Hamlet is the prince of Denmark whose father, the king, recently died. His uncle Claudius seized the throne and married Hamlet's mother Gertrude. Hamlet is distraught by this turn of events. Meanwhile, Ophelia's father Polonius and brother Laertes warn her away from Hamlet, believing he will not marry her as a prince. Claudius sends Hamlet away after Hamlet accuses Gertrude of betraying his father, though the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and urges him to avenge the murder. Claudius' plan to have Hamlet killed in England is foiled when Hamlet returns, leading Claudius and Laertes to plot a new accidental death for Hamlet

2. . HAMLET Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. His father was the king, but he died be­fore the play begins. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, has taken over as king and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. KING CLAUDIUS Claudius tells Hamlet he has to stop acting so sad about his father’s death. Hamlet says he will. When he’s by himself, he says he’s disgusted that his mother married Claudius

3. POLONIUS, LAERTES, AND OPHELIA Hamlet’s girlfriend is Ophelia. Her father, Polonius, and her brother, Laertes, try to convince her that Hamlet doesn’t love her. They point out that because he’s a prince, he can’t marry whoever he wants. They think he’s more likely to seduce her than marry her. Ophelia agrees not to talk to Hamlet anymore

4. HAMLET ACCUSES GERTRUDE Hamlet tells his mother how awful it is that she’s sleeping with Claudius. He doesn’t come right out and say that Claudius murdered King Hamlet, or that he thinks Gertrude knew about it. He focuses more on how much bet­ter his father was than Claudius, and tries to make his mother promise not to sleep with Claudius anymore. She tells Hamlet that he’s making her feel guilty. The ghost enters and scolds Hamlet for taking so long to get revenge. Hamlet sees the ghost, but his mother doesn’t, and she thinks he’s crazy. Hamlet leaves, hauling away Polonius’s body.THE DEATH SENTENCEClaudius sends Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When he’s by himself, he says he’s given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed letters ordering the king of England to put Hamlet to death immedi­ately after opening the letter.

5. THE PIRATESHoratio gets a letter from Hamlet saying that the ship he was on was at­tacked by a pirate ship. Hamlet was taken prisoner by himself and brought back to Denmark.Claudius and Laertes also receive a letter from Hamlet in which he says he’s arrived back to Denmark alone and will come to see Claudius the next day. Now that they know Hamlet didn’t die in England, they start plotting a new way to kill him that will look like an accident. Gertrude brings the news that Ophelia drowned in a stream.