Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’: Plot Analysis

Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare during a period of three years (1599-1601). The genre of this is tragedy and it consists of a total of five Acts. The play opens by Hamlet, the titular character grieving over the demise of his father, his mother named Gertrude becoming his uncle, Claudius’ wife within one month of her husband’s death and Hamlet is seen displeased with how facile his mother’s love was towards his father and how effortlessly she got hitched to his uncle, who was now king. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is seen in a state of continuous anguish and angst, especially after he meets the Ghost of his father who imparts the knowledge of him getting poisoned by Claudius and dictates him to avenge his death.

Hamlet is in a state of constant discomposure in the play which is driven by feelings of frustration, hatred, revenge, and discombobulation. He pulls off a charade of becoming a madman in mourning of his father’s death, to mislead and deceive his Uncle Claudius and other court men.

The characters of the play include Hamlet, the tragic hero, Gertrude and Claudius talked about above, Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, the main advisor to the king who is very conniving in nature. Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, on the other hand, is naïve and very maidenly in her mannerisms and thought processes. She commits suicide after Hamlet confesses to her that he does not love her and after knowing that he’s the murderer of her father. Horatio, Hamlet’s best friend from Wittenberg is a much-sorted man and also happens to be his confidante. Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, is very quick to action and is portrayed as a volatile man, ready to avenge his father’s murder of King Claudius. Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, is ready to take revenge on Hamlet because his father took the life of his father, the King of Norway. In the end, Fortinbras becomes the next king of Denmark.

 

Hamlet’s structure is quite a plain and simple one, with the story commencing linearly. The events occur in a seemingly chronological fashion, with a few flashbacks in which he is seen pondering over past happenings in retrospect. Barnet et al. (1988:744) said that “A plot should have a rising, a climax, and a falling action. Shakespeare sometimes used a pyramidal structure, placing his climax neatly in the middle of what seems to us be the third five acts. The plot begins with an exposition-an introduction to the situation and basis of conflict. Then, it continues through an event or series to climax, the highest point in the struggle.

Finally,  it ends with the resolution-a final comment on the situation” (Canavan and Brandon, 1990:154) Shakespeare has masterfully incorporated the technique of foreshadowing in which indications are being made as to what will happen next in the play, where needed. For example, Polonius getting stabbed in the back foreshadows the stabbing of Claudius. Likewise, the return of a Fortinbras as a victor foreshadows him ascending the throne. The drama portrays the internal and external conflict of the protagonist. The most evident of themes prevalent in the play is that of madness, betrayal, love, revenge, death, fickleness, and knavery of human relationships.

Madness, because Hamlet loses himself to, initially, an act of lunacy but then we see him drowning in the pits of mental discordancy in reality. Betrayal, because he thinks that Gertrude, his mother, is behind the murder of his father alongside his uncle. Love, because Hamlet confesses his love for Ophelia at her funeral, and Claudius is seen genuinely in love with Gertrude.

The climax of the play seems to be of exceeding importance because of the happenings that occur in it. Dramatic irony in the fifth and final Act of the play is pregnant with dramatic irony. The audience is fully aware of Laertes’ sword’s tip being poisoned, the wine that Hamlet is about to consume is poisoned too. Gertrude and Hamlet, however, seem to be incognizant about what is about to occur.

Even after winning two rounds and refusing to drink the wine, Hamlet gets hit by the poisoned sword and Gertrude drinks the spiked wine and dies. Laertes and Claudius are killed by Hamlet, Gertrude and Hamlet die because of being poisoned. The entire royalty of Denmark finishes before the eyes of the audience and that adds to the depth and pronounced drama of the play.

There are seven soliloquies in the play that adds value to the intimacy of the protagonist and the audience since Hamlet directly purges his secrets out in the open for only the audience to know about. Not even the characters in the play are aware of Hamlet’s thoughts, but the audience adds an intrinsic value of mystery and foreshadowing tragic developments. The famous lines, “To be, or not to be: that is the question!” and “I will speak daggers to her and use none.” are used in soliloquies by Hamlet.

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