Hamlet · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
Chapter 1
Act I
Hamlet — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 2
Scene I
On the battlements of Elsinore, the guards Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio witness the ghost of the late King Hamlet. Horatio explains the political context: the late king defeated Fortinbras of Norway in combat, and now young Fortinbras threatens war. The ghost appears again but vanishes at cockcrow. The men decide to tell Prince Hamlet about the apparition.
Chapter 3
Scene II
In a state room, King Claudius addresses the court about his recent marriage to Gertrude and dispatches ambassadors to Norway to curb Fortinbras's aggression. He grants Laertes permission to return to France. Hamlet, still mourning his father, is urged to stay in Denmark. After the court exits, Hamlet delivers a soliloquy expressing his despair and disgust at his mother's hasty remarriage. Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo inform Hamlet of the ghostly apparition resembling his father, and Hamlet resolves to watch for it that night.
Chapter 4
Scene III
Laertes bids farewell to Ophelia, warning her to be cautious of Hamlet's affections, which he considers fleeting and constrained by his royal position. Polonius then enters, echoes Laertes' warnings, and forbids Ophelia from seeing Hamlet, commanding her to obey. Ophelia agrees to comply.
Chapter 5
Scene IV
On the cold platform of Elsinore, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus await the ghost. Hamlet reflects on the king's heavy drinking and its effect on Denmark's reputation. The Ghost appears and beckons Hamlet to follow. Despite warnings from Horatio and Marcellus, Hamlet insists on following the Ghost, driven by fate and a desire for answers.
Chapter 6
Scene V
The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that he is the spirit of his father, murdered by Claudius, and commands Hamlet to seek revenge. Hamlet swears to remember and avenge the murder, and makes Horatio and Marcellus swear secrecy about the ghost, warning them he may feign madness.
Chapter 7
Act II
Hamlet — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 8
Scene I
Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes in Paris, instructing him to use indirect methods to gather information. Ophelia then reports Hamlet's strange and distressed behavior, which Polonius interprets as madness caused by love for Ophelia, and decides to inform the king.
Chapter 9
Scene II
King Claudius and Queen Gertrude welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Elsinore, enlisting them to spy on Hamlet and discover the cause of his apparent madness. Polonius announces the return of the ambassadors from Norway, who report that Fortinbras has agreed to attack Poland instead of Denmark. Polonius then declares he has found the cause of Hamlet's madness—his love for Ophelia—and arranges for them to meet. Hamlet interacts with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, quickly discerning they were sent for, and discusses the arrival of the players. He commissions a play, 'The Murder of Gonzago,' and plans to insert a speech to test Claudius's guilt. In his soliloquy, Hamlet berates himself for his inaction and resolves to use the play to 'catch the conscience of the king.'
Chapter 10
Act III
Hamlet — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 11
Scene I
Hamlet delivers his 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, then confronts Ophelia, cruelly rejecting her and advising her to go to a nunnery. After he leaves, Ophelia laments his decline. King Claudius and Polonius, who have been spying, conclude that Hamlet's madness is not caused by love and decide to send him to England. Polonius suggests that Gertrude should speak with Hamlet after the play.
Chapter 12
Scene II: The Mousetrap
Hamlet stages a play to confirm Claudius's guilt. The king's reaction to the poisoning scene reveals his guilt, and Hamlet is now certain of the ghost's truth. After the play, Hamlet confronts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, then prepares to speak with his mother.
Chapter 13
Scene III
Claudius, alarmed by Hamlet's madness, arranges for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort him to England. Polonius plans to spy on Hamlet's conversation with Gertrude. Claudius attempts to pray for forgiveness but finds himself unable to repent, while Hamlet, seeing him at prayer, refrains from killing him, deciding to wait for a more damning moment.
Chapter 14
Scene IV
In the Queen's closet, Hamlet confronts his mother Gertrude about her marriage to Claudius. Polonius, hiding behind an arras, cries out and is killed by Hamlet, who mistakes him for the king. The Ghost appears to remind Hamlet of his purpose, but Gertrude cannot see it. Hamlet urges his mother to repent and avoid Claudius's bed, revealing his feigned madness. He then drags away Polonius's body.
Chapter 15
Act IV
Hamlet — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 16
Scene I
King Claudius and Queen Gertrude discuss Hamlet's madness after he kills Polonius. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England and seeks to manage the political fallout.
Chapter 17
Scene II
Hamlet is confronted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about the whereabouts of Polonius's body. He speaks in riddles and insults them, calling them sponges for the king, and refuses to give a straight answer before agreeing to go to the king.
Chapter 18
Scene III
King Claudius, concerned about Hamlet's dangerous freedom after killing Polonius, decides to send him to England. Hamlet mocks the King with riddles about Polonius's body and death. Claudius secretly arranges for Hamlet to be executed upon arrival in England.
Chapter 19
Scene IV
Fortinbras sends a captain to greet the Danish king and request passage through Denmark for his army. Hamlet, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, encounters the captain and learns that Fortinbras is leading a campaign against Poland for a worthless patch of land. This prompts Hamlet to reflect on his own inaction and resolve to pursue revenge with bloody thoughts.
Chapter 20
Scene V
Ophelia, driven mad by grief over her father's death, sings disjointed songs and distributes symbolic flowers. Laertes returns from France, storms the castle seeking revenge for Polonius's murder, and confronts Claudius. Claudius deflects blame and promises to satisfy Laertes's demand for justice.
Chapter 21
Scene VI
Horatio receives sailors bearing a letter from Hamlet, who recounts his encounter with pirates, his capture, and his escape, and asks Horatio to deliver letters to the king and meet him urgently.
Chapter 22
Scene VII
Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet killed Polonius and conspires with him to murder Hamlet in a rigged fencing match. Gertrude enters and announces Ophelia's drowning, sending Laertes into a grief-stricken rage.
Chapter 23
Act V
Hamlet — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.
Chapter 24
Scene I
In a graveyard, Hamlet encounters a gravedigger who unearths the skull of Yorick, the former court jester. Hamlet reflects on mortality and the inevitability of death. The funeral procession of Ophelia arrives, and Hamlet reveals himself, leading to a confrontation with Laertes in her grave. The King and Queen intervene, and Claudius plots to settle matters with Laertes.
Chapter 25
Endnotes
This chapter discusses textual complications in Hamlet arising from the combination of the Second Quarto and First Folio, including missing words and incomplete verse lines, with scholarly emendations proposed.
Chapter 26
Endnotes
This chapter discusses textual complications in Hamlet arising from the combination of the Second Quarto and First Folio, including missing words and incomplete verse lines, with scholarly emendations proposed.
