The plot of the tragedy Hamlet. Interesting Facts. Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. The eternal questions raised in the text are still worrying mankind. Love conflicts, political themes, reflections on religion: all the main intentions of the human spirit are collected in this tragedy. Shakespeare's plays are both tragic and realistic, and images have long become eternal in world literature. Perhaps this is where their greatness lies.

The famous English author was not the first to write the story of Hamlet. Before him, there was the "Spanish Tragedy", written by Thomas Kidd. Researchers and literary scholars suggest that Shakespeare borrowed the plot from him. However, Thomas Kyd himself probably referred to earlier sources. Most likely, these were short stories of the early Middle Ages.

Saxo Grammatik in his book "History of the Danes" described the real story of the ruler of Jutland, who had a son named Amlet (Eng. Amlet) and wife Gerut. The ruler had a brother who was jealous of his wealth and decided to kill, and then married his wife. Amlet did not submit to the new ruler, and, having learned about the bloody murder of his father, decides to take revenge. The stories coincide down to the smallest detail, but Shakespeare interprets the events in a different way and penetrates deeper into the psychology of each character.

essence

Hamlet returns to his native castle of Elsinore for his father's funeral. From the soldiers who served at the court, he learns about a ghost that comes to them at night and resembles the deceased king in outline. Hamlet decides to go to a meeting with an unknown phenomenon, a further meeting terrifies him. The ghost reveals to him the true cause of his death and inclines his son to revenge. The Danish prince is confused and on the verge of insanity. He does not understand whether he really saw the spirit of his father, or did the devil come to him from the depths of hell?

The hero reflects on what happened for a long time and eventually decides to find out on his own whether Claudius is really guilty. To do this, he asks a troupe of actors to play the play "The Murder of Gonzago" to see the king's reaction. During a key moment in the play, Claudius becomes ill and leaves, at which point an ominous truth is revealed. All this time, Hamlet pretends to be crazy, and even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sent to him could not find out from him the true motives of his behavior. Hamlet intends to speak to the Queen in her quarters and accidentally kills Polonius, who has hidden behind a curtain to eavesdrop. He sees in this accident the manifestation of the will of heaven. Claudius understands the criticality of the situation and tries to send Hamlet to England, where he is to be executed. But this does not happen, and the dangerous nephew returns to the castle, where he kills his uncle and dies from poison himself. The kingdom passes into the hands of the Norwegian ruler Fortinbras.

Genre and direction

"Hamlet" is written in the genre of tragedy, but the "theatricality" of the work should be taken into account. Indeed, in the understanding of Shakespeare, the world is a stage, and life is a theater. This is a kind of specific attitude, a creative look at the phenomena surrounding a person.

Shakespeare's dramas are traditionally referred to. It is characterized by pessimism, gloominess and aestheticization of death. These features can be found in the work of the great English playwright.

Conflict

The main conflict in the play is divided into external and internal. Its external manifestation lies in Hamlet's attitude towards the inhabitants of the Danish court. He considers them all base creatures, devoid of reason, pride and dignity.

The internal conflict is very well expressed in the emotional experiences of the hero, his struggle with himself. Hamlet chooses between two behavioral types: new (Renaissance) and old (feudal). He is formed as a fighter, not wanting to perceive reality as it is. Shocked by the evil that surrounded him from all sides, the prince is going to fight him, despite all the difficulties.

Composition

The main compositional outline of the tragedy consists of a story about the fate of Hamlet. Each separate layer of the play serves to fully reveal his personality and is accompanied by constant changes in the thoughts and behavior of the hero. Events gradually unfold in such a way that the reader begins to feel a constant tension that does not stop even after the death of Hamlet.

The action can be divided into five parts:

1. First part - plot. Here Hamlet meets the ghost of his dead father, who bequeaths him to avenge his death. In this part, the prince first encounters human betrayal and meanness. This is where his mental anguish begins, which does not let him go until his death. Life becomes meaningless for him.
2. Second part - action development. The prince decides to pretend to be crazy in order to deceive Claudius and find out the truth about his act. He also accidentally kills the royal adviser - Polonius. At this moment, the realization comes to him that he is the executor of the highest will of heaven.
3. The third part - climax. Here Hamlet, with the help of the trick of showing the play, is finally convinced of the guilt of the ruling king. Claudius realizes how dangerous his nephew is and decides to get rid of him.
4. The fourth part - the Prince is sent to England to be executed there. At the same moment, Ophelia goes crazy and tragically dies.
5. Fifth part - denouement. Hamlet escapes execution, but he has to fight Laertes. In this part, all the main participants in the action die: Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet himself.

Main characters and their characteristics

• Hamlet- from the very beginning of the play, the reader's interest focuses on the personality of this character. This "book" boy, as Shakespeare himself wrote about him, suffers from the disease of the approaching age - melancholy. In essence, he is the first reflective hero of world literature. Someone might think that he is a weak, incapable person. But in fact, we see that he is strong in spirit and is not going to submit to the problems that have befallen him. His perception of the world is changing, particles of past illusions turn into dust. From this comes the very "Hamletism" - internal discord in the soul of the hero. By nature, he is a dreamer, a philosopher, but life forced him to become an avenger. The character of Hamlet can be called "Byronic", because he is maximally focused on his inner state and is rather skeptical about the world around him. He, like all romantics, is prone to constant self-doubt and tossing between good and evil.
• Gertrude mother of Hamlet. A woman in whom we see the makings of a mind, but a complete lack of will. She is not alone in her loss, but for some reason she does not try to get closer to her son at the moment when grief happened in the family. Without the slightest remorse, Gertrude betrays the memory of her late husband and agrees to marry his brother. Throughout the action, she constantly tries to justify herself. Dying, the queen realizes how wrong her behavior was, and how wise and fearless her son turned out to be.
• Ophelia Daughter of Polonius and beloved of Hamlet. A meek girl who loved the prince until her death. She also faced trials that she could not endure. Her madness is not a feigned move invented by someone. This is the same madness that comes at the moment of true suffering, it cannot be stopped. There are some hidden indications in the work that Ophelia was pregnant from Hamlet, and from this the realization of her fate becomes doubly difficult.
• Claudius- a man who killed his own brother in order to achieve his own goals. Hypocritical and vile, he still bears a heavy burden. Pangs of conscience daily devour him and do not allow him to fully enjoy the reign to which he came in such a terrible way.
• Rosencrantz And Guildenstern- the so-called "friends" of Hamlet, who betrayed him at the first opportunity to make good money. Without delay, they agree to deliver a message announcing the death of the prince. But fate has prepared for them a worthy punishment: as a result, they die instead of Hamlet.
• Horatio- an example of a true and faithful friend. The only person the prince can trust. Together they go through all the problems, and Horatio is ready to share even death with a friend. It is to him that Hamlet trusts to tell his story and asks him to "breathe more in this world."

Themes

1. Revenge of Hamlet. The prince was destined to bear the heavy burden of revenge. He cannot coldly and prudently deal with Claudius and regain the throne. His humanistic attitudes make you think about the common good. The hero feels his responsibility for those who suffered from the evil spread around. He sees that not only Claudius is to blame for the death of his father, but all of Denmark, which carelessly turned a blind eye to the circumstances of the death of the old king. He knows that in order to commit revenge, he needs to become an enemy to the entire environment. His ideal of reality does not coincide with the real picture of the world, the "shattered age" causes dislike in Hamlet. The prince realizes that he cannot restore the world alone. Such thoughts plunge him into even greater despair.
2. Love of Hamlet. Before all those terrible events in the life of the hero, there was love. But, unfortunately, she is unhappy. He was madly in love with Ophelia, and there is no doubt about the sincerity of his feelings. But the young man is forced to refuse happiness. After all, the offer to share sorrows together would be too selfish. To finally break the bond, he has to hurt and be merciless. Trying to save Ophelia, he could not even imagine how great her suffering would be. The impulse with which he rushes to her coffin was deeply sincere.
3. Friendship of Hamlet. The hero values ​​friendship very much and is not used to choosing his friends based on their position in society. His only true friend is the poor student Horatio. At the same time, the prince is contemptuous of betrayal, which is why he treats Rosencrantz and Guildenstern so cruelly.

Problems

The issues covered in Hamlet are very broad. Here are the themes of love and hate, the meaning of life and the purpose of a person in this world, strength and weakness, the right to revenge and murder.

One of the main - problem of choice faced by the protagonist. There is a lot of uncertainty in his soul, he alone thinks for a long time and analyzes everything that happens in his life. There is no one next to Hamlet who could help him make a decision. Therefore, he is guided only by his own moral principles and personal experience. His consciousness is divided into two halves. In one lives a philosopher and humanist, and in the other, a man who understood the essence of a rotten world.

His key monologue "To be or not to be" reflects all the pain in the hero's soul, the tragedy of thought. This incredible internal struggle exhausts Hamlet, imposes thoughts of suicide on him, but he is stopped by his unwillingness to commit another sin. He began to worry more and more about the topic of death and its mystery. What's next? Eternal darkness or the continuation of the suffering that he endures during his lifetime?

Meaning

The main idea of ​​tragedy is the search for the meaning of being. Shakespeare shows an educated person, always searching, having a deep sense of empathy for everything that surrounds him. But life forces him to face true evil in various manifestations. Hamlet is aware of it, trying to figure out exactly how it arose and why. He is shocked by the fact that one place can turn into hell on Earth so quickly. And the act of his revenge is to destroy the evil that has penetrated his world.

The fundamental idea in the tragedy is that behind all these royal showdowns there is a great turning point in the whole of European culture. And at the tip of this turning point, Hamlet appears - a new type of hero. Together with the death of all the main characters, the system of worldview that has developed over the centuries collapses.

Criticism

Belinsky in 1837 writes an article on Hamlet, in which he calls the tragedy a "brilliant diamond" in the "radiant crown of the king of dramatic poets", "crowned by the whole of humanity and neither before nor after himself has no rival."

In the image of Hamlet, there are all the universal features "<…>it’s me, it’s each of us, more or less…,” Belinsky writes about him.

S. T. Coleridge, in Shakespeare's Lectures (1811-1812), writes: "Hamlet hesitates because of natural sensitivity and lingers, held by reason, which makes him turn effective forces in search of a speculative solution."

Psychologist L.S. Vygotsky focused on the connection of Hamlet with the other world: "Hamlet is a mystic, this determines not only his state of mind on the threshold of a double existence, two worlds, but also his will in all its manifestations."

And the literary critic V.K. Kantor considered the tragedy from a different angle and in his article “Hamlet as a “Christian warrior”” he pointed out: “The tragedy “Hamlet” is a system of temptations. He is tempted by a ghost (this is the main temptation), and the task of the prince is to check whether the devil is trying to lead him into sin. Hence the trap theatre. But at the same time, he is tempted by love for Ophelia. Temptation is a constant Christian problem."

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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Square in front of the castle in Elsinore, On guard Marcellus and Bernard, Danish officers. They are later joined by Horatio, a learned friend of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He came to ascertain the story of a nighttime appearance of a ghost, similar to the Danish king, who had recently died. Horatio is inclined to consider this a fantasy. Midnight. And a formidable ghost in full military garb appears. Horatio is shocked, he tries to talk to him. Horatio, reflecting on what he saw, considers the appearance of a ghost a sign of "some unrest for the state." He decides to tell about the night vision to Prince Hamlet, who interrupted his studies at Wittenberg due to the sudden death of his father. Hamlet's grief is aggravated by the fact that soon after the death of his father, his mother married his brother. She, "not wearing out the shoes in which she walked behind the coffin," threw herself into the arms of an unworthy man, "a dense clot of meat." Hamlet's soul shuddered: "How tiresome, dull and unnecessary, / It seems to me, everything that is in the world! O abomination!"

Horatio told Hamlet about the night ghost. Hamlet does not hesitate: "Hamlet's spirit is in arms! It's bad; / Here something is hidden. It would be night soon! / Be patient, soul; evil will be exposed, / Even if it leaves the eyes in the underground darkness."

The ghost of Hamlet's father told of a terrible atrocity.

When the king was resting peacefully in the garden, his brother poured deadly henbane juice into his ear. "So in a dream from a fraternal hand I lost my life, crown and queen." The ghost asks Hamlet to avenge him. "Farewell, farewell. And remember me" - with these words, the ghost is removed.

The world has turned upside down for Hamlet... He vows to avenge his father. He asks his friends to keep this meeting a secret and not be surprised by the strangeness of his behavior.

Meanwhile, the king's close nobleman Polonius sends his son Laertes to study in Paris. He gives his fraternal instructions to his sister Ophelia, and we learn about the feeling of Hamlet, from which Laertes warns Ophelia: "He is a subject at his birth; / He does not cut his own piece, / Like others; from his choice / The life and health of the whole state depend."

His words are confirmed by his father - Polonius. He forbids her to spend time with Hamlet. Ophelia tells her father that Prince Hamlet came to her and he seemed to be out of his mind. Taking her by the hand, "he let out a sigh so mournful and deep, / As if his whole chest was broken and life was extinguished." Polonius decides that Hamlet's strange behavior in the last days is due to the fact that he is "mad with love." He is going to tell the king about it.

The king, whose conscience is weighed down by the murder, is troubled by Hamlet's behavior. What lies behind it - madness? Or what else? He summons Rosencrantz and Guildestern, former friends of Hamlet, and asks them to find out his secret from the prince. For this, he promises "royal mercy." Polonius arrives and suggests that Hamlet's madness is caused by love. In support of his words, he shows Hamlet's letter, which he took from Ophelia. Polonius promises to send his daughter to the gallery, where Hamlet often walks, to ascertain his feelings.

Rosencrantz and Guildestern unsuccessfully try to find out the secret of Prince Hamlet. Hamlet realizes that they were sent by the king.

Hamlet learns that the actors have arrived, the tragedians of the capital, who he liked so much before, and the thought occurs to him: to use the actors in order to make sure that the king is guilty. He agrees with the actors that they will play a play about the death of Priam, and he will insert two or three verses of his composition there. The actors agree. Hamlet asks the first actor to read a monologue about the murder of Priam. The actor reads brilliantly. Hamlet is excited. Entrusting the actors to the cares of Polonius, he thinks alone. He must know exactly about the crime: "The spectacle is a noose to lasso the conscience of the king."

The King questions Rosencrantz and Guildestern about the progress of their mission. They confess that they were unable to find out anything: "He does not allow himself to be questioned / And with the cunning of madness he slips away ..."

They also report to the king that wandering actors have arrived, and Hamlet invites the king and queen to the performance.

Hamlet walks alone and meditates his famous monologue: "To be or not to be - that is the question..." Why do we cling to life so much? In which "the mockery of the century, the oppression of the strong, the mockery of the proud." And he himself answers his own question: "The fear of something after death - / An unknown land from which there is no return / To earthly wanderers" - confuses the will.

Polonius sends Ophelia to Hamlet. Hamlet quickly realizes that their conversation is being overheard and that Ophelia has come at the instigation of the king and father. And he plays the role of a madman, gives her advice to go to the monastery. Straight-hearted Ophelia is killed by Hamlet's speeches: "Oh, what a proud mind is smitten! Grandees, / A fighter, a scientist - a look, a sword, a tongue; / The color and hope of a joyful state, / A stamp of grace, a mirror of taste, / An example of exemplary - fell, fell to the end!" The king makes sure that love is not the cause of the prince's frustration. Hamlet asks Horatio to watch the king during the play. The show starts. Hamlet comments on it as the play progresses. He accompanies the poisoning scene with the words: "He poisons him in the garden for the sake of his power. / His name is Gonzago<...>Now you will see how the murderer earns the love of Gonzaga's wife."

During this scene, the king could not stand it. He got up. A commotion began. Polonius demanded that the game be stopped. Everyone leaves. That leaves Hamlet and Horatio. They are convinced of the crime of the king - he betrayed himself with his head.

Rosencrantz and Guildestern return. They explain how upset the king is and how perplexed the queen is about Hamlet's behavior. Hamlet takes the flute and invites Guildestern to play it. Guildestern refuses: "I do not own this art." Hamlet says with anger: "You see what a worthless thing you are making of me? You are ready to play on me, it seems to you that you know my modes..."

Polonius calls Hamlet to his mother - the queen.

The king is tormented by fear, tormented by an unclean conscience. "Oh, my sin is vile, it stinks to heaven!" But he has already committed a crime, "his chest is blacker than death." He gets on his knees, trying to pray.

At this time, Hamlet passes - he goes to his mother's chambers. But he doesn't want to kill the despicable king while praying. "Back, my sword, find out the girth more terrible."

Polonius hides behind the carpet in the queen's chambers to eavesdrop on Hamlet's conversation with his mother.

Hamlet is full of indignation. The pain that torments his heart makes his tongue bold. The queen is frightened and screams. Polonius finds himself behind the carpet, Hamlet, shouting "Rat, rat", pierces him with a sword, thinking that this is the king. The queen begs Hamlet for mercy: "You directed your eyes straight into my soul, / And I see so many black spots in it, / That nothing can bring them out..."

A ghost appears... He demands to spare the queen.

The Queen does not see or hear the ghost, it seems to her that Hamlet is talking to the void. He looks like a madman.

The queen tells the king that in a fit of madness, Hamlet killed Polonius. "He's crying about what he's done." The king decides to immediately send Hamlet to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildestern, who will be given a secret letter to the Briton about the killing of Hamlet. He decides to secretly bury Polonius to avoid rumors.

Hamlet and his traitorous friends rush to the ship. They meet armed soldiers. Hamlet asks them whose army is going and where. It turns out that this is the army of the Norwegian, which is going to fight with Poland for a piece of land, which "for five ducats" is a pity to rent. Hamlet is amazed that people cannot "settle the dispute about this trifle."

This case for him is an occasion for deep reasoning about what torments him, and what torments him is his own indecision. Prince Fortinbras "for the sake of whim and absurd fame" sends twenty thousand to death, "as to bed," because his honor is offended. "So how am I, - exclaims Hamlet, - I, whose father is killed, / whose mother is in disgrace" and live, repeating "this is how it must be done." "O my thought, from now on you must be bloody, or dust is your price."

Having learned about the death of his father, secretly, Laertes returns from Paris. Another misfortune awaits him: Ophelia, under the burden of grief - the death of her father at the hands of Hamlet - has gone mad. Laertes wants revenge. Armed, he breaks into the king's chambers. The king calls Hamlet the culprit of all the misfortunes of Laertes. At this time, the messenger brings the king a letter in which Hamlet announces his return. The king is at a loss, he understands that something has happened. But then a new vile plan ripens in him, in which he involves the quick-tempered, narrow-minded Laertes.

He proposes to arrange a duel between Laertes and Hamlet. And in order for the murder to take place for sure, the end of Laertes' sword should be smeared with deadly poison. Laertes agrees.

The queen sadly announces the death of Ophelia. She "tried to hang her wreaths on the branches, the treacherous bough broke, she fell into a sobbing stream."

Two gravediggers are digging a grave. And they throw jokes around.

Hamlet and Horatio appear. Hamlet talks about the futility of all living things. "Alexander (Macedonsky. - E. Sh.) died, Alexander was buried, Alexander turns into dust; dust is earth; clay is made from earth; and why can't they plug a beer barrel with this clay into which he turned?"

The funeral procession is approaching. King, queen, Laertes, court. Bury Ophelia. Laertes jumps into the grave and asks to be buried with his sister, Hamlet cannot stand a false note. They grapple with Laertes. "I loved her; forty thousand brothers / with all the multitude of their love would not be equal to me" - in these famous words of Hamlet there is a genuine, deep feeling.

The king separates them. He is not satisfied with an unpredictable duel. He reminds Laertes: "Be patient and remember yesterday; / We will move things to a quick end."

Horatio and Hamlet are alone. Hamlet tells Horatio that he managed to read the king's letter. It contained a request that Hamlet be executed immediately. Providence protected the prince, and, using his father's seal, he replaced the letter in which he wrote: "The bearers should immediately be killed." And with this message, Rosencrantz and Guildestern sail towards their doom. Robbers attacked the ship, Hamlet was captured and was taken to Denmark. Now he is ready for revenge.

Osric appears - close to the king - and reports that the king bet on the bet that Hamlet will defeat Laertes in a duel. Hamlet agrees to a duel, but his heart is heavy, it anticipates a trap.

Before the fight, he apologizes to Laertes: "My act, which offended your honor, nature, feeling, / - I declare this, was insane."

The king prepared another trap for fidelity - he placed a goblet with poisoned wine to give it to Hamlet when he was thirsty. Laertes wounds Hamlet, they exchange rapiers, Hamlet wounds Laertes. The Queen drinks poisoned wine for Hamlet's victory. The king failed to stop her. The queen dies, but manages to say: "Oh, my Hamlet - drink! I have poisoned myself." Laertes confesses betrayal to Hamlet: "The king, the king is guilty..."

Hamlet strikes the king with a poisoned blade, And he himself dies. Horatio wants to finish the poisoned wine in order to follow the prince. But the dying Hamlet asks: "Breathe in the harsh world, so that / Tell my story." Horatio informs Fortinbras and the English ambassadors of the tragedy.

Fortinbras gives the order: "Let Hamlet be raised to the platform, like a warrior..."

The story begins in front of Elsinore Castle, home to the Danish royal family. Horatio, a friend of Crown Prince Hamlet, who is fond of scientific research, decides to make sure the presence or absence of a certain ghost, resembling outwardly the recently deceased king, Hamlet's father. Horatio believes that people are just fantasizing that there is no ghost, but at midnight the ghost still appears in full dress, and the shocked young man decides to tell the prince everything, believing that the ghost testifies to upcoming adverse events in the state.

Hamlet was forced to leave school due to the tragic and sudden death of his father. The young man sincerely worries about the death of his parent, he is even more upset and depressed by the fact that his mother, Queen Gertrude, immediately married his uncle, the brother of the deceased king, whom the prince does not at all consider a worthy party for her.

The father's ghost tells Hamlet that his brother poured a deadly poison into his ear while the king was enjoying a quiet rest in the garden. The ghost asks the young man to avenge his death, and from now on, the only goal for Hamlet is to settle accounts with the uncle who killed his father.

At the same time, Polonius, one of the close associates of the king, sends his son Laertes to study in Paris. Before leaving, the young man forbids his sister Ophelia, whom Hamlet is in love with, to have any relationship with the prince, because he is under enormous obligations by his origin and he is not in control of his own life and feelings. The father says the same to the girl, demanding that she no longer spend time in the company of Hamlet. According to Ophelia herself, the prince visited her the other day and behaved extremely strangely. Polonius believes that the young man is mad with love for his daughter and is going to report everything to the king.

Hamlet's uncle, who is troubled by remorse because of the murder, is also very worried about the behavior of his nephew. He appeals for help to two young people, Guildestern and Rosencrantz, who were previously friends with the prince, and asks them to carefully find out what is oppressing him, promising various favors for this. Polonius suggests that it's all about heartfelt feelings, and promises to send his daughter to Hamlet in order to be fully convinced of his innocence.

The comrades try to talk to the prince, but he guesses that the king sent them to him, and refrains from any frankness. At this moment, the actors arrive at the court, and Hamlet decides to use their help in order to be completely convinced that it was the current king who killed his father. The prince invites the actors to play the story of the death of Priam, in which he intends to insert a few of his own poems. Then he invites his mother and uncle to a planned performance.

At the same time, Hamlet thinks a lot in solitude about what is the meaning of life, and why people hold on to their earthly existence so much. Ofelia tries to talk to her lover, but the prince understands that her father and his uncle sent the girl to him, so he skillfully pretends to have lost his mind. The king realizes that Hamlet's mental breakdown is not related to love.

During the demonstration of the play, the scene of the poisoning and the subsequent union of the poisoner with the wife of his victim begins, the king cannot stand this spectacle and leaves the hall, followed by all those gathered. Hamlet and Horatio no longer doubt that the uncle of the prince really committed a monstrous atrocity.

The attempts of Guildestern and Rosencrantz to have a friendly talk with Hamlet again end in nothing, the young man angrily says that he will not allow them to play with him, as with a musical instrument. Polonius asks the prince to come to his mother and hides behind a carpet to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Hamlet speaks to the queen sharply and hostilely, Gertrude is unable to restrain a frightened cry, the prince discovers Polonius hidden behind a carpet and stabs him, believing that the king himself is there. A ghost appears, demanding to spare the queen and not to kill her. The woman does not see the ghost, it seems to her that her son is talking with the void, she no longer doubts that Hamlet is completely insane.

The king hastily sends the prince to England, accompanied by his former friends. At the same time, Laertes secretly returns from Paris, having learned about the death of his father. The young man also becomes aware that his sister Ophelia has lost her mind due to the fact that her lover killed Polonius. Laertes decides to take revenge on Hamlet for all the misfortunes of his family.

The king, after talking with the young man, decides to use the too quick-tempered Laertes in his own interests, he invites him to organize a duel with the prince. At the same time, the end of Laertes' sword must be smeared with poison, and the son of Polonius agrees to participate in this dishonorable undertaking.

At this time, the insane Ophelia, hanging wreaths made by her all over the forest, accidentally falls into the river. Hamlet, returning to his homeland, meets with a procession about to bury the unfortunate girl. Laertes jumps into the grave and begs to be buried along with his sister. Hamlet is sure of his insincerity, a fight begins between the young men, but the king quickly separates his nephew and Laertes, he needs to take place exactly the duel that he planned and in which Hamlet will surely lose his life.

The prince agrees to a duel with Laertes, although he anticipates a clear deception and trap. Hamlet's uncle also prepared a goblet and filled it with poisoned wine to give it to the young man when he was thirsty during the duel. Laertes inflicts a wound on Hamlet, they immediately exchange rapiers, and Hamlet also wounds Laertes. Queen Gertrude drinks wine, which contains a deadly poison, wishing victory for her son, before her husband can stop her. The woman dies, but before she dies, she informs Hamlet that the drink was poisoned.

Laertes, unable to withstand what is happening, admits to Hamlet that the outcome of the duel was predetermined by the unscrupulous king in advance. The prince immediately plunges a poisoned blade into his uncle's heart, the young man himself also dies. His devoted comrade Horatio wants to drink the rest of the wine, intending to follow Hamlet, but the prince asks him to stay alive in order to inform everyone about the tragic fate of his family. A friend fulfills the last order of the heir to the Danish throne, who has already passed away, the English ambassadors who have arrived at the court will learn about what happened to the inhabitants of Elsinore.

The pinnacle of world drama is Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. For several centuries, the play has been a program piece of literature and a permanent performance in the theater repertoires of the whole world. Such popularity of the work speaks of the urgency of the problems raised in the work, which are relevant at all times in the development of society.

The tragedy takes place in Denmark, in the royal residence of Elsinore. The other day the whole country was enveloped by a sad event - the king was gone. After the death of the monarch, his brother Claudius takes the throne. Having collected the subjects, he announces two news: that he will be crowned, and that he will also marry the current queen, that is, the widow of his late brother. The son of the deceased king Hamlet is extremely upset by the death of his father and the fact that his mother and uncle so soon forgot their sorrow.

The night watchmen noticed that at the same hour a ghost appears, which is very similar to the deceased king. They are frightened and call Horatio, who recognizes the former king in the night image. He understands that the deceased wants to tell something, and decides to report everything to Hamlet. The next night, the prince sees the ghost of his father, who told him that his brother Claudius poisoned him by pouring poison into his ear in order to get the state and the queen. The father convinces Hamlet to avenge his death.

Seeing the strange state of Hamlet, Claudius tries to understand the reasons. The closest confidant of the king and his adviser Polonius learns about Hamlet's love for his daughter Ophelia. He convinces his daughter not to believe his words and protect his honor. The girl returns all gifts and letters to the prince. Why does Hamlet realize that his feelings were not mutual. Polonius explains to the royal couple the strange behavior of Hamlet, as the suffering of a lover, and offers to follow the prince to make sure of this. Realizing this, Hamlet pretends to be crazy. While eavesdropping, the king realizes the prince's warlike attitude and realizes that the reason is not hidden in love.

To distract the prince, the king invites Hamlet's university friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to the court, who bring a theater troupe with them. Hamlet is tormented by doubts whether his uncle is really a murderer and should pay for his deed, and what if the ghost is a demon that confuses Hamlet's thoughts and leads to sin. In order not to make a mistake and make sure the king is guilty, Hamlet asks the actors to play the play "The Murder of Gonzago". According to the plot of the play, the nephew kills his uncle and seduces his wife. Hamlet adds his poems to it and instructs the actors how to play, and also asks Horatio, the only person he trusts, to observe the reaction of the king. The latter can not stand it and leaves the hall before the end of the performance. Now Hamlet is sure of the veracity of the ghost's words.

The King begins to fear Hamlet and asks the Queen Mother to influence him. Polonius helpfully offers to eavesdrop on their conversation and hides behind the carpet. During the conversation, Hamlet appeals to the mother's conscience, condemning her marriage to a traitor. Polonius gives himself away, and Hamlet, believing that this is the king, in his hearts strikes the carpet with a sword and kills the adviser. Hamlet feels sorry for the wise old man, but he himself chose his fate and died the fate he deserves. After the murder of Polonius, the king is completely frightened and decides to send the prince to England under the supervision of his imaginary friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, giving them a cover letter with the royal seal, in which he demands to kill Hamlet.

Polonius is buried in secret and without honors, so as not to attract attention. The news of the death of his father reaches the son of Polonius - Laertes. He explains the mystery of his father's death by the fact that the king committed a heinous act, and begins to set the Danes against Claudius. Upon learning of this, the king reveals to Laertes the real killer and supports his desire to avenge his father's death.

At this time, Hamlet, who opened the royal letter and learned about the intentions of Claudius, replaced it with another, in which he orders the execution of traitor friends, and he himself leaves the ship and returns to Denmark. The grief at the death of her father led Ophelia to lose her mind and she drowned in the lake. Hiding in the cemetery, Hamlet and Horatio are witnesses to Ophelia's funeral. Hamlet, unable to stand it, approaches the grave, where a conflict occurred between him and Laertes. Hamlet cannot understand Laertes' militancy. The king, meanwhile, offers Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet so that in the eyes of the queen and society it does not look like a murder. They decide to challenge the prince to a rapier fight on a wager. Laertes, for a 100% guarantee of Hamlet's death, smears the rapiers with poison, and the king poisons the wine.

During the fight, Queen Gertrude, worried about her son, drinks wine and dies. Laertes and Hamlet wound each other by exchanging weapons. Laertes dies. The prince, having understood everything, wounds Claudius with a poisonous rapier and gives him wine to drink. Before his death, Hamlet asks Horatio to tell the people everything he knows and to pass on his vote for the candidacy of Fortinbras as the future king. The Norwegian prince Fortinbras became king, burying Hamlet with great honors.

Analysis of the work

The socio-philosophical tragedy was created by Shakespeare on the basis of the medieval legend of Prince Amlet. Folk work has repeatedly succumbed to literary processing. However, it was Shakespeare's creation that became immortal.

Historical facts and character of the hero

The timing of the play is not clearly marked. Depicting the past, the author raises in the work problems that are actuarial both during the life of Shakespeare and today. Historical authenticity and eventfulness fade into the background in the work, allowing all the attention of the plot to be focused on the personal tragedy of Prince Hamlet.

The composition of the tragedy is based on two storylines: Hamlet's path to revenge for the death of his father and the honor of his mother; treacherous acts, full of intrigues and intrigues, on the part of King Claudius. A striking example of the author's style of Shakespeare is such a feature of the composition of the tragedy as its saturation with Hamlet's monologues, the role of which is in summing up the results of certain phenomena and events, their comprehension by both the hero and the reader. The protagonist's monologues add a peculiar philosophical character to the general style of the tragedy and give the work a touch of subtle lyricism.

The time periods of the work cover only a few days, but the system of characters in the tragedy is quite developed. All heroes can be divided according to their ideological significance into three groups: the main characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude; images that influence the course of action: the ghost of Hamlet's father, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Horatio, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Fortinbras; secondary characters: sentinels, gravediggers, captain, sailors, nobles and others. Conventionally, the author himself divides the characters into two categories by the ability to see a ghost. After all, only those who were pure in heart and soul could see him.

The main character is Hamlet - a controversial and complex image. The peculiarity of this character is revealed in the extraordinary skill of Shakespeare to show the hero in development. Since Hamlet at the beginning of the work and at the end are completely different images. Split consciousness, attempts to analyze one's capabilities, the desire to live according to one's conscience, doubts and reproaches - all this tempers and forms an effective character from a thinking hero. In the philosophical and humanistic key, the image of Hamlet is a guardian of universal human values: morality, truth, honor and justice.

In the work, the author raises the main problem of the Renaissance - the collapse of the ideals of morality, humanism, honor, which are replaced by the power of money and power. In the tragedy, the author tries to solve the main philosophical question - why should a person live, what is the meaning of his being, if everything in this world is perishable.

This universal eternal problem is embodied in the famous phrase: "To be or not to be, that is the question." That is why Hamlet's remarks are filled with thoughts about death, about the meaning of being. The answer to this question is the idea of ​​the value of human morality, the ability to comprehend the past and present, to feel, to love. In this Hamlet sees the meaning of human life.

In 1601, surrounded by a halo of extraordinary significance. It is seen as one of the deepest incarnations of life in all its complexity and at the same time mystery. The Scandinavian saga of the eighth-century Danish prince Amleth was first recorded by the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammatik in the 12th century, but Shakespeare is unlikely to have chosen a primary source for his play. Most likely, he borrowed the plot from the play of Thomas Kyd (1558-1594), who was famous as a master of revenge tragedies and who is the author of the pre-Shakespearean Hamlet.

Shakespeare reflected the tragedy of humanism in the contemporary world with the greatest depth. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is a wonderful image of a humanist who is faced with a world hostile to humanism. If there had been a detective genre in Shakespeare's time, then, of course, Hamlet could be safely called not only a tragedy, but also a detective story.

So, before us is the castle - Elsinore. Hamlet, a student at the University of Wittenberg, the son of a wise king and a tender mother, in love with a beautiful girl named Ophelia. And all of it is full of love for life, faith in man and the beauty of the universe. However, Hamlet's dreams of life and life itself are far from the same thing, and Hamlet soon becomes convinced of this. The mysterious death of his father, the king, the hasty, unworthy second marriage of his mother, Queen Gertrude, with the brother of the deceased husband, the insignificant and cunning Claudius, makes Hamlet look at life from a slightly different angle. Moreover, everyone in the castle is already talking about the fact that twice at midnight the watchmen saw the ghost of the recently deceased king at the wall. Horatio, Hamlet's friend from the university, does not believe these rumors, but at this moment the ghost appears again. Horatio sees this as a sign of great upheaval and considers it necessary to inform his friend the prince about everything.

Hamlet decides to spend the night at the castle wall, where the ghost is, to make sure that this is true. Exactly at midnight, the ghost of the father-king appears to Hamlet and reports that his death was not accidental. He was poisoned by his brother Claudius, treacherously pouring poison into the ear of the sleeping king. The ghost cries out for revenge, and Hamlet vows to punish Claudius severely. In order to collect the evidence necessary for the accusation of murder, Hamlet decides to pretend to be insane and asks his friends Marcellus and Horatio to keep silent about this.

However, Claudius is far from stupid. He does not believe in the madness of his nephew and instinctively feels in him his worst enemy and strives with all his might to penetrate his secret plan. On the side of Claudius is the father of Hamlet's beloved, Polonius. It is he who recommends Claudius to arrange a secret meeting for Hamlet and Ophelia in order to eavesdrop on their conversation. But Hamlet easily deciphers this plan and does not betray himself in any way. At the same time, a troupe of itinerant actors arrives in Elsinore, whose appearance inspires Hamlet to use them in his fight against Claudius.

The Prince of Denmark, again, in the language of a detective, decides on a very original "investigative experiment." He asks the actors to perform a play called The Death of Gonzago, in which the king is killed by his own brother in order to take the throne by marrying a widow. Hamlet decides to watch Claudius' reaction during the performance. Claudius, as Hamlet expected, gave himself away entirely. Now the new king has no doubt that Hamlet is his worst enemy, who must be got rid of as soon as possible. He consults with Polonius and decides to send Hamlet to England. Allegedly, a sea voyage should benefit his confused mind. He cannot decide to kill the prince, as he is very popular with the Danish people. Filled with anger, Hamlet decides to kill Claudius, but finds him on his knees and repenting of his sins.

And Hamlet does not dare to kill, fearing that if he does away with the murderer of his father when he says a prayer, then by doing so he will open the way to heaven for Claudius. The poisoner doesn't deserve Heaven. Before leaving, Hamlet must meet his mother in her bedroom. Polonius also insisted on organizing this meeting. He hides behind a curtain in the queen's bedroom to eavesdrop on his son's conversation with his mother and report the results to Claudius. Hamlet kills Polonius. The death of his father drives his daughter Ophelia crazy, with whom Hamlet is in love. Meanwhile, discontent is growing in the country. People begin to suspect that something very bad is happening outside the walls of the royal castle. Ophelia's brother Laertes returns from France, convinced that it is Claudius who is guilty of the death of their father, and therefore of Ophelia's madness. But Claudius manages to convince him of his innocence in the murder and redirect Laertes' righteous anger towards Hamlet. Between Laertes and Hamlet almost took place a duel in the cemetery, near the freshly dug grave. Mad Ophelia committed suicide.

It is for her that the grave-diggers are preparing the last refuge. But Claudia is not satisfied with such a duel, because it is not known which of these two will win the fight. And the king must destroy Hamlet for sure. He persuades Laertes to postpone the fight, and then use a sword with a poisoned blade. Claudius himself prepares a drink with poison, which should be presented to the prince during the duel. Laertes slightly wounded Hamlet, but in battle they exchanged blades, and Hamlet pierces Polonius' son with his own poisoned blade. Thus, they are both doomed to die. Having learned about the last betrayal of Claudius, Hamlet, with his last strength, pierces him with a sword.

Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, also dies, having mistakenly drunk poison prepared for her son. At this moment, a joyful crowd appears near the gates of the castle, the Norwegian prince Fortinbras, now the only heir to the Danish throne and the English ambassadors. Hamlet died, but his death was not in vain. She exposed the shameless crimes of Claudius, the death of his father was avenged. And Horatio will tell the whole world the sad Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.