hamlet-data-sheet

APIB English Literature and Composition
Major Works Data Sheet
Title: __Hamlet, Prince of Denmark_
Author: __William Shakespeare_____
Date of Publication: __1600_________
Genre: __Drama__________________
Historical information about the period of publication:
Hamlet was written around the Elizabethan time- around the
reign of Henry VIII and when his wife Anne Boleyn had who
would become Elizabeth I. This was also in the time of
unsanitary living conditions, so the Bubonic Plague did course
through Europe some time before. This play was one that
came later in Shakespeare‟s life, after his children were born
and “the Lost Years” with Anne Hathaway, so it was probably
most of his experiences as well.
Biographical information about the author:
William Shakespeare is almost an elusive person in
history. Because he lived so long and there was so little
documentation of his life from that time period,
historians have only guessed at where he grew up, went
to school, and obtained his inspiration for his works. It
is recorded that he married Anne Hathaway and had
several children, one of which was a son named
Hamnet. Shakespeare emphatically rebuked the idea
that Hamlet was named after his son or vice versa.
Characteristics of the genre:
Shakespeare‟s tragedies all include some type of romance fused
with suspenseful obstacles that block the main character from
completing whatever task he or she must complete. Another
important aspect of his tragedies, and tragedies in general, is the
death of the characters that would keep the play or work from
resolving peacefully.
Plot summary:
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is well into his adulthood, and Claudius, Hamlet‟s uncle, has usurped his crown. Along with the late King
Hamlet‟s throne, Claudius has also taken his wife, Hamlet the Prince‟s mother. Obviously, this chain of events causes unrest in Young
Hamlet, so he prolongs his father‟s mourning time out of spite for the new King and Queen. One night, Horatio, Hamlet‟s friend, and
two guards of Elsinore witness the coming of a spirit that holds resemblance to the Late Hamlet. They bring Hamlet to see this vision,
and he follows after the ghost. Meanwhile, Laertes obtains permission from the king to return to Paris, so he says his goodbyes to his
father and his sister while warning his sister to stay away from Hamlet. Following his son, Polonius also warns Ophelia telling her to
no longer acknowledge Hamlet. Hamlet‟s encounter with the ghost leaves him yearning for revenge as he finds out that Claudius not
only took his mother and crown, but also his father‟s life. Later that night, the distraught Hamlet visits Ophelia in her room and,
completely disheveled, scares her into telling her father about the strange encounter. Polonius takes Hamlet‟s odd acts as a show of
love towards Ophelia, so with the King‟s help, he arranges a meeting between the two lovers. The King and Queen ask that
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old school friends of Hamlet‟s, keep an eye on him and his seeming madness. In Hamlet‟s,
Rosencrantz‟s, and Guildenstern‟s reunion, a troupe of Players come to Elsinore and Hamlet has them play “The Murder of Gonzago,”
a play very similar to Old Hamlet‟s murder. Hamlet and Ophelia meet and Ophelia returns his letters and tokens of love. He spurns her,
telling her to get herself “to a nunnery.” The King realizes it is not love making Hamlet act the way he does, and he begins to become
suspicious. Soon after is the play, and the dumb show is so much like Claudius‟ crime that he ends the festivities, scaring the players
out of Elsinore and affirming Hamlet‟s knowledge that Claudius is guilty. Gertrude calls Hamlet to her chamber where Polonius was
keeping guard, and thinking Claudius was behind a curtain, Hamlet kills Polonius. He then shows Gertrude the wrong she‟s committed.
Claudius, being scared for his life, sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern so the King of England may finish
him. On the way, Hamlet meets a captain of Fortinbras‟ who informs Hamlet of a coming invasion by the forces of Norway. Hamlet
returns to Denmark after his ship is attacked by pirates, where he finds that Ophelia has committed suicide and Laertes is in cohorts
with the king. Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel, which is actually a plan for the murder of Hamlet with a poisoned, uncovered sword
or a poisoned cup. While celebrating Hamlet‟s victory of two rounds, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup and dies. Hamlet mocks
Laertes, which causes Laertes to wound Hamlet with the poisoned sword. Hamlet and Laertes switch swords, and Hamlet wounds
Laertes. The sight of his dying mother stirs Hamlet to his revenge as he stabs and poisons Claudius. Horatio offers to kill himself as
well, but Hamlet begs Horatio to stay and clear Hamlet‟s name. He also says in his dying moments that Fortinbras should be king of
Denmark, so as Fortinbras‟ forces invade Elsinore, all of the royalty have perished, and Horatio is left to give Fortinbras Hamlet‟s
graces. An English ambassador bears news that the King‟s orders (really Hamlet‟s fake orders) have been performed, and that
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Thus ends another of Shakespeare‟s tragedies.

Major Works Data Sheet Page 2
Describe the author‟s style, include narrator/point of
view, metaphors/similes:
Shakespeare writes his plays in mostly iambic
pentameter and fits the dialogue in that rhythm.
Because his plays are poetry, the language is floral
and filled with comparisons and modifiers. The
dialect is Old English, which sometimes makes the
reading difficult to understand in addition to the
occasionally convoluted diction. The narratology of
the play is given through dialogue of the characters,
and each character presents its own bias to the
situation.
Examples that demonstrate the style (you need more than one
example):
Act IV Scene VII Lines 164-168
Queen: There is a willow grows askant the brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;
There with fantastic garlands did she make
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name…
Act III Scene III Lines 346-350
Hamlet: …
„Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business to as this day
Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother.
Quote
Memorable Quotes
Significance
Act I Scene III Lines 75-78
Polonius: Neither a borrower nor
a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and
friend,
And borrowing dulleth edge of
husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self
be true…
Act I Scene V 189-190
Hamlet: The time is out of joint:
O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it
right!
Act II Scene II Lines 238-239
Hamlet: Why, then, „tis none to
you; for there is nothing either
good or bad, but thinking makes
it so: to me it is a prison.
Act II Scene II Lines 554-557
Hamlet: …
As he is very potent with such
spirits,
Abuses me to damn me: I‟ll have
grounds
More relative than this: the play‟s
the thing
Wherein I‟ll catch the conscience
of the king.
Act III Scene I Line 56
Hamlet: To be, or not to be: that
is this question…
Many of Shakespeare‟s quotes became adages for the
English language, and this is one of them. As Polonius
tells Laertes how to keep friends, this is how a parent
might speak to his or her child today.
This couplet ends Act I after Hamlet has met the Ghost
of his father. Hamlet has made his mind that he will
seek revenge for his father.
While talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet
calls Denmark a prison, and thus this famous quote was
born. Hamlet claims that it is thinking that instills
judgment on a thing or person.
These lines end Act II. Hamlet has convinced himself he
will seek revenge and come up with a plan to affirm his
suspicions that Claudius did in fact kill his father.
This line is the opening to one of the most famous of
Shakespeare soliloquies. Hamlet contemplates whether
he would be better off dead or alive, and he entertains
the thought of suicide.

Major Works Data Sheet Page 3
Characters
Name Role in the story Significance Adjectives
Claudius
King of Denmark, late
Hamlet‟s murderer and
brother
He kills Hamlet the King, steals his crown,
and takes his wife. He is the reason Hamlet
the Prince undergoes all his sorrow.
Power-hungry, deceitful,
manipulative
Hamlet
Polonius
Horatio
Late Hamlet‟s son, Prince
of Denmark, and nephew
to King
Lord Chamberlain, Father
to Ophelia
Hamlet‟s best friend
He seeks revenge on Claudius for his
crimes while battling insanity and everyone
who has turned against him.
He is the first that Hamlet the Prince kills in
Hamlet‟s journey for revenge.
He serves as Hamlet‟s confidante.
Clever, indecisive,
conflicted
Loquacious, intrusive,
gullible
Loyal, kind, witty
Laertes
Ophelia‟s brother,
Polonius‟ son
He wants to avenge his father and take the
King‟s crown.
Vigilant, protective,
unrelenting
Voltimand
Cornelius
Messengers of the King
They disclose and send messages from and
to Norway.
Dutiful, prompt
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Friends of Hamlet‟s,
pawns of the King
They act as the King‟s thugs, completing
whatever tasks he asks of them.
Idiotic, untrustworthy,
indistinguishable
Osric
Courtier
Osric announces Laertes challenge to
Hamlet.
Naïve, pretentious, eager
Marcellus
Bernardo
Francisco
Officers and guards of
Elsinore
They are the first to see the Ghost of
Hamlet‟s father.
Alert, superstitious,
cautious
Reynaldo
Polonius‟ servant and
messenger
He keeps watch over Laertes while Laertes
is in France.
Obedient, watchful
Players
Acting troupe that
entertains at Elsinore
They play the piece that affirms Hamlet of
Claudius‟ guilt.
Subservient, talented,
experienced
Two Clowns
Grave diggers
They dig Ophelia‟s grave and jest with
Hamlet while he reminisces.
Crude, disrespectful,
menial
Fortinbras
Prince of Norway
He invades Denmark to revenge against the
late Hamlet.
Greedy, vindictive,
controlling
English
Ambassadors
Messengers for the
English King
They bring the news that Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are dead.
---
Gertrude
Queen, Wife to the Late
King, wife to the current
King, Hamlet‟s mother
She marries Claudius but wants the best for
her son. She is poisoned, evoking Hamlet‟s
revenge.
Fickle, remorseful, defiant
Ophelia
Polonius‟ daughter,
Hamlet‟s lover
She goes insane out of grief for her father‟s
death and kills herself.
Amorous, spurned,
controlled
Ghost
Spirit of Late Hamlet
It reveals the crimes of Claudius to Hamlet,
instilling the want of revenge in him.
Honest, vengeful, agitated
Extras
Multipurpose Characters
They fill in whatever information is
missing.
---

Major Works Data Sheet Page 4
Setting
Significance of the opening scene
Elsinore Palace in Denmark is the setting
for this work. Most scenes transpire in the
Grand Hall. Some happen in the
characters‟ bedrooms, and some happen
outside the walls of the palace. Because
Elsinore is more of a fortress, it is
referred to, mainly by Hamlet, as a prison
that one cannot escape. That is ironic
considering many characters in the play
died in or around it.
Symbols
The Spirit visiting the guards of Elsinore:
The opening scene of the Spirit visiting the guards is
important because it is a show of the growing unrest in
Elsinore for whatever reason.
Ophelia‟s madness and suicide:
One of Hamlet‟s ideas he must cope with throughout the
play is the generalization that women are weak and the
cause of corruption in men. This is ironic because Hamlet
is the one who corrupts and maddens Ophelia by killing
her father, which drives her to her suicide.
Hamlet‟s vision of the Ghost in his mother‟s chamber:
Because Hamlet is the only one who can see his father‟s
Ghost in this scene, it is evident that Hamlet is truly alone
in his quest for truth and justice.
The play opens with two guards from Elsinore
quarreling over the switch of shift. There is an
obvious tension coming from the two as they
exchange information about whether it was a “silent
watch.” Once one of the guards leaves, another
officer steps forth with Horatio, and as they converse,
the Ghost appears and scares the three of them. They
decide to take the information to Hamlet the Prince
so he may meet the Ghost. From this, the audience
knows the Ghost is real and that troubled times
disrupt the palace of Elsinore.
Significance of the ending/closing scene
So often in this play, Elsinore is referred to
as a prison, a trap. In the closing scene,
every scrap of Danish royalty perishes, and
those who were truly Danes never escaped
that prison of Elsinore. The final scene also
represented a Shakespearean tragedy as
every major character that had been
reluctant to act finally did and received their
deaths for it. Against the laws of nature, the
characters were to commit revenge for lives
taken out of greed, yet all who killed or
sinned drastically met their fateful end.
Works Cited
Meyer, Michael. Bedford Introduction to Literature, The. 7th ed.
ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. Print.
"WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE BIOGRAPHY." WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.
Possible Themes: Use 3 text examples for support. Document correctly.
What justifies revenge and how far must one go to seek it
Within the play, Hamlet battles constantly with himself as to when and how he may successfully instill revenge
against his uncle. In one scene, he has the opportunity to kill Claudius while he is praying, but Hamlet retreats under
the impression that Claudius‟ thoughts were heavenly and that would not be a suitable revenge for his father.
Do women truly embody frailty and weakness
As mentioned, one of Hamlet‟s most famous quotes accuses women of being “frail” as his mother married within
two months of his father‟s murder and Ophelia was made to rebuke him. In contrast, Ophelia dies as a solely
independent character, her thoughts free among her sorrows, and Gertrude is killed because of her obvious defiance
to Claudius‟ wishes for her to not drink from the cup. Therefore, when the women became their own people, that is
when Shakespeare disposed of them.