Phạm Ngô Ánh Xuân Author/ story summary

Nguyễn Trung Hiếu Plot/ Setting

Trần Thị Minh Thư Theme/ characters

Figures of speech/ Literary
Đoàn Thị Kim Tài
devices
Lê Thị Kim Anh Point of view/ Literary devices

GROUP 16

Hamlet
The Period Time
In 1603, Elizabeth I died, and King James VI of Scotland succeeded him and
became King James I of England; At that time, the Earl of Southampton was
released and respected. Shakespeare reappeared with his troupe and was treated
well by the court.
Sometimes plays were written to praise and impress kings. When Shakespeare
composed historical plays, he had to make sure that the plays did not offend the
royal family. Therefore, he had to change time and historical events to create a
good image for the Tudor family - Queen Elizabeth I's family. James I did the
same thing with the family when he ascended the throne. Stuart.
THE AUTHOR: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare's birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23, although
there are no records of his birth. The closest researchers have is a baptismal
record from Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, dated April
26, 1564. His 38 plays were likely written between the late 1580s and 1613.
Marriage records show that 18-year-old William married 26-year-old Anne
Hathaway in November 1582. The following year, Anne gave birth to the first of
their children, Susanna. Twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585. Tragically,
Hamnet—Shakespeare's only son—died in 1596 at age 11. Critics such as
Edward Dowden and Samuel Taylor Coleridge believed that events in
Shakespeare's life influenced the writing of Hamlet. In particular, they point to
the deaths of his father in 1601 and of his son, whose name some intimate is an
alternate spelling of Hamlet. Whether Shakespeare's grief for his dead father and
son found an outlet in the writing of Hamlet, one pivotal piece of the drama is
very likely based on a historical incident. Claudius's poisoning of King Hamlet
by pouring a vial of "cursed hebona" into his ear and Hamlet's rewrite of The
Murder of Gonzago both echo the 1538 murder of Italy's Francesco Maria Della
Rovere, Duke of Urbino. Marquis Luigi Gonzaga, jealous of the duke's social
status, persuaded the duke's barber to kill his employer by dripping poison into
his ear. The dramatic nature of the crime helped the story spread throughout
Europe and years later gave Shakespeare inspiration for Hamlet's plot. Much of
Shakespeare's life was spent in either Stratford or London. His childhood, early
married life, and later years were centered in Stratford, but his theatrical life was
based in London. By 1592 he had established himself in London and found
success as both actor and playwright with the company Lord Strange's Men.
During the plague outbreaks that shut down many public theaters, Shakespeare
joined a new company, Lord Chamberlain's Men (later called the King's Men).
This company was one of two well-known London companies. The group
performed primarily at the Globe Theater—often for Queen Elizabeth I and later
for King James I. Eventually, Shakespeare would own a share of the theater and
would remain with both the company and the theater for the rest of his career.
Shakespeare died in April 1616. Some sources list the date as April 23, but
others consider that date a guess, romanticized by the idea that he was born and
died on the same day. More than four centuries later, his writing remains one of
literature's greatest influences—read, performed, referenced, and enjoyed by
people of all ages in countries all over the world.
SUMMARY OF Hamlet
On a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in
Denmark. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio,
the ghost resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius
has inherited the throne and married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. When
Horatio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead
king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaring ominously that it is indeed his
father’s spirit, and that he was murdered by none other than Claudius. Ordering
Hamlet to seek revenge on the man who usurped his throne and married his wife,
the ghost disappears with the dawn. Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging
his father’s death, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he
delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudius
and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attempt to discover
its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that
Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy
on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad,
he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares
that he wishes to ban marriages. A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore,
and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have the players
perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his
uncle to have murdered his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely
react. When the moment of the murder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up
and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet
goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. Since he believes that killing
Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet
considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and decides to wait. Claudius,
now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own safety, orders that
Hamlet be sent to England at once. Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose
bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind
the tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there. He draws his sword and
stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he is immediately
dispatched to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s
plan for Hamlet includes more than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of England demanding that Hamlet be
put to death.
In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in
the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, who has been staying in France, returns to
Denmark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his
father’s and sister’s deaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from
Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked
his ship en route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desire for
revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamlet in innocent
sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet
will die. As a backup plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will
give Hamlet to drink should Hamlet score the first or second hits of the match.
Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking
place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact
always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes one
must be prepared to die, since death can come at any moment. A foolish courtier
named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between
Hamlet and Laertes. The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but
declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a
drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in wounding
Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is
cut by his own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is
responsible for the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then
stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down
the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after
achieving his revenge. At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras,
who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters
with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family
lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the kingdom.
Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story.
Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen
soldier.
Setting
Denmark has a monarchy and is ruled by a king. It has just lost its king and
crowned a new one. Denmark is under threat from Norway, and the young Prince
Fortinbras wants revenge for his Father who died fighting Denmark. Ghosts and
the supernatural exist in this world, though characters are sometimes not sure of
them. Polonius is an advisor to the new king and his family live with him at
court, or nearby. Denmark is a religious state and there are a lot of references to
God and Christianity. Suicide is against their religion and they also believe that
anyone who asks for forgiveness from God can go to heaven when they die. The
whole play takes place at Elsinore Castle, where the king and queen of Denmark
live.
Plot
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover the world-shattering news
that, not only is his father (Old Hamlet) newly dead, but that his mother, Gertrude,
has married Old Hamlet's brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king.The
resultant instability has also led to threats of invasion by a solider from a
neighbouring state, Fortinbras. GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER Late one night, the
ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, accusing Claudius of his murder and
urging Hamlet to revenge. This sets in motion a train of events that destroys both
family and state.
 MADNESS
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz
and Guildernstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes
madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the
truth. Aided only by his most loyal companion, Horatio, he persuades a travelling
band of actors to re-enact the story of his father's murder in front of Claudius and
Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will be so stirred by remorse that he will confess
his crime. During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and
realises that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper,
believing it to be Claudius. Instead his discovers it is the King's adviser, Polonius,
father to both Ophelia and her brother, Laertes. Polonius dies. REVENGE Afraid
of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and despatched to
England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet
escapes, returns to his homeland and finally achieves his revenge. The
psychological effects of these upheavals on Hamlet lead to some of the greatest
soliloquies in the English language and take the audience deep into the mind of
Shakespeare's most famous protagonist. Stop reading now if you don't want to
know how it ends... Ophelia, having been violently rejected by Hamlet, hears that
her father has been murdered. She loses her mind and eventually drowns herself.
Her brother, Laertes, returns to court at the head of an angry mob, determined to
find out the truth. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is the only guilty party and
agrees to help Laertes gain revenge.
DEATH
On learning of Hamlet's escape and return to his homeland, Claudius convinces
Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match and advises Laertes on how to kill
Hamlet during the duel without arousing suspicion. As a back-up plan, Claudius
also poisons a glass of wine which he intends to offer to Hamlet. Gertrude,
however, drinks from the glass first and dies. During the duel, Hamlet is slightly
wounded by Laertes, who has tipped his sword with a deadly poison. In the
ensuing tussle, the swords get switched and Hamlet wounds Laertes with the
poisoned one. Realising that he is about to die, and that Claudius has manipulated
the situation, Laertes confesses everything, forgives Hamlet and dies.
As the poison takes hold and he realises that he too is about to die, Hamlet finally
carries through his dead father's wish for revenge. He forces Claudius to drink the
remaining poisoned wine, which quickly takes effect. With his dying breath,
Hamlet asks Horatio to ensure that his story is told accurately. Young Fortinbras
arrives at the head of his army, ready to assume control of a state whose royal
family has been destroyed by betrayal, murder and revenge.
Characterized:
Hamlet
The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the protagonist. About thirty years
old at the start of the play, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King
Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy,
bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle’s scheming and disgust for his
mother’s sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful young man who has studied at the
University of Wittenberg, Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other
times prone to rash and impulsive acts. Claudius The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s
uncle, and the play’s antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating,
ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power, but he
occasionally shows signs of guilt and human feeling—his love for Gertrude, for
instance, seems sincere.
The Ghost
The specter of Hamlet’s recently deceased father. The Ghost, who claims to have
been murdered by Claudius, calls upon Hamlet to avenge him. However, it is not
entirely certain whether the Ghost is what it appears to be, or whether it is
something else. Hamlet speculates that the Ghost might be a devil sent to deceive
him and tempt him into murder, and the question of what the Ghost is or where it
comes from is never definitively resolved.
Horatio
Hamlet’s close friend, who studied with the prince at the university in Wittenberg.
Horatio is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play. After Hamlet’s death,
Horatio remains alive to tell Hamlet’s story.
Fortinbras
The young Prince of Norway, whose father the king (also named Fortinbras) was
killed by Hamlet’s father (also named Hamlet). Now Fortinbras wishes to attack
Denmark to avenge his father’s honor, making him another foil for Prince Hamlet.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Two slightly bumbling courtiers, former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg, who
are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover the cause of Hamlet’s strange
behavior.
Osric
The foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with Laertes.
Voltimand and Cornelius
Courtiers whom Claudius sends to Norway to persuade the king to prevent
Fortinbras from attacking.
Marcellus and Bernardo
The officers who first see the ghost walking the ramparts of Elsinore and who
summon Horatio to witness it. Marcellus is present when Hamlet first encounters
the ghost.
Francisco
A soldier and guardsman at Elsinore.
Reynaldo
Polonius’s servant, who is sent to France by Polonius to check up on and spy on
Laertes.
THEME:
Mortality
Shakespeare's use of mortality as a major subject is not surprising for a play that is
frequently shown by the scene in which Hamlet is thinking about Yorick's skull in
the cemetery. The play's final scene features multiple deaths in addition to the
ghost of Hamlet's father, Hamlet's suicidal thoughts and Ophelia's suicide,
Hamlet's penchant for wearing black clothing (at least in the early scenes), the
players' portrayal of The Murder of Gonzago, the gravediggers, the grave, and the
funeral along with the skull.
However, in his presentation, what does Shakespeare say about mortality? He
primarily examines the idea as a component of the life cycle, considering it from
both a religious and secular perspectives.
Truth versus Deception
In Hamlet, the theme of truth versus deception—or, perhaps, reality versus
appearance—occurs frequently. The play's central theme is the dishonest means by
which Claudius ascended to power. This issue is explored in great detail
throughout. Additionally, it is developed in more subtle ways; for example,
Polonius's willingness to disseminate falsehoods about Laertes in order to learn
more about his actions in France provides insight into the nature of Polonius's
connections with his kids.

The drama features a number of deceit-loving characters (Polonius, Claudius), as

well as a number of scenarios where lying leads to tragic consequences (Polonius's
death when he tries to listen in on Gertrude and Hamlet).

Every scene and act contain examples, such as:

The presence of the ghost—as a witness to the truth, or as a figment of Hamlet's
imagination
The presence of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—and their true mission—in
Elsinore
Claudius's motivation in bringing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Elsinore
Claudius's very existence
The company of players
Hamlet putting on an "antic disposition"
Thought versus Action
A life of thought versus a life of action is a theme woven throughout the play.
Although Hamlet seems like a man of thought through much of the play, by the
end he finds balance between the two. This suggests that Shakespeare's final idea
on the topic is that the best approach to life strikes a balance between thought and
action.

From the outset, both Laertes and Fortinbras are foils for Hamlet. Whereas Hamlet
initially thinks deeply before any action, Fortinbras seems prone to action before
thought. Laertes, like Fortinbras, wants to take immediate steps to avenge his
father's death and has none of the doubt that causes Hamlet to delay his revenge
against Claudius.

Madness
The issue of lunacy is examined in Hamlet, especially in relation to Hamlet,
Ophelia, and maybe Claudius (assuming that egomania is a sort of madness). It's
interesting to note that madness and truth versus deception go hand in hand
because the play leaves the audience wondering if Hamlet's lunacy is genuine or
fake.
Revenge
Revenge is a prominent theme in Hamlet and a catalyst to many events in the plot.
Several characters seek revenge:
The ghost of Hamlet's father wants Hamlet to avenge his death.
Laertes wants to avenge both Polonius's and Ophelia's deaths.
Fortinbras wants revenge for his father's death and for military losses.
Of the characters prominently involved in vengeful action, Fortinbras is the only
one who does not die as a direct result. It might be said that Hamlet's death was
less a result of his own action (or attempted action) and unavoidable because
Claudius and his need to protect his position was the force behind that string of
events. It could be argued that Claudius's actions might have resulted in Hamlet's
demise regardless of whatever Hamlet decides to do about the ghost's entreaty.

Both Hamlet and Fortinbras grow in spite of—or perhaps because of—the vengeful
actions they undertake or attempt to undertake. The same might not be said about
Laertes, however, unless the last-minute wisdom by which he asks for and extends
forgiveness counts. And, ultimately, with the carnage of the final scene so
poignant, Shakespeare could be making a case for the uselessness of revenge, but
that could also be a 21st-century viewpoint overlaid on a 17th-century drama.
Point of view
More than any other play by Shakespeare, Hamlet focuses on the point of view of a
single character: Hamlet himself, which makes him sympathetic even as he
commits unsympathetic acts. Hamlet has more lines than any other character in
Shakespeare, and nearly 40% of the lines in his play—the highest proportion of
lines Shakespeare ever gave to a single character. Hamlet’s speeches are also
exceptionally revealing: he discusses his thoughts and feelings about profound
questions like the meaning of life, the possibility of an afterlife, familial and sexual
love, suicide, religion, and suffering. Despite his many flaws—recklessness,
cruelty, indecisiveness, misogyny—Hamlet has remained an enduringly popular
and fascinating character because Shakespeare shows us so much of his inner life
that we cannot help but sympathize with him. Hamlet reveals his mental state to
the audience throughout the play, so the audience remains close to him and
understands his motivations from beginning to end. Rather than becoming
estranged from the audience as he becomes estranged from himself, like Macbeth,
Hamlet continues to question himself and his actions up until his death.

Figures of speech used in Hamlet

- Simile: He says, "My father's brother, but no more like my father / Than I to
Hercules." He is saying that Claudius is no more like King Hamlet than Hamlet is like
Hercules.

- Metaphor: He says, "'Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; things rank and
gross in nature possess it merely." - Personification: Horatio describes the dawn with
the words, "the morn, in russet mantle clad, / Walks o'er the dew of you high eastern
hill." Clearly, the rising sun and the morning cannot wear a coat or actually, walk --
but the line describes the color and the movement of the sun at early dawn. -
Symbolism: In Ophelia's display of crazy behavior in Act 4 she hands out various
flowers to Claudius, Gertrude and her brother. In her speech to tells each receiver
what each flower symbolizes. For examples she gives Laertes pansies and says "that
for thoughts." Pansies were used a symbol of remembrance in the time of
Shakespeare. She hands Claudius the flower rue and tells him it is called "herb of
grace o' Sundays." Rue was a flower associated with repentance that could achieved
through Grace with reconcillation.

- Metonymy: In Act 3, after the "get thee to a nunnery scene," Ophelia comments
and Hamlet changed behavior and thinks he has truly lost his mind. She states "O,
what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! / The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's eye, tongue,
sword ... [is] quite down." She names three aspects of Hamlet's character and then
references three things associated with those descriptions -- Hamlet is a soldier
(reference to the sword); Hamlet is a courtier (reference to the tongue); Hamlet is a
scholar (reference to the eye).

Also -- all references to the throne are not referring the chair, but the King of
Denmark who is associated with the throne.

- Allusion: In Act 1, Horatio is comparing the arrival of the ghost to some of the
omens that occurred before the assassination of Julius Caesar "in the palmy state of
Rome."

Literary devices
Metaphor
Metaphor is a direct comparison to show a certain similarity. Hamlet’s speeches
are full of such metaphors. He sees this world as “an unweeded garden.” He says,
“the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country whose bourn no
traveller returns.”
Simile
The simile is a comparison which is made by using the words “like” or “as.”
Hamlet in a mournful state complains of his mother who “Like Niobe, all tears”
followed his father’s body after his death but married so soon after that.
Alliteration
It is a very common literary device where the same sound or words are repeated
and it enhances the rhythm of the sentences and adds a phonetic quality to it. The
whole play is full of it. “Bare bodkin”, “single spies”, “bad begins” and “O, ‘tis too
true” are a few examples of many.
Anaphora and Repetition
It is the repetition of the same word at the beginning of each phrase. It helps the
speaker to emphasise a certain aspect. When Polonius reads Hamlet’s letter to the
king and the queen, it is anaphoric in nature.
Anadiplosis
It is a literary device rarely used. It is when a phrase ends with a word and the next
phrase begins with it too. Hamlet employs it in his dialogues many times, for
example, “to die, to sleep; to sleep; perchance to dream.”
Irony
Dramatic Irony is one major device used across the play to engage the readers with
its development. Like the Ghost has revealed the reality to Hamlet but it isn’t
known to Claudius or Gertrude or any other major characters.
Allusion
It is when some distant idea, event or place or something is referred to in the text.
Shakespeare alludes from a rich variety in this play. Mostly from Greek and
Roman myths such as “the mightiest Julius”, “Like Niobe, all tears”, “Hyperion to
a satyr”, “Than I to Hercules.”