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his old college friends, whom he
now distrusts. Instead, he focuses
on the arrival at court of traveling
players, and orders them to perform
a play in which a king is murdered
by his brother. Hamlet sees that
King Claudius is affected by the
play, and takes this as proof of guilt.
On his way to Gertrude’s
chamber, Hamlet overhears the
King in prayer, confessing to the
murder. Meanwhile, Polonius hides
behind an arras (a tapestry) in
Gertrude’s chamber to spy on
Hamlet. Hamlet berates his mother
for remarrying. Polonius calls for
help and Hamlet, believing the
voice to be the King’s, stabs at
the tapestry and kills Polonius.
The King punishes Hamlet
by sending him to England with
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with
the intention of having him killed
on arrival. On the journey, they
are attacked by pirates. Hamlet
escapes and returns to Denmark.
Laertes arrives in Elsinore and
demands vengeance for the murder
of Polonius. Grief-stricken by the
murder, Ophelia loses her mind
and drowns in a brook, spurring
on Laertes’s hatred for Hamlet.THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN
Horatio and Hamlet witness
Ophelia’s burial. Hamlet reveals
himself to the mourners and
challenges Laertes to a duel.
Laertes injures Hamlet with a
poisoned blade, after which he is
himself mortally wounded with
the same blade. Gertrude drinks
poisoned wine intended for Hamlet
and dies, causing Laertes to accuse
Claudius of murder. Hamlet stabs
the King and forces the remaining
poisoned wine down his throat
before himself dying in the arms of
Horatio. Fortinbras and his troops
arrive to take away the bodies. ❯❯Act 3 Act 4 Act 5
3.1
3.2 4.3 5.1
3.4 4.7 5.2
Polonius and
Claudius use
Ophelia to entrap
Hamlet so that they
can discover whether
he is in love with her.
Hamlet accuses
Ophelia of being
false, and orders her
to a nunnery.
While watching the
traveling troupe of
actors perform a play
in which a king is
killed by his brother,
Claudius betrays
signs of guilt.Hamlet is sent to
England to be killed.Hamlet returns to
Denmark, discovers the
skull of his father’s
jester, Yorick, and is
reminded of mortality.Polonius hides in Gertrude’s
chamber to eavesdrop on Hamlet.
Hamlet stabs at the curtain,
killing Polonius.After the king
agrees to help
Laertes kill Hamlet,
Gertrude
announces that
Ophelia
has drowned.Hamlet and Laertes are wounded
in a duel. Claudius offers Hamlet a
poisoned goblet of wine, out of which
Gertrude drinks. She dies.5.2
Hamlet stabs
Claudius and
force-feeds him the
remaining wine.
Hamlet then dies
and the bodies are
taken away by
Fortinbras.