his story Kills Claudius Scratches, and therefore kills Laertes with the poisoned rapier Gets scratched by Laertes with the poisoned rapier Taunts Laertes at the moment when Laertes is considering not killing him And Laertes begin the gentlemen’s duel Agrees to duel Laertes Resolves that whatever will be will be, and feels bad for Laertes Insults Laertes in Ophelia’s grave Jumps into Ophelia’s grave Talks to Horatio about death Sees the grave diggers Returns from the ship bound for England Ship gets attacked by pirates Leaving for England, but is not going to give up Banished by Claudius Hides Polonius’ body Kills Polonius Talks with Gertrude Decides not to kill Claudius while he is praying (appears to be praying) Agrees to talk with Gertrude Accuses Guildenstern of playing him like a recorder Discusses Claudius’ reaction to the play with Horatio Adds commentary to the play Flirts with Ophelia Asks Horatio to mark how Claudius reacts to the play Tells the players to act exactly as he has instructed them Tells Ophelia to ‘get to a nunnery’ and says that he doesn’t love her Decides to use the players to get the truth from Claudius about his father’s murder Hears of the players from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (offstage? acts crazy toward Ophelia to the point of frightening her Swears his friends to secrecy about the ghost and the way he is going to act Plans to learn whether the ghost was telling the truth, or just a demon playing games Learns from the ghost that he was murdered Speaks to the ghost Follows the ghost Sees the ghost Hears of the ghost Part III: Stasis, Intrusion, New Stasis†¦ Stasis: Claudius has married Gertrude and become king after his brother, the previous king, died. Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the previous king, is still upset about his father’s death. Intrusion: The appearance of the ghost New Stasis: The majority of the characters are dead, and Horatio is asked to tell their story as Fortinbras becomes the new king Part IV: Dramatic Conflict for Hamlet and Claudius†¦ Hamlet ~ Individual versus self: Hamlet gets down on himself for not being able to take immediate action or to react as strongly / emotionally as characters like the player and Fortinbras. Individual versus others / individuals: Hamlet has obvious conflict with Claudius, who he believes killed his father. He also has some physical ‘conflict’ with Laertes. Individual versus society: Hamlet cannot simply kill Claudius because he has to consider how society would react to that if they did not know what Claudius had done initially. Individual versus the universe / nature / fate It becomes Hamlet’s duty to avenge his father’s death. Claudius ~ Individual versus self: Claudius appears to show guilt about murdering his brother (shown when he wishes to pray but is unable to) Individual versus others / individuals: Claudius’s first conflict with an individual was before the play started, and that was with his brother, the king. Once he ‘won’ that conflict, his new conflict became the one between himself and Hamlet Jr. He was afraid that Hamlet knew too much and / or that he would try to take the throne back from him. Individual versus society: If the people in that society knew what Claudius had done, there would have been much more conflict between them and him, but as it was, their only real conflict was that Claudius couldn’t take Hamlet to them to be punished for Polonius’ death, essentially because they liked him too much. Individual versus the universe / nature / fate