Scene 1:
The scene starts off with Claudius and Gertrude talking about Hamlets spout into madness and find out that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot find out why Hamlet is so melancholy, However they do tell that hamlet is very excited about the player and Claudius and Gertrude agree to see the play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then leave and Claudius asks Gertrude to leave and she exits as well. we find out that him and Polonius want to spy on hamlets confrontation with Ophelia, they both hear hamlets footsteps and hide. We then get the most famous soliloquy in the play where hamlet contemplates suicide and life or death
“To be, or not to be? That is the question— Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—No more—and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. There’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life.For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.—Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia!—Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remembered”
Ophelia then comes back and says that she is deeply sorry and wants to get back with him back hamlet replies by saying that he doesn’t love her anymore and for her sake she should go to a nunnery or brothel because she isn’t going to find a better man out in the world because they are only after one thing (Sex).
Polonius and the king then come out and work that Hamlets madness is not caused by his love of Ophelia, Claudius then has the idea of sending hamlet to England to get away from all his problem with the loss of his father and him becoming his new father. Polonius agrees to the idea but still believes that he loves Ophelia and the scene ends.
Scene 2:
The scene starts off with an unhappy hamlet having an argument with the players who are about to act out his father’s murder, he uses points like the players constant overacting and Shakespeare also gets though a couple of clever acting styles and traits that bother him like when the actors change lines. He then tells Horatio the actual plan of recreating his father’s death in the form off a play which will be shown in front of the king and queen and friends. as people arrive to the play it is seen that hamlet goes back into madness and insulting various people along the way including the players yet again by telling them to hurry up “Bid the players make haste”
All the characters then enter and everybody takes their seats, Hamlet strangely ask if he can sit on Ophelia lap which due to the events of act 3 scene 1 seems to contradict itself as he basically told her to go and to leave and go to a brothel or nunnery. as the play keeps on going the king and queen both become more and more concerned to the point where Claudius leaves when the poison is poured into the actor playing hamlets father. Hamlet tells Horatio that the ghost was telling the truth and that his uncle did kill his father. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and request hamlets presence in front of he queen and the scene ends.
Scene 3:
The scene starts off with the king, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talking about the play and the kings plans to send him away from Denmark, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leave and the king starts praying presenting the chance for Hamlet to kill him but he doesn’t go through with it because he is praying and he doesn’t want to kill a man while he is praying because he thinks it is morally wrong, he puts the sword away and leaves. End of scene
Scene: 4
The scene starts off with Polonius and Gertrude awaiting Hamlet arrival in the Gertrude chamber. Polonius reveals to us that his plan is to hide behind the curtain to examine Hamlet insanity and threatening behaviour. Polonius urges the queen to be as harsh as possible with hamlet to get the real behaviour out of him, the queen agrees and Polonius hides behind the curtain
Hamlet enters the room and is immediately rude by asking why she sent for him in a offensive manner, the queen replies by saying that he has deeply offended his father which is replied by hamlet saying his father by marrying his uncle, his tone become more and more abusive until Gertrude cries out for her life and Polonius calls out for help, Hamlet suspects this could be Claudius and stabs the curtain which kills off Polonius in the process. hamlet then says “Nay, I know not: / Is it the king?”, the queen replies by saying what he just did was a rash and bloody deed. Hamlet replies by stating that it is almost as rash and bloody as murdering the king and marrying his brother. The queen at this point being understandably offended and shocked questions him on believing that she killed the king. After all this occurs the Ghost arrive once again to tell hamlet that he is going through this in the completely wrong way, after all his motive is to kill his uncle and he is shouting at the queen and killed Polonius which is not what he should be doing. Hamlet asks if the queen can see him and he says he can’t which leads to her believing once again that he is mad
Hamlet ends off by saying that he has to go to England to get away from this situation but will finish the job and kill the king and the scene ends with hamlet dragging Polonius out off the chamber.
React!