Mrs. Stephens' Class

Hamlet Chapter Abstracts
Chapter abstracts are short descriptions of events that occur in each chapter. They highlight major plot events and detail the important relationships and characteristics of characters and objects. The Chapter Abstracts can be used to review what the students have read, or to prepare the students for what they will read. Hand the abstracts out in class as a study guide, or use them as a “key” for a class discussion. They are relatively brief, but can serve to be an excellent refresher of the text for either a student or teacher.
Act 1, Scene 1 Abstract
* It is a cold night outside a castle in Elsinore, Denmark.
* Men are standing on watch and talking about seeing a ‘thing.”
* One of them has brought Horatio, Prince Hamlet’s friend, to witness the “thing.”
* The “thing” is a ghost that walks at night.
Act 1, Scene 2 Abstract
* Horatio says the ghost looks like Denmark’s last king (Hamlet’s father) who recently died.
* They try to speak to the ghost. It looks like it will respond, but the cock crows and the ghost disappears.
* Horatio decides to tell Hamlet about the ghost.
Act 1, Scene 3 Abstract
* Inside the castle, King Claudius gives a speech, describing the situation: his brother died, he took his brother’s throne, and married his brother’s widow, Gertrude.
* The country is also in an ongoing struggle with Norway, and Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, is making threats.
* Laertes, son of Claudius’s counselor Polonius, returned to Denmark for Claudius’s coronation, and now wants to go back to school. Claudius gives permission once he is sure that Polonius has given permission.
Act 1, Scene 4 Abstract
* Claudius then talks to Hamlet, his nephew who is now also his step-son.
* He says that Hamlet is too depressed and that such grief is “unmanly.”
* He asks Hamlet to stay in Elsinore and not return to school. Hamlet agrees.
* Hamlet is clearly suspicious and distrustful of Claudius. He is also upset that his mother has remarried so quickly.
* Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost. Hamlet decides to watch for the ghost that night.
Act 1, Scene 5 Abstract
* Laertes talks to his sister, Ophelia.
* Ophelia and Hamlet are romantically involved, but Laertes warns his sister about falling in love with Hamlet.
* Laertes says that Hamlet may not be free to choose who he marries because he is a prince. Laertes is afraid his sister will get hurt.
* Polonius gives his son, Laertes, some parting advice.
Act 2, Scene 1 Abstract
* Famous elements of Polonius’s advice to his son include: “neither a borrower nor a lender be” and, most importantly, “to thine own self be true.”
* After Laertes leaves, Polonius also talks to Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet.
* Polonius also thinks that Hamlet’s affections will be fickle and he orders Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet.
Act 2, Scene 2 Abstract
* It is after midnight, and Hamlet is watching for the ghost with Horatio and the watchmen.
* In the distance, they hear trumpets and guns firing. Hamlet explains that the King drinks heavily at night. It is a tradition that Hamlet thinks should be discontinued.
* The ghost appears and Hamlet recognizes it as his father.
* Hamlet tries to speak to it. The ghost beckons him to come away from the others.
Act 3, Scene 1 Abstract
* Hamlet’s friends tell him not to follow the ghost, but he does anyway.
* His friends decide to follow after him, to make sure the ghost does not hurt him.
Act 3, Scene 2 Abstract
* The Ghost speaks to Hamlet and identifies itself as his father’s spirit.
* The Ghost walks by night and is tortured by day.
* The Ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his murder.
* The Ghost explains that he was murdered by Claudius.
Act 3, Scene 3 Abstract
* As the late King slept in the garden, Claudius poured poison into his ear.
* Claudius also seduced Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude.
* Hamlet swears to avenge his father’s murder.
* Horatio and the others ask Hamlet to explain what happened, but he does not. Hamlet warns them that he may pretend to be crazy in the future and swears them to secrecy.
Act 3, Scene 4 Abstract
* Polonius sends a servant with money and messages to Laertes, but also instructs the servant to spy on Laertes.
* Ophelia comes to Polonius, very upset.
* Hamlet grabbed her and stared at her, acting very strangely.
* Polonius decides that Hamlet has been driven crazy because Ophelia rejected him.
Act 4, Scene 1 Abstract
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet’s, are summoned to the court by Claudius and Gertrude. The king and queen want them to figure out what is troubling Hamlet.
* Polonius reveals his explanation of Hamlet’s behavior to the king and queen and tries to prove it by talking to Hamlet, but Hamlet acts strangely and seems not to recognize him.
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern greet Hamlet, who suspects that Claudius and Gertrude have summoned them.
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet about the players’ arrival. Hamlet arranges with them to do the “Murder of Gonzago.” Hamlet says that he wants them to change the script slightly to match the events the Ghost described. Hamlet sees this as a way to test Claudius’s conscience and find out if the Ghost is telling the truth.
Act 4, Scene 2 Abstract
* Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius consult with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about Hamlet’s condition. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unsure of Hamlet, but doubt that he is actually crazy.
* Claudius is glad to hear that Hamlet is excited about the players and he and Gertrude agree to see the play.
* Claudius and Polonius hide and eavesdrop on Hamlet and Ophelia.
* Hamlet gives the “To be or not to be” speech, in which he once again considers committing suicide.
* Ophelia, following her father’s instructions, tries to return the love tokens Hamlet gave her, but Hamlet claims that he never gave her anything.
Act 4, Scene 3 Abstract
* Hamlet berates Ophelia, telling her to enter a nunnery and musing on the general faithlessness of women. His behavior and speech are so strange that Ophelia believes he is crazy.
* Claudius is not convinced that Ophelia is the cause of Hamlet’s bad behavior. If things do not improve, Claudius wants to send Hamlet to England.
* Polonius still thinks Ophelia is the cause of Hamlet’s madness. He makes arrangements for Hamlet to visit his mother’s chamber after the play, where he can eavesdrop on him again.
Act 4, Scene 4 Abstract
* Hamlet coaches the players on how to speak their lines, since the play is about to begin.
* Hamlet tells Horatio what the Ghost has said about Claudius’s guilt and asks Horatio to watch Claudius during the play.
* Claudius, Gertrude, and Ophelia arrive to watch the play along with the rest of the court.
* Hamlet seems to flirt with Ophelia, asking to lay his head in her lap and making suggestive remarks during the play.
Act 4, Scene 5 Abstract
* When the play shows a king being murdered with poison poured in his ear, Claudius cries out and leaves the room.
* Horatio and Hamlet agree that Claudius’s reaction is proof of his guilt.
* Several people, including Polonius, summon Hamlet to his mother’s room because she is very upset.
* Hamlet has to psych himself up to face his mother. He plans to be firm and honest with her, but not to lose control of himself.
Act 4, Scene 6 Abstract
* Claudius speaks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He claims that Hamlet’s madness is now dangerous and he asks them to accompany Hamlet to England. They agree.
* Polonius reminds Claudius that he is planning to eavesdrop on Hamlet and Gertrude, then leaves Claudius alone.
* Claudius begins to pray. He regrets having murdered the last king, but he cannot bring himself to give up the rewards that murder has brought him — namely, the Queen and the throne — so he can’t really ask for forgiveness.
* Hamlet finds Claudius praying and sees it as an opportunity to kill him.
Act 4, Scene 7 Abstract
* Hamlet realizes that if he kills Claudius while Claudius prays, Claudius will go to Heaven. Since Hamlet’s father was killed without the benefit of prayer or confession, his soul is now being tortured. Hamlet decides to wait until Claudius sins and then kill him, so he will experience the same fate.
* Claudius, unaware of Hamlet and how near he was to death, expresses his frustration that he cannot even pray any more — while he says the words of a prayer, his mind stays focused on earthly things.
Act 5, Scene 1 Abstract
* Polonius hides while Hamlet talks to Gertrude.
* Hamlet tries to force Gertrude to recognize her complicity in what has happened. At one point, he frightens her and she cries out for help. Polonius is also frightened and cries out. Hamlet hears him and attacks him, believing it is Claudius. When he finds out he is wrong, Hamlet does not appear to care that he killed the wrong man.
* The Ghost appears and Hamlet talks to it, but Gertrude cannot see it. She becomes convinced that Hamlet is imagining things.
* Hamlet makes her swear not to tell Claudius that he (Hamlet) is sane. She swears. Hamlet drags Polonius’s body from the room.
Act 5, Scene 2 Abstract
* Gertrude tells Claudius that she is convinced Hamlet is mad. She also tells him that Hamlet has killed Polonius.
* Claudius’s first reaction reveals that he is more concerned with himself than with Gertrude or Polonius.
* Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and get the body away from him.
Abstract
* Hamlet has hidden the body of Polonius.
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet and ask him where the body is.
* Hamlet accuses them of being spies for Claudius
* Hamlet plays word games with them and will not answer their questions, but does agree to see Claudius.
* Claudius sees Hamlet as dangerous.
* Claudius says they must be careful in handling Hamlet because the common people of Denmark love him.
* Hamlet is brought before Claudius and plays word games and riddles before finally telling them where Polonius’s body is.
* Claudius insists that Hamlet leave for England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet agrees.
* After they leave, Claudius reveals that he has sent a letter to England asking for Hamlet to be killed.
* On his way to the ship, Hamlet and his friends encounter the armies of Norway, led by Fortinbras.
* The army is on its way to attack Poland.
* Poland and Norway are fighting over an insignificant piece of land.
* Hamlet claims that Fortinbras makes him ashamed, because Fortinbras is willing to die over an unimportant piece of land, while he, Hamlet, cannot make up his mind to kill Claudius over a much more important issue.
* Ophelia has lost her mind after her father’s murder. She comes to see Gertrude, singing sad songs and reciting broken bits of poetry.
* After she leaves, Laertes bursts in at the head of a mob. Laertes wants revenge for his father’s death, but the mob is talking about Laertes as their future king.
* Ophelia wanders in again and Laertes is horrified to see what has happened to his sister.
* Laertes blames Claudius for his father’s death, but Claudius insists he is innocent and that he will help Laertes revenge himself on the guilty parties.
* Sailors bring a letter to Horatio. The letter is from Hamlet, who has been taken prisoner by pirates.
* Hamlet asks Horatio to send letters along to the king, which he does.
* Hamlet also tells Horatio that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are still on their way to England.
* Laertes asks Claudius why he has not avenged Polonius’s death. Claudius claims that he cannot harm Hamlet because Gertrude would be upset, as would the common people of Denmark.
* News is brought that Hamlet is back in Denmark. Claudius asks Laertes to obey him and assures Laertes he will help avenge Polonius’s death.
* Claudius offers to arrange a duel between Hamlet and Laertes in which Laertes can fight with a poisoned sword so that a scratch will kill Hamlet. They will have poisoned wine as a back-up plan.
* News is brought that Ophelia has died, apparently a suicide.
* Ophelia is being given a Christian burial, in spite of the fact that she is an apparent suicide. The gravediggers debate this decision, since suicides usually do not get such funeral rites.
* Hamlet and Horatio appear and talk with the gravediggers, unaware of whose grave is being dug.
* Ophelia’s body is brought in and Hamlet, apparently crazy with grief, leaps into the grave with her.
* Laertes is offended and they struggle.
* Hamlet leaves.
* Laertes and Hamlet duel. The swords switch hands and both men are poisoned by it.
* Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine by mistake and dies.
* Hamlet kills Claudius.
* Horatio claims he wants to die, but Hamlet asks him to stay alive and tell the story of what has happened.
* Fortinbras arrives and asks his soldiers to salute the noble dead prince.