In this video I’ll summarize the plot of Hamlet in about 4 minutes and give you an analysis of the story. Okay, let’s get started with the introduction.
Act I
Prince Hamlet of Denmark is in mourning after the sudden death of his father, King Hamlet. His mother, Queen Gertrude, has quickly remarried his uncle, Claudius, who has taken the throne. One night, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to guards at Elsinore Castle and later reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost demands revenge, and Hamlet swears to carry out justice, though he struggles with doubt and hesitation.
Act II
Hamlet begins to act erratically, leading others to believe he has gone mad. Claudius and Gertrude enlist Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him. Meanwhile, Polonius, the king’s advisor, believes Hamlet’s madness is due to his love for Ophelia, Polonius’s daughter. To test this theory, Ophelia is sent to interact with Hamlet, but he responds with cruelty, further confusing those around him. Hamlet hatches a plan to confirm Claudius’s guilt by staging a play that mirrors the murder of King Hamlet.
Act III
Hamlet’s plan succeeds when Claudius reacts with visible guilt to the staged play, confirming his role in the king’s murder. However, Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius while he is praying, fearing that doing so would send his uncle’s soul to heaven. Instead, he mistakenly kills Polonius, thinking he is Claudius, further unraveling the situation. Ophelia, devastated by her father’s death, descends into madness.
Act IV
Claudius, now fearing for his life, sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, secretly ordering his execution. Hamlet, however, escapes and returns to Denmark. Meanwhile, Ophelia drowns, presumably by suicide, and her brother, Laertes, seeks revenge against Hamlet. Claudius manipulates Laertes into dueling Hamlet, planning to use a poisoned sword and a poisoned drink to ensure Hamlet’s death.
Act V
At Ophelia’s funeral, Hamlet and Laertes confront each other in grief and anger. The duel takes place, but Claudius’s plan backfires—Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet and dies. Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned sword, but in the chaos, Hamlet also wounds Laertes. As Laertes dies, he exposes Claudius’s treachery. Hamlet then kills Claudius before succumbing to the poison himself. As the Danish royal family lies dead, Prince Fortinbras of Norway arrives to find the kingdom in ruins, and he takes control of Denmark.
Theme 1: Revenge
One of the central themes of Hamlet is the destructive nature of revenge. Hamlet’s pursuit of vengeance ultimately leads to the downfall of nearly every major character, including himself. The play questions whether revenge is ever truly justified and highlights the moral and psychological consequences of pursuing it. In the end, Hamlet’s hesitation contrasts with Laertes’s impulsive revenge, yet both paths lead to tragedy.
Theme 2: Madness and Uncertainty
The theme of madness—both real and feigned—runs throughout the play. Hamlet pretends to be mad to confuse his enemies, but as the story unfolds, it becomes unclear whether his madness is still an act or if he is truly losing his grip on reality. Ophelia, in contrast, descends into genuine madness following her father’s death. The play also explores uncertainty, as Hamlet struggles with doubt, the nature of death, and the reliability of those around him, reinforcing the idea that truth is often elusive.