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Looking at manner of death, King Hamlet and Gertrude were poisoned; Polonius, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern were stabbed (or encountered some other violent death); Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet were each stabbed and poisoned; and Ophelia stands alone in suicide.
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The theme of life and death is central to Hamlet, exploring the inevitability of mortality and the moral consequences of actions. Shakespeare uses various elements, such as the graveyard...
The ghost tells Hamlet that his was not a natural death. He says he was murdered by Claudius, his brother, and he urges Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius.
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- About This Guide
- A Production Who’s Who - program information
- May Be Used To
- Hamlet -- Plot Synopsis
- Major Characters: The Older Generation
- Major Characters: The Younger Generation
Portions of this study guide are formatted in easy-to-copy single pages. They may be used separately or in any combination that works for your classes. Here is an outline of the contents of each page with suggestions on how it may be used.
Resources - a list of recommended film, print, web and program resources
Provides background on the history and origins of Hamlet Outline the story with a class Familiarize students with the characters in Hamlet Introduce students to the themes of the play Delve more deeply into one aspect of theme Interpret and critique sections of the play Get students thinking about Elizabethan acting Investigate motivation and inter...
After the death of his beloved father King Hamlet, a grief-stricken Prince Hamlet returns home from his studies in Wittenburg to the Danish court at Elsinore. Hamlet senior’s brother, Claudius, has assumed the old king’s place in more ways than one -- as ruler of Denmark and as a second husband to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother--with less than two mont...
Claudius: The antagonist of the play and the new king of Denmark. Claudius is the “smiling, damned villain” of the piece, a devious, lustful, and corrupt politician and master manipulator of people and circumstances. Despite the darkness in his soul, his seemingly genuine love for Gertrude and his pangs of conscience over his crimes add a more s...
Hamlet: The protagonist of the play and prince of Denmark. He is around 30 years old when the play opens. Hamlet is the natural son of Queen Gertrude and the recently deceased old king from whom he takes his name. As a result of his mother’s hasty remarriage to Claudius, her former brother-in-law, Hamlet’s former uncle is now also his step-fath...
Something is amiss in Denmark -- for two successive nights, the midnight guard has witnessed the appearance of the ghost of Old Hamlet, the former King of Denmark who has recently died. The guards bring Horatio, a learned scholar and friend of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, to witness this apparition.
Hamlet agrees to meet the ghost, and as he speaks with it, it claims to be the spirit of his father. The ghost reveals that he did not die of natural causes, but rather was poisoned by Claudius. Hamlet, newly enraged, quickly accepts the ghost's command to seek revenge.
People also ask
How did hamlet die?
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Why does hamlet rage about his father's death?
How does hamlet decide if Claudius avenge his father's death?
Who kills Hamlet in Hamlet?
King Claudius and Queen Gertrude greet Hamlet’s old school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Increasingly distressed by Hamlet’s odd behavior, the king and queen have invited his...
