William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptized) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaboration, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, two epitaphs on a man named John Combe, one epitaph on Elias James, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
II. Plot Summary
Hamlet, son of the king of Denmark, is summoned home for his father's funeral and his mother's wedding to his uncle. In a supernatural episode, he discovers that his uncle, whom he hates anyway, murdered his father. In an incredibly convoluted plot--the most complicated and most interesting in all literature--he manages to (impossible to put this in exact order) feign (or perhaps not to feign) madness, murder the "prime minister," love and then unlove an innocent whom he drives to madness, plot and then unplot against the uncle, direct a play within a play, successfully conspire against the lives of two well-meaning friends, and finally take his revenge on the uncle, but only at the cost of almost every life on stage, including his own and his mother's.
III. Characters
1. Hamlet: Son of a murdered Danish king (who was also named Hamlet) and nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet suffers great mental anguish over the death of his father, the marriage of his mother to the suspected murderer (Claudius), and the clash between his moral sense and his desire for revenge against his father’s murderer. To ensnare the killer, Hamlet pretends madness. Some scholars contend that he actually suffers a mental breakdown. 2. Claudius: The new King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle. He killed old king Hamlet and married Gertrude. 3. Gertrude: Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, and widow of the murdered king. Her marriage to Claudius within two months after the late king’s funeral deeply disturbs Hamlet. 4. Ghost of Hamlet’s father, old King Hamlet: The Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudius’s treacherous murder and commands Hamlet to avenge his death 5. Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius. She loves Hamlet, but his pretended madness–during which he rejects her–and the death of her father (who Hamlet kills by accident) trigger a pathological reaction in her. 6. Horatio: Hamlet’s best friend. Horatio never wavers in his loyalty to Hamlet. 7. Laertes: Son of Polonius, brother of Ophelia. Circumstances make him an enemy of Hamlet, and they duel to the death in a fencing match at the climax of the play.
IV. Symbols
Hamlet-He symbolized the natural response of a common person who has been disadvantaged by probably a stronger person which is to avenge. Ghost-It symbolized the undying grudge of a discriminated person. Claudius-He symbolized incest, greed and treacherousness. Horatio-He symbolized the true essence of friendship without betrayal. Yorick’s skull, Wine, and Poisonous sword-They all symbolized death of the characters.
V. Theme
It is ever dangerous to decide when you are mad. Do not seek vengeance to someone who had wronged you for the consequences of what you are about to do might be far worse than what you had experienced.
VI. Reflections
I have learned these from Hamlet of William Shakespeare: ~You shall not get things that are really not for you because it will cause you trouble and even death. ~If you have been wronged by someone, do not stupidly seek revenge right after. Take time to have a crafty plan to avenge to that someone and make sure that you will not fail and the success will be yours. ~Sometimes, you just have to forgive and forget people to avoid yourself from madness or over thinking. ~Vengeance is not ours, it is God’s. Trust God’s plan for the person who made mistakes to you. ~ Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.