"Hamlet". Act two

Claudius, King of Denmark.
Hamlet, son of the deceased and nephew of the reigning king.
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway.
Polonium, neighbor nobleman.
Horatio, friend of Hamlet.
Laertes, son of Polonius.
Courtiers:
Voltimand
Cornelius
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Osric
First nobleman
Second nobleman
Priest.
Officers:
Marcellus
Bernardo
Francisco, soldier.
Reynaldo, servant of Polonius.
Actors.
Two gravediggers.
Captain.
English ambassadors.
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother.
Ophelia, daughter of Polonius.
The ghost of Hamlet's father.
Nobles, ladies, officers, soldiers, sailors, messengers and other servants.

The location is Elsinore.

SCENE 1

Elsinore. The area in front of the castle.
Francisco is on guard. Bernardo enters

Bernardo
Who is there?

Francisco
No, answer me yourself; stop and show up.

Bernardo
Long live the king!

Francisco
Bernardo?

Bernardo
He.

Francisco
You've come at just the right time.

Bernardo
Twelve strikes; go to bed. –

Francisco.
Francisco
Thanks for the change; sharp cold,
And I feel uneasy.

Bernardo
Was everything quiet?

Francisco
The mouse didn't move.

Bernardo
Well, good night.
And if you meet the others - Marcellus
Or Horatio, hurry them up.

Francisco
It's like I can hear them. - Stop! Who is here?

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

Horatio
Friends of the country.

Marcellus
And the people of the Danish service.

Francisco
Good night.

Marcellus
God bless you, honest warrior;
Who replaced you?

Francisco
Bernardo arrived.
Good night.
(Leaves.)

Marcellus
Hey! Bernardo!

Bernardo
What,
Is Horatio with you?

Bernardo
Hello Horatio; Hello Marcellus,

Marcellus
Well, did it appear again today?

Bernardo
I have not seen anything.

Marcellus
Horatio thinks it's ours
Fantasy, and in a terrible vision,
What is presented to us twice, he does not believe;
That's why I invited him
Guard the moments of this night,
And if the ghost appears again,
Let him take a look for himself and let him call out to him.

Horatio
Nonsense, nonsense, he won’t show up.

Bernardo
Let's sit down
And we’ll move again to storm your ears,
For your story unapproachable,
Everything we saw.

Horatio
OK then,
Let's sit down and listen to Bernardo.

Bernardo
Last night
When that star over there, to the left of Polaris,
Came to shine in that region of heaven,
Where it shines now, Marcellus and I,
The hour has barely struck...

The Phantom enters.

Marcellus
Shh, shut up; look, here he is again!
Bernardo
Just like the late king was.

Marcellus
You are a bookworm; turn to him, Horatio.

Bernardo
Look like a king? Look, Horatio.

Horatio
Yes; I am riddled with fear and confusion.

Bernardo
He's waiting for the question.

Marcellus
Ask, Horatio.

Horatio
Who are you that encroached on this hour
And this abusive and beautiful appearance,
In which the dead lord of the Danes
Have you ever walked? I conjure you, speak up!

Marcellus
He's offended.

Bernardo
Look, he's walking away!

Horatio
Stop! Say, say! I conjure you, speak up!

The ghost leaves.

Marcellus
He left and didn’t answer.

Bernardo
So, Horatio? Are you shaking and pale?
Perhaps this is not just a fantasy?
What do you say?

Horatio
I swear to God, I wouldn't believe it
Whenever there is no indisputable guarantee
My own eyes.

Marcellus
Look like a king?

Horatio
How are you on your own?
He was wearing the same armor,
When he fought with the arrogant Norwegian;
That's how he frowned when on the ice
In a fierce battle he defeated the Poles.
How strange!

Marcellus
And so he does twice at this dead hour
He walked by our guard with a menacing step.

Horatio
I don’t know what exactly to think;
But in general I see this as a sign
Some strange troubles for the state.

Marcellus
Shouldn't we sit down? And let whoever knows say
Why these strict patrols?
Do the country's citizens work all night?
Why cast all these copper cannons?
And this buying up of military supplies,
Recruiting carpenters whose hard work
Doesn't distinguish between holidays and everyday life?
What is the secret meaning of such a hot rush,
Why has the night become a co-worker of the day?
Who will explain it to me?

Horatio
I; at least
There is such a rumor. Our late king,
Whose image appeared to us now, was,
You know, the Norwegian Fortinbras,
Moved by jealous pride,
Called to the field; and our brave Hamlet -
This is how he was known throughout the known world -
Killed him; and he according to the agreement,
Bonded by honor and laws,
He lost all his lands along with his life,
Subject to him, in favor of the king;
In return for which our late king
Guaranteed an equal share, which
Passed into the hands of Fortinbras,
Be he a winner; like him
According to the strength of the concluded condition
Hamlet got it. And so, immature
Seething with courage, Junior Fortinbras
Picked it up from the Norwegian coasts
A gang of lawless daredevils
For food and grub for some business,
Where is the tooth needed? and that’s nothing else -
This is how our country understands it, -
How to take away with a weapon in your hands,
Through violence the said lands,
Lost by his father; Here
What prompted our preparations?
And this is our guard, that's the reason
And there is hurry and noise in the state.

Bernardo
I think that's true.
That's why this prophetic ghost
Walks around in armor, looking like a king,
Which gave rise to these wars.

Horatio
A mote to darken the eye of reason.
In high Rome, the city of victories,
In the days before mighty Julius fell,
Leaving the coffins, in shrouds, along the streets
The dead screamed and screamed;
Bloody rain, shaggy luminaries,
Confusion in the sun; wet star,
In whose region is Neptune's power,
I was sick with darkness, almost like on the day of judgment;
The same harbingers of evil events,
Hurrying messengers before fate
And announcing what is to come,
Heaven and earth appeared together
And to our fellow tribesmen and countries.

The ghost returns.

But quieter, see? Here he is again!
I'm going, I'm not afraid of damage. - Stop, ghost!
When you control sound or speech,
Tell me!
When can I accomplish something?
For your sake and your own glory,
Tell me!
When the destiny of your homeland is open to you,
Foresight, perhaps, averted,
Oh, say it!
Or when during your lifetime you buried
Looted treasures, according to which
You spirits are in death, they say, languishing,

The rooster is crowing.

Then say it; stop and say! - Delay
Him, Marcellus.

Marcellus
Hit with a protazan?

Horatio
Yes, if it moves.

Bernardo
He is here!

Horatio
He is here!

The ghost leaves.

Marcellus
Gone!
In vain we, since he is so majestic,
We show him the appearance of violence;
After all, he is invulnerable to us, like air,
And this pathetic onslaught is just an insult.

Bernardo
He would answer, but the rooster crowed.

Horatio
And he shuddered, like someone guilty
With a menacing call. I heard that
Rooster, trumpeter of the dawn, its high
And the ringing throat wakes you from sleep
The god of the day, and at this call,
Whether in water, fire, earth or wind,
The spirit wandering in freedom hurries
Within your limits; that it's true
A real case proved it to us.

Marcellus
He became invisible when the cock crowed.
There is a rumor that every year around the time
When a savior was born on earth,
The singer of the dawn is not silent until the morning;
Then the spirits do not dare to move,
The nights are healing, they do not destroy the planets,
Fairies are harmless, witches do not enchant, -
This is such a blessed and holy time.

Horatio
I heard this and partly believe it.
But here comes the morning, throwing on a red cloak,
Walking through the dew of the eastern mountains.
Break the guard; and I would think so
We can't hide what we saw last night
From young Hamlet; I swear
What will the spirit, mute to us, answer him?
Do you agree that we tell him
How do love and duty tell us?

Marcellus
Yes, I ask; and today I know
Where can we best find him?

SCENE 2

The main hall in the castle.

Pipes. Enter the king, queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand,
Cornelius, nobles and servants.

King
The death of our beloved brother
Still fresh, and befits us
There is pain in our hearts and our entire power
Frown with one brow of sadness,
However, reason overcame nature,
And, with wise sorrow remembering the deceased,
We also think about ourselves.
Therefore, sister and queen,
Heiress of a warlike country,
We, as if with overshadowed triumph,
Laughing at some, rolling their eyes at others,
Sad at the wedding, having fun over the coffin,
Balancing joy and despondency, -
They took them as spouses, relying on this
To your wisdom, which was free for us
An accomplice. For everything - thank you.
Now something else: young Fortinbras,
Valuing us low or thinking,
That since our brother died,
Our kingdom has fallen into decay
Entered into an alliance with a proud dream
And tirelessly demands from us
Return of those lands that are in possession
Legally adopted from his father
Our illustrious brother. It's about him.
Now about us and about our meeting.
The point here is this: we ask by this
By a letter from the Norwegian, Uncle Fortinbras,
Who, weak, barely heard
About the plans of the nephew, to stop
His steps, then what and sets
And all the supplies of the troops are burdened
His own subjects; and we want
So that you, my Voltimand, and you, Cornelius,
They brought a message to the old Norwegian,
Moreover, we give you no more power
In negotiations with the king than here
Allowed by the articles. Bon voyage.
Hastily mark your zeal.

Cornelius and Voltimand
Here, as in everything else, we will show our zeal.

King
We had no doubt about it; good journey, -

Voltimand and Cornelius leave.

And you, Laertes, what can you tell us?
What did you want to ask us, Laertes?
Before the Dane your voice is in vain
It won't sound. What could you wish for?
What wouldn't I offer you?
The head is not so dear to the heart,
The hand is not so helpful to the mouth,
Like the Danish scepter to your father.
What would you like, Laertes?

Laertes
My lord,
Let me return to France;
Although I came from there myself
To fulfill the duty at your coronation,
But, I confess, now my hopes
And my thoughts rush back again
And they bow and wait for your permission.

King
How's your father? What does Polonius say?

Polonium
He pestered me for a long time, sir,
With persistent requests, until
I did not seal them with a reluctant agreement,
I ask you, allow your son to go.

King
Well, good morning, Laertes; be your time
And spend it to the best of your ability! –
And you, my Hamlet, my dear nephew...

Hamlet
(to the side)
Nephew - let him; but certainly not cute.

King
Are you still shrouded in the same cloud?

Hamlet
Oh no, I even have too much sun.

Queen
My dear Hamlet, cast off your black color,
Look as a friend at the Danish ruler.
It’s impossible, day after day, with downcast eyes,
To look for the deceased father in the dust.
This is the fate of all: everything that lives will die
And through nature it will pass into eternity.

Hamlet
Yes, everyone's fate.

Queen
So what's in his destiny?
Does it seem so unusual to you?

Hamlet
I think? No, there is. I don't want
What it seems. Neither my dark cloak,
Neither these gloomy clothes, mother,
Not a stormy groan of constricted breathing,
No, not a plentiful stream of eyes,
Nor grief-stricken features
And all the guises, types, signs of grief
They won’t express me; they only contain
What seems and can be a game;
What is in me is truer than a game;
And this is all outfit and tinsel.

King
Very gratifying and commendable, Hamlet,
That you are paying a debt to your sad father;
But your father also lost his father;
That one - his; and the survivor is called
Filial loyalty for a certain period
To the funeral sorrow; but show persistence
In obstinate grief will be the wicked
Stubbornness is not how a man complains;
This is a sign of a will rebellious to the sky,
An unstable soul, a violent mind,
A bad and unwise mind.
After all, if something is inevitable
And that's why it happens to everyone,
Is it possible with this in gloomy indignation
Trouble your heart? This is a sin before heaven
Sin before the deceased, sin before nature,
Contrary to reason, whose instruction
There is the death of fathers, whose eternal cry
From the first deceased to this day:
"It should be". We ask you, stop
Fruitless sadness, think about us
How about a father; let the world not forget,
That you are closest to our throne
And I am no less generous with love,
Than the son is the most tender of fathers,
I give you. As for your concern
Return to study in Wittenberg,
She and our desires are at odds.
And I ask you, bend down to stay
Here, in the caress and joy of our eyes,
Our first friend, our relative and our son.

Queen
Let your mother not ask you in vain, Hamlet;
Stay here, don't go to Wittenberg.

Hamlet
Madam, I am obedient to you in everything.

King
This is a loving and sweet answer to us;
Be here like us. - Madam, let's go;
In the agreement of the prince, free and cordial, -
Smile to the heart; as a sign of what today
For every ladle that the Dane drains,
A big gun will burst into the clouds,
And the roar of heaven over the royal bowl
It will respond to earthly thunder, - Let's go.

Pipes. Everyone except Hamlet leaves.

Hamlet
Oh, if only this dense clot of meat
Melted, disappeared, disappeared into dew!
Or if the Eternal had not ordered
Suicide ban! God! God!
How boring, dull and unnecessary
It seems to me that everything in the world!
Oh, abomination! This is a lush garden that bears fruit
Just one seed; wild and evil
It dominates. Get to this point!
Two months since he died! Less even.
Such a worthy king! Compare them
Phoebus and the Satyr. He cherished my mother so much,
That I wouldn’t let the winds touch the sky
Her faces. O heaven and earth!
Should I remember? She was drawn to him
As if the hunger was only increasing
From saturation. And a month later -
Don't think about it! Mortality, you
You are called: woman! - and shoes
Without wearing out what she was wearing after the coffin,
Like Niobe, all in tears, she -
Oh God, a beast without reason,
I wish I could have missed you longer! - married to uncle,
Who looks just like his father
Than I am on Hercules. A month later!
Also the salt of her dishonest tears
Has not disappeared on reddened eyelids,
How I got married. Disgusting haste -
So rush to the bed of incest!
There is no and cannot be any good in this. –
But be silent, my heart, my tongue is bound!

Enter Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo

Horatio
Hello, prince!

Hamlet
I am very glad to see you, -
Horatio? Or I'm not myself.

Horatio
He is the prince, and your poor servant.

Hamlet
My good friend; let it be mutual,
But why aren't you in Wittenberg? –
Marcellus?

Marcellus
My good prince...

Hamlet
I am very glad to see you.
(To Bernardo.)
Good evening. –
So why aren't you in Wittenberg?

Horatio
With a penchant for idleness, good prince.

Hamlet
Even your enemy wouldn’t tell me this,
And don’t force my hearing either,
So that he believes your information
To yourself; you are not a slacker.
But what is your business in Elsinore?
While you're here, we'll teach you how to drink.

Horatio
I was sailing to the king's funeral.

Hamlet
Please, no jokes, student friend;
Hurry up to the queen's wedding.

Horatio
Yes, prince, she followed quickly.

Hamlet
Calculation, calculation, buddy! From the wake
Cold food went to the wedding table.
Oh, I wish I could meet you in heaven
My worst enemy than this day, Horatio!
Father!.. I think I see him.

Horatio
Where, prince?

Hamlet
In the sight of my soul, Horatio.

Horatio
I remember him; was a true king.

Hamlet
He was a man, a man in everything;
I will never meet anyone like him again.

Horatio
My prince, he appeared to me last night.

Hamlet
Did you show up? Who?

Horatio
King, your father.

Hamlet
My father, the king?

Horatio
Temper your amazement for a moment
And listen to what I tell you,
Taking these officers as witnesses,
About this diva.

Hamlet
For God's sake, yes.

Horatio
For two nights in a row these officers
Bernardo and Marcellus, keeping watch,
In the lifeless desert of midnight
This is what we saw. Someone like your father
Armed from head to toe,
Is also a majestic step
Passes by. Three times he passed
Before their gaze frozen with fear,
At a rod's distance; they are,
Almost turning to jelly from fear,
They stand in silence. That's for me
They told a terrible secret.
On the third night I was with them on guard;
And, as they said, at that very hour
And in the same form, confirming everything exactly,
A shadow appeared. I remember the king:
The two hands are so similar.

Hamlet
Where was it?

Marcellus
Prince, on the platform where we are guarding.

Hamlet
You haven't talked to him?

Horatio
Said,
But he didn't answer; at least once
He raised his head and it seemed to me
It was as if he wanted to speak;
But at that very moment the rooster crowed;
At this sound he rushed quickly
And he became invisible.

Hamlet
It is very strange.

Horatio
Like what I live, prince, it's true,
And we considered it a duty
Tell you this.

Hamlet
Yes, yes, of course, I'm the only one confused.
Who's on guard today? You?

Marcellus and Bernardo
Yes, prince.

Hamlet
Armed, you said?

Marcellus and Bernardo
Yes, prince.

Hamlet
From head to toe?

Marcellus and Bernardo
From toes to crown.

Hamlet
So you haven't seen his face?

Horatio
No, of course, prince; he walked with his visor raised.

Hamlet
What, he looked gloomy?

Horatio
There was more sadness in his face than anger.

Hamlet
And pale or purple?

Horatio
No, very pale.

Hamlet
And looked at you?

Horatio
Yes, closely.

Hamlet
I wish I had been there.

Horatio
He would terrify you.

Hamlet
Very possible. And did he stay long?

Horatio
You could count to one hundred slowly.

Marcellus and Bernardo
No, longer, longer.

Horatio
No longer with me.

Hamlet
Gray beard?

Horatio
The same as I saw in a living person -
Black and silver.

Hamlet
Today I will be with you;
Perhaps he will come again.

Horatio
I guarantee it.

Hamlet
And if he again takes the form of his father,
I'll talk to him, even if hell breaks loose,
Tell me to shut up. I ask you all -
How have you been silent about this until now?
So you keep it a secret from now on.
And no matter what happens tonight,
Give everything meaning, but not language;
I will repay you for your love. Farewell;
So I'll come at twelve o'clock
To your site.

All
Prince, accept our debt.

Hamlet
I will accept love, and you will accept mine; Farewell.

Everyone except Hamlet leaves.

Hamlet's spirit in arms! Things are bad;
There's something here. It would soon be night;
Be patient, soul; evil will be exposed,
At least it would go away from my eyes into the underground darkness.
(Leaves.)

ACT II

SCENE 1

A room in Polonius's house. Polonius and Reynaldo enter.

Polonium
Here is the money and a letter to him, Reynaldo.

Reynaldo Yes, my lord.

Polonium You will act wisely
Reynaldo, if before meeting him
You'll find out how he behaves.

Reynaldo
That's what I was thinking of doing, my lord.

Polonium
I praise, I praise. So first find out
What kind of Danes are there in Paris?
And how, and who; what they live on and where;
Who they hang out with, what they spend; discovering
With the help of such circumlocutions,
That my son is known to them, look closer,
But so that it is not a question;
Pretend you know him a little,
Say: "I knew his father, friends,
Partly him too." Are you following, Reynaldo?

Reynaldo
Yes, of course, my lord.

Polonium
“Partly that too; but not enough;
But I heard that he is a big brawler."
Both this and that; cock it here
Anything; however, not so much
To dishonor; this is - beware;
No, yes, blessed ones, violent pranks,
With whom, they say, youth and freedom
Inseparable.

Reynaldo
For example, a game.

Polonium
Yes, or drunkenness, swearing, fights,
Debauchery: you can go for it.

Reynaldo
But it will dishonor, my lord.

Polonium
No; you yourself will soften all this,
You shouldn't talk about him
That he lives in unbridled debauchery;
Not at all; imagine his sins
So that they seem like freedom,
Gusts of a hot mind,
The savages of untamed blood,
What everyone is subject to.

Reynaldo
But, my lord...

Polonium
Why do this?

Reynaldo
Yes my lord
I would like to know.

Polonium
And my intention is this:
And I think this is the right way:
When you denigrate him slightly,
So, as if the thing is a little worn out,
Would you like to see
Your interlocutor, if you noticed,
That the young man you named
Guilty of the above offenses,
Probably he will answer you like this:
“Dearest”, or “my friend”, or “sir”,
It depends on what is customary in their country
And who he is.

Reynaldo
That's right, my lord.

Polonium
And immediately he will... he will...
What did I want to say? By God, I wanted to say something: where did I stop?

Reynaldo
To “he will answer like this”, to “my friend” and “sir”.

Polonium
Just about, “he will answer like this”; yes he will answer
So: “I know this gentleman;
I saw him yesterday, or the other day,
Or then with so-and-so or with so-and-so,
And he was just playing, or drunk,
Quarreled over bast shoes"; or even like this:
"I saw him enter the cheerful house"
In other words, to a brothel or something like that.
And you see for yourself:
The bait of lies caught the carp of truth;
So we, who are wise and far-sighted,
Through hooks and indirect techniques,
By going around we find the desired move;
And you, guided by my advice,
Test my son for me. Understood? No?

Reynaldo
Yes, my lord.

Polonium
With God blessing. Be healthy.

Reynaldo
My good sir!

Polonium
Observe his habits for yourself.

Reynaldo
Yes, my lord.

Polonium
And let him play with all his might.

Reynaldo
Yes, my lord.

Polonium
Bon voyage!

Reynaldo leaves. Ophelia enters.

Ophelia! What's the matter?

Ophelia
Oh my lord, how scared I was!

Polonium
What, God have mercy?

Ophelia
When I was sewing, sitting at home,
Prince Hamlet - in an unbuttoned doublet,
Without a hat, in untied stockings,
Dirty, falling to the heels,
Knocking your knees, paler than your shirt
And with a look so deplorable, as if
He was released from hell
He came to me to talk about horrors.

Polonium
Mad in love with you?

Ophelia
Don't know,
But I'm afraid so.

Polonium
And what did he say?

Ophelia
He took my hand and squeezed it tightly;
Then, retreating to arm's length,
Raising the other hand to the eyebrows,
He began to look intently into my face, as if
Drawing him. He stood there for a long time;
And finally, shaking my hand slightly
And nodding his head three times like this,
He let out a sigh so mournful and deep,
As if his whole chest was broken
And life faded away; he let me go;
And looking at me over your shoulder,
It seemed that he found his way without eyes,
Then he walked out the door without their help,
They shine their light on me all the time.

Polonium
Come with me; Let's find the king.
There's definitely a frenzy of love here,
Who destroys herself by murder
And it bends the will to harmful actions,
Like every passion under heaven,
Raging in nature. I'm sorry.
What, have you been harsh with him these days?

Ophelia
No, my lord, but as you ordered,
I also rejected the prince's notes
And visits.

Polonium
He went crazy.
I wish I had followed him more diligently.
I thought he was playing, he's playing you
He planned to destroy; all distrust!
By God, our years are just as prone
Going too far in calculations
How youth tends to sin
Haste. Let's go to the king;
He must know; more dangerous and harmful
To hide love than to announce it.
Let's go.

King
How can we find it?

Polonium
You know, he sometimes spends hours
Walking around the gallery here.

Queen
Yes.

Polonium
At this hour I will send my daughter to him;
You and I will stand behind the carpet; We'll see
Meet them; if he doesn't love her
And that’s not why I went crazy,
That place is not for me in the affairs of the board,
And at the carts, on the manor.

King
Let it be so.

Queen
Here he is walking sadly with a book, poor thing.

Polonium
I ask you, you both leave;
I'll go to him.

The king, queen and servants leave. Hamlet enters, reading.

Sorry;
How is my good prince Hamlet?

Hamlet
Okay, God bless you.

Polonium
Do you recognize me, prince?

Hamlet
Certainly; you are a fishmonger.

Polonium
No, prince.

Hamlet
Then I would like you to be the same honest person.

Polonium
Honest, prince?

Hamlet
Yes, sir, to be honest, given the way this world is, means to be a man extracted from tens of thousands.

Polonium
That's absolutely true, prince.

Hamlet
For if the sun breeds worms in a dead dog, he is a deity who kisses carrion... Do you have a daughter?

Polonium
Yes, Prince.

Hamlet
Don't let her walk in the sun: every fruit is a blessing; but not the kind your daughter might have. Friend, beware.

Polonium
(to the side)
What do you say about this? Plays on my daughter all the time; but at first he didn’t recognize me; said I was a fishmonger: he went far; and, indeed, in my youth I suffered many extremes from love; almost the same. I'll talk to him again. -What are you reading, prince?

Hamlet
Words words words.

Polonium
And what does it say, prince?

Hamlet
About whom?

Polonium
I want to say: what does what you read say?

Hamlet
Slander, my sir; because this satirical rogue says here that old people have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes exude thick gum and plum resin, and that they have a complete lack of intelligence and extremely weak veins; All this, my sir, although I believe very powerfully and imperiously, I still consider it obscene to take it and write it; because you yourself, my sir, would be as old as me if you could, like a cancer, walk backwards.

Polonium
(to the side)
Even though it's crazy, there's consistency to it. “Would you like to leave this air, prince?”

Hamlet
To the grave.

Polonium
Indeed, this would mean leaving this air. (Aside.) How meaningful his answers are sometimes! Luck, which often falls to the lot of madness and which reason and health could not resolve so happily. I will leave him and immediately try to arrange a meeting for him with my daughter. “Dear Prince, I will most humbly leave you.”

Hamlet
There is nothing, my sir, that I would rather part with; except with my life, except with my life, except with my life.

Polonium
I wish you good health, prince.

Hamlet
Those obnoxious old fools!

Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Polonium
Do you want Prince Hamlet? He is here.

Rosencrantz
(Polonius)
God bless you.

Polonius leaves.

Guildenstern
My honorable prince!

Rosencrantz
My precious prince!

Hamlet
My dearest friends!
How are you, Guildenstern? –
Eh, Rosencrantz?
Guys, how are you both doing?

Rosencrantz
Like indifferent sons of the soil.

Guildenstern
It’s all the more blessed because it’s not super-blessed;
We are not a big deal on Fortune's cap.

Hamlet
But not the soles of her shoes either?

Rosencrantz
Neither one nor the other, prince.

Hamlet
So do you live near her belt or in the center of her favors?

Guildenstern
Really, we occupy a modest place with her.

Hamlet
In the secluded parts of Fortuna? O, sure; This is an indecent person. What's the news?

Rosencrantz
Yes, nothing, prince, except perhaps that the world has become honest.

Hamlet
So, it means that the day of judgment is near; but your news is wrong. Let me ask you in more detail: what, my dear friends, have you done wrong to Fortune that she is sending you here to prison?

Guildenstern
To prison, prince?

Hamlet
Denmark is a prison.

Rosencrantz
Then the whole world is a prison.

Hamlet
And excellent: with many locks, dungeons and dungeons, with Denmark being one of the worst.

Rosencrantz
We don't think so, Prince.

Hamlet
Well, it's not like that for you; for there is nothing either good or bad; this reflection makes everything so; for me it is a prison.

Rosencrantz
Well, it’s your ambition that makes it a prison: it’s too cramped for your spirit.

Hamlet
Oh God, I could shut myself up in a nutshell and consider myself the king of infinite space if I didn’t have bad dreams.

Guildenstern
And these dreams are the essence of ambition; for the very essence of the ambitious is but the shadow of a dream.

Hamlet
And the dream itself is just a shadow.

Rosencrantz
True, and I consider ambition in its own way so airy and light that it is nothing more than the shadow of a shadow.

Hamlet
Then our beggars are bodies, and our monarchs and pompous heroes are shadows of beggars. Shouldn't we go to the courtyard? Because, honestly, I can't reason.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
We are at your disposal.

Hamlet
Don't do this. I do not want to equate you with the rest of my servants; because - I tell you, as an honest person - they serve me disgustingly. But if you follow the path of friendship, what are you doing in Elsinore?

Rosencrantz
We wanted to visit you, prince; nothing else.

Hamlet
A beggar like me is poor even in gratitude; but I thank you; although, in truth, dear friends, my gratitude is not worth half a penny. They didn't send for you? Is this your own desire? Is this a voluntary visit? Well, be honest with me; come on, speak up.

Guildenstern
What should we say, prince?

Hamlet
Yes, anything, but only about this. They sent for you; there is something like recognition in your glances, and your conscience is not skillful enough to brighten it up. I know the good king and queen sent for you.

Rosencrantz
For what purpose, prince?

Hamlet
You must explain this to me. But only I implore you - in the name of the rights of our partnership, in the name of the harmony of our youth, in the name of the duty of our indestructible love, in the name of everything even more dear to which the best speaker could appeal to you, be frank and direct with me: they sent behind you or not?

Rosencrantz
(quietly, to Guildenstern)
What are you going to say?

Hamlet
(to the side)
Okay, now I see. –
If you love me, don't hide it.

Guildenstern
Prince, they have sent for us.

Hamlet
I'll tell you why; in this way my courtesy will eliminate your confession and your secret before the king and queen will not lose a single feather. Lately - and why, I don’t know myself - I have lost all my cheerfulness, abandoned all my usual activities; and, indeed, my soul is so heavy that this beautiful temple, the earth, seems to me like a deserted cape; this incomparable canopy, the air, you see, this magnificently spread out firmament, this majestic roof lined with golden fire - all this seems to me nothing more than a cloudy and pestilential accumulation of vapors. What a masterful creature man is! How noble in mind! How limitless in his abilities, appearances and movements! How precise and wonderful in action! How he resembles an angel in his deep comprehension! How he looks like some kind of god! The beauty of the universe! The crown of all living things! What is this quintessence of ashes for me? Not a single person makes me happy; no, also not a nap, although with your smile you seem to want to say something else.

Rosencrantz
Prince, such a subject was not in my thoughts.

Hamlet
So why did you laugh when I said that “not a single person makes me happy”?

Rosencrantz
Because I thought, prince, that if people don’t make you happy, then what kind of Lenten reception will the actors find among you; we overtook them on the way; and they are coming here to offer you their services.

Hamlet
The one who plays the king will be a welcome guest; I will pay tribute to His Majesty; Let the brave knight wield sword and shield; let the lover not sigh in vain; let the eccentric end his role peacefully; let the jester make those with ticklish lungs laugh; Let the heroine freely express her soul, and let the blank verse be lame. Who are these actors?

Rosencrantz
The very ones you liked so much - the capital's tragedians.

Hamlet
How did it happen that they wander? Settlement was better for them both in terms of fame and income.

Rosencrantz
It seems to me that their difficulties stem from the latest innovations.

Hamlet
Are they as respected as they were when I was in the city? Are they visited the same way?

Rosencrantz
No, in truth, this doesn't happen anymore.

Hamlet
Why? Or have they started to rust?

Rosencrantz
No, their zeal proceeds at the usual pace; but there is a brood of children, small falcons, who scream louder than required, for which they are applauded most cruelly; now they are in fashion and so honor the simple theater - as they call it - that many sword-bearers are afraid of goose feathers and hardly dare to go there.

Hamlet
What, are these children? Who maintains them? What are they paid? Or will they only practice their craft as long as they can sing? Will they not later say, if they grow up to be mere actors - and this is quite possible if they have nothing better to do - that their writers have harmed them by forcing them to mock their own heritage?

Rosencrantz
Frankly, there was a lot of noise on both sides, and the people do not consider it a sin to incite them to bickering; At one time, nothing was given for a play if the writer and actor did not come to blows in this feud.

Hamlet
Can't be!

Guildenstern
Oh, a lot of brains were scattered.

Hamlet
And the children took the power?

Rosencrantz
Yes, prince, they took it away; Hercules along with his burden.

Hamlet
This is not so strange, my uncle is the King of Denmark, and those who made faces at him while my father was alive pay twenty, forty, fifty and a hundred ducats for his portrait in miniature. Damn it, there is something supernatural in this, if only philosophy could find out.

Guildenstern
Here are the actors.

Hamlet
Gentlemen, I am glad to see you in Elsinore. Your hands. The companions of cordiality are politeness and courtesy; allow me to greet you in this way, otherwise my treatment of the actors, I tell you, should be outwardly beautiful, will seem more hospitable than towards you. I'm glad to see you; but my uncle father and my aunt mother are wrong.

Guildenstern
What, my dear prince?

Hamlet
I am only mad in the north-north-west; when the wind is from the south, I distinguish a falcon from a heron.

Polonius enters.

Polonium
All the best to you, gentlemen!

Hamlet
Listen, Guildenstern - and you too - to each ear there is a listener: this big baby you see is not yet out of swaddling clothes.

Rosencrantz
Perhaps he fell into them for the second time, because they say that an old man is doubly a child.

Hamlet
I prophesy to you that he came to tell me about the actors; you'll see. – You are right, sir; on Monday morning; that's how it was, absolutely true

Polonium
My lord, I have news for you.

Hamlet
My lord, I have news for you. When Roscius was an actor in Rome...

Polonium
Prince, the actors have arrived here.

Hamlet
Ksh, ksh!

Polonium
By my honor...

Hamlet
"And everyone rode on a donkey...".

Polonium
The best actors in the world for tragic, comic, historical, pastoral, pastoral-comic, historical-pastoral, tragic-historical, tragic-comic-historical-pastoral performances, for indefinite scenes and unlimited poems; their Seneca is not too heavy and Plautus is not too light. For written roles and for free ones, these are the only people.

Hamlet
O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure you had!

Polonium
What treasure did he have, prince?

Hamlet
Why,
"One and only daughter,
What he loved most tenderly."

Polonium
(to the side)
All about my daughter.

Hamlet
Am I wrong, old Jephthah?

Polonium
If you call me Jephthah, prince, then I have a daughter whom I love most tenderly.

Hamlet
No, that's not what should happen.

Polonium
What follows, prince?

Hamlet
Here's what.
"But the lot fell, God knows"
and further, you know:
“It happened just as everyone thought.”
The first stanza of this pious song will tell you the rest; because, you see, my distracters are coming.

Four or five actors enter.

Welcome, gentlemen; welcome everyone - I'm glad to see you safe. – Welcome, dear friends! - Ah, my old friend! Your face has grown fringed since I last saw you; or did you come to Denmark to outshine me? – What do I see, my young lady! I swear by the Lady of Heaven, your grace is closer to heaven than when I last saw her, by a whole heel. I pray to God that your voice does not end up cracked, like gold that has gone out of circulation. - Gentlemen, you are all welcome. We, like French falconers, will fly into the first thing that comes our way; let's start a monologue right away; Come on, show us an example of your art: come on, a passionate monologue.

First actor
What monologue, my good prince?

Hamlet
I heard you once read a monologue, but it was never played; and if this happened, then no more than once; because the play, I remember, was not liked by the crowd; for most it was caviar; but it was - as I and others, whose judgment in such matters is louder than mine, took it - an excellent play, well distributed among the scenes, constructed as simply as it was skilfully constructed. I remember someone said that poetry is not seasoned to make the content palatable, and speeches do not contain anything that would expose the author to pretentiousness, and called this a respectable method, healthy and pleasant, and much more beautiful than elegant. I especially loved one monologue in it; it was Aeneas's story to Dido; and mainly the place where he talks about the murder of Priam. If he is alive in your memory, begin with this line; let me, let me:
"Shaggy Pyrrhus is similar to the Hyrcanian beast...".
Not this way; begins with Pyrrhus:
"Shaggy Pyrrhus is the one whose weapon is black,
Like his thought, and like that night,
When he lay in the ominous horse, -
Has now brightened up its gloomy appearance
Nowadays he is even more terrible with enamel -
Solid scarlet all colored with blood
Husbands and wives, sons and daughters,
Cake from the hot streets,
What cursed and cruel light is shed
Regicide; burning with fire and anger,
Overgrown with sticky crimson, with eyes,
Like two carbuncles, Pyrrhus is looking for an old man
Priam."
So, continue.

Polonium
By God, Prince, it was well read, with due expressiveness and with due feeling.

First actor
"Here he finds it
Slaying the Greeks in vain; old sword,
The obstinate hand lay down where it fell,
Not heeding the will; Pyrrhus in an unequal battle
Hastens to Priam; swung violently;
Already from the whistle of a wild sword
The king falls. Soulless Ilion,
As if sensing this wave, he bows
Burning brow and terrible crash
Captivates Pyrrhic ears; and his sword
Rising above the milky head
The venerable Priam seemed to freeze.
So Pyrrhus stood like a monster in a painting,
And, as if alien to will and accomplishment,
Inactive.
But as we often see before a thunderstorm -
Silence in the sky, the clouds are motionless,
The winds are silent and the earth below
Quiet as death, and suddenly with terrible thunder
The air is torn; so, hesitating, Pyrrha
Awakened revenge leads to deeds;
And they never fell, forging,
On the armor of Mars the hammers of the Cyclops
As fierce as the bloody Pyrrhic sword
Fell on Priam.
Away, away, harlot Fortune! Gods,
All of you, the whole host, will deprive her of power;
Break her wheel, spokes, rim -
And the hub from the heavenly hill
Throw it to the demons!"

Polonium
It's too long.

Hamlet
This will go to the barber, along with your beard. - Please, continue; he needs a dance song or an obscene story, otherwise he sleeps; continue; go to Hecuba.

First actor
"But who would have seen the pitiful queen..."

Hamlet
"Pitiful queen"?

Polonium
This is good, “pathetic queen” is good.

First actor
"...Running barefoot in blind tears,
Threatening flames; the flap is draped over
On the crowned brow, with clothes
Around the birth of a withered womb -
The sheet caught in fear;
Whoever saw this would be at the mercy of Fortune
Through the mouth of a serpent he would utter blasphemy;
And if the gods could see her,
When I amuse myself with evil deeds in front of her,
Pyrrhus cut the body of a man with a sword,
An instant cry erupted from her, -
If mortal things touch them even a little,
I would moisten the lights of the heavenly eyes
And angered the gods."

Polonium
Look, his face has changed, and he has tears in his eyes. - Please, that's enough.

Hamlet
Okay, you can tell me the rest later. “My dear sir, won’t you make sure that the actors are well accommodated?” Hear, let them be received well, because they are an overview and brief chronicles of the century; It is better for you to receive a bad epitaph after death than a bad report from them while you are alive.

Polonium
Prince, I will accept them according to their merits.

Hamlet
The hell with it, my dear, it’s much better! If we take everyone according to his deserts, then who will escape the whip? Accept them according to your own honor and dignity; the less they deserve, the more glory to your kindness. Show them off.

Polonium
Let's go, gentlemen.

Hamlet
Follow him, friends; tomorrow we will give a performance.

Polonius and all the actors except the first one leave.

Listen, old friend; can you play "The Murder of Gonzago"?

First actor.
Yes, prince.

Hamlet
We'll present it tomorrow evening. Could you, if necessary, learn a monologue of some twelve or sixteen lines, which I would compose and insert there? Could you?

First actor
Yes, prince.

Hamlet
Great. Follow this gentleman; and be careful not to laugh at him.

The first actor leaves.

My dear friends, I will say goodbye to you until the evening; glad to see you in Elsinore.

Rosencrantz
My good prince!

Hamlet
So, God bless you!

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leave.

Here I am alone
Oh, what a piece of trash I am, what a miserable slave!
Isn't it a shame that this actor is
In the imagination, in a fictitious passion
So he raised his spirit to his dreams,
That his work made him all pale;
Moistened gaze, despair in the face,
The voice is broken, and the whole appearance echoes
His dream. And all because of what?
Because of Hecuba! What does Hecuba mean to him?
What is he to Hecuba, that he should weep for her?
What would he do if he had
The same reason and prompt for passion,
Like mine? Flooding the stage with tears,
He would cut the general ear with a menacing speech,
Would plunge the sinners into madness, the pure into horror,
Those who do not know will be confused and struck down
Powerlessness of both ears and eyes.
And I,
Dumb and sluggish fool, mumble,
Like a mouthful, alien to his own truth,
And I can’t say anything; even
For the king, whose life and fortune
So vilely ruined. Or am I a coward?
Who will tell me: "scoundrel"? Will it hit your head?
Will he tear out a tuft of beards and throw it in his face?
Will it pull your nose? Lies will go down my throat
To the lightest? Who wants it first?
Ha!
By God, I could take it down; because I have
And pigeon liver - no bile,
To be upset by evil; not that long ago
I would feed all the kites of heaven
The corpse of a scoundrel; predator and scoundrel!
Lascivious, treacherous, evil scoundrel!
Oh, vengeance!
Well, what an ass I am! How nice it is
That I, the son of a dead father,
Drawn to revenge by heaven and Gehenna,
Like a whore, I take my soul away with words
And I practice swearing like a woman,
Like a dishwasher!
Ugh, disgusting! Get to work, brain! Hm, I heard
That sometimes there are criminals in the theater
Were under the influence of the game
So deeply shocked that immediately
They proclaimed their own atrocities;
Murder, though silent, speaks
Wonderful language. I tell the actors
Imagine something your uncle would see
Hamlet's death; I will look into his eyes;
I will penetrate to the living; he trembles a little,
I know my way. The spirit that appeared to me
Perhaps there was a devil; the devil is powerful
Put on a sweet image; and, perhaps,
What, since I am relaxed and sad, -
And over such a soul it is very powerful, -
He is leading me to destruction. I need
More support. The spectacle is a loop,
To lasso the king's conscience.
(Leaves.)

The square in front of the castle in Elsinore. On guard are Marcellus and Bernard, Danish officers. They are later joined by Horatio, the learned friend of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He came to verify the story about the nightly appearance of a ghost similar to the Danish king who had recently died. Horatio is inclined to consider this a fantasy. Midnight. And a menacing ghost in full military garb appears. Horatio is shocked and tries to talk to him. Horatio, reflecting on what he saw, considers the appearance of the ghost a sign of “some kind of unrest for the state.” He decides to tell Prince Hamlet about the night vision, who interrupted his studies in Wittenberg due to the sudden death of his father. Hamlet's grief is aggravated by the fact that his mother soon after his father's death married his brother. She, “without wearing out the shoes in which she followed the coffin,” threw herself into the arms of an unworthy man, “a dense clot of meat.” Hamlet’s soul shuddered: “How tiresome, dull and unnecessary, / It seems to me, everything that is in the world! O abomination!

Horatio told Hamlet about the night ghost. Hamlet does not hesitate: “Hamlet’s spirit is in arms! Things are bad; / There's something here. It would be night soon! / Be patient, soul; evil will be revealed, / At least it will go from the eyes into the underground darkness.”

The ghost of Hamlet's father told about a terrible crime.

While the king was resting peacefully in the garden, his brother poured the deadly juice of henbane into his ear. “So in a dream, from a brotherly hand, I lost my life, my crown and my queen.” The ghost asks Hamlet to avenge him. "Bye Bye. And remember about me” - with these words the ghost leaves.

The world has turned upside down for Hamlet... He swears to avenge his father. He asks his friends to keep this meeting secret and not to be surprised at the strangeness of his behavior.

Meanwhile, the king's close nobleman Polonius sends his son Laertes to study in Paris. He gives his brotherly instructions to his sister Ophelia, and we learn about Hamlet’s feelings, from which Laertes warns Ophelia: “He is a citizen of his birth; / He does not cut his own piece, / Like others; The life and health of the entire state depend on his choice.”

His words are confirmed by his father, Polonius. He forbids her to spend time with Hamlet. Ophelia tells her father that Prince Hamlet came to her and he seemed out of his mind. Taking her hand, “he let out a sigh so mournful and deep, / As if his whole chest had broken and life was extinguished.” Polonius decides that Hamlet's strange behavior in recent days is due to the fact that he is "mad with love." He is going to tell the king about this.

The king, whose conscience is burdened with murder, is concerned about Hamlet's behavior. What lies behind it - madness? Or something else? He calls upon Rosencrantz and Guildestern, Hamlet's former friends, and asks them to find out his secret from the prince. For this he promises “the royal mercy.” Polonius arrives and suggests that Hamlet's madness is caused by love. To confirm his words, he shows Hamlet’s letter, which he took from Ophelia. Polonius promises to send his daughter to the gallery where Hamlet often walks in order to make sure of his feelings.

Rosencrantz and Guildesterne try unsuccessfully to find out the secret of Prince Hamlet. Hamlet understands that they were sent by the king.

Hamlet learns that actors have arrived, the capital's tragedians, whom he liked so much before, and an idea comes to his mind: to use the actors to make sure of the king's guilt. He agrees with the actors that they will play a play about the death of Priam, and he will insert two or three verses of his composition into it. The actors agree. Hamlet asks the first actor to read a soliloquy about the murder of Priam. The actor reads brilliantly. Hamlet is excited. Entrusting the actors to the care of Polonius, he reflects alone. He must know exactly about the crime: “The spectacle is a noose to lasso the king’s conscience.”

The king questions Rosencrantz and Guildestern about the success of their mission. They admit that they were unable to find out anything: “He does not allow himself to be questioned / And with the cunning of madness he slips away...”

They report to the king that traveling actors have arrived, and Hamlet invites the king and queen to the performance.

Hamlet walks alone and utters, reflecting, his famous soliloquy: “To be or not to be, that is the question...” Why do we hold on to life so much? In which “the mockery of the century, the oppression of the strong, the mockery of the proud.” And he answers his own question: “The fear of something after death - / An unknown land from where there is no return / For earthly wanderers” - confuses the will.

Polonius sends Ophelia to Hamlet. Hamlet quickly realizes that their conversation is being overheard and that Ophelia has come at the instigation of the king and father. And he plays the role of a madman, gives her advice to go to a monastery. The straightforward Ophelia is killed by Hamlet’s speeches: “Oh, what a proud mind is slain! Nobles, / Fighter, scientist - gaze, sword, tongue; / The color and hope of a joyful power, / An emboss of grace, a mirror of taste, / An exemplary example - fallen, fallen to the end! The king makes sure that love is not the cause of the prince’s upset. Hamlet asks Horatio to watch the king during the play. The show begins. Hamlet comments on it throughout the play. He accompanies the poisoning scene with the words: “He poisons him in the garden for the sake of his power. / His name is Gonzago Now you will see how the murderer wins the love of Gonzaga’s wife.”

During this scene, the king could not stand it. He got up. There was a commotion. Polonius demanded that the game be stopped. Everyone leaves. Hamlet and Horatio remain. They are convinced of the king's crime - he gave himself away completely.

Rosencrantz and Guildestern return. They explain how upset the king is and how perplexed the queen is about Hamlet's behavior. Hamlet takes the flute and invites Guildestern to play it. Guildesterne refuses: “I do not master this art.” Hamlet says with anger: “You see what a worthless thing you are making of me? You are ready to play me, it seems to you that you know my modes...”

Polonius calls Hamlet to his mother, the queen.

The king is tormented by fear and tormented by a bad conscience. “Oh, my sin is vile, it stinks to heaven!” But he has already committed a crime, “his chest is blacker than death.” He kneels down, trying to pray.

At this time, Hamlet passes - he goes to his mother’s chambers. But he does not want to kill the despicable king during prayer. “Back, my sword, find out the terrible girth.”

Polonius hides behind the carpet in the queen's chambers to overhear Hamlet's conversation with his mother.

Hamlet is full of indignation. The pain that torments his heart makes his tongue bold. The Queen gets scared and screams. Polonius finds himself behind the carpet, Hamlet, shouting “Rat, rat,” pierces him with his sword, thinking that it is the king. The Queen begs Hamlet for mercy: “You directed my eyes straight into my soul, / And in it I see so many black spots, / That nothing can remove them...”

A ghost appears... He demands to spare the queen.

The Queen does not see or hear the ghost; it seems to her that Hamlet is talking to the void. He looks like a madman.

The queen tells the king that in a fit of madness, Hamlet killed Polonius. "He's crying about what he did." The king decides to immediately send Hamlet to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildestern, who will be given a secret letter to the Briton about the death of Hamlet. He decides to bury Polonius secretly to avoid rumors.

Hamlet and his traitorous friends rush to the ship. They meet armed soldiers. Hamlet asks them whose army is and where it is going. It turns out that this is the Norwegian army, which is going to fight with Poland for a piece of land, which “for five ducats” it would be a pity to rent. Hamlet is amazed that people cannot “settle the dispute about this trifle.”

For him, this incident is a reason for deep reflections about what is tormenting him, and what is tormenting him is his own indecision. Prince Fortinbras, “for the sake of whim and absurd glory,” sends twenty thousand to death, “as if to bed,” since his honor is hurt. “So what about me,” Hamlet exclaims, “I, whose father is killed, / whose mother is in disgrace,” and I live, repeating “this must be done.” “Oh my thought, from now on you must be bloody, or dust will be your price.”

Having learned about the death of his father, Laertes secretly returns from Paris. Another misfortune awaits him: Ophelia, under the burden of grief - the death of her father at the hands of Hamlet - has gone crazy. Laertes seeks revenge. Armed, he breaks into the king's chambers. The king calls Hamlet the culprit of all Laertes' misfortunes. At this time, the messenger brings the king a letter in which Hamlet announces his return. The king is at a loss, he understands that something has happened. But then he hatches a new vile plan, in which he involves the hot-tempered, narrow-minded Laertes.

He proposes to arrange a duel between Laertes and Hamlet. And to ensure that the murder takes place, the end of Laertes’ sword should be smeared with deadly poison. Laertes agrees.

The Queen sadly reports the death of Ophelia. She “tried to hang her wreaths on the branches, the treacherous branch broke, she fell into a sobbing stream.”

Two gravediggers are digging a grave. And they make jokes.

Hamlet and Horatio appear. Hamlet talks about the vanity of all living things. “Alexander (Macedonian - E. Sh.) died, Alexander was buried, Alexander turns to dust; dust is earth; clay is made from earth; and why can’t they plug up a beer barrel with this clay into which he turned?”

The funeral procession is approaching. King, queen, Laertes, court. Ophelia is buried. Laertes jumps into the grave and asks to be buried with his sister; Hamlet cannot stand the false note. They grapple with Laertes. “I loved her; forty thousand brothers / with all the multitude of their love would not be equal to me,” - in these famous words of Hamlet there is a genuine, deep feeling.

The king separates them. He is not happy with the unpredictable fight. He reminds Laertes: “Be patient and remember yesterday; / We will move things to a quick end.”

Horatio and Hamlet are alone. Hamlet tells Horatio that he managed to read the king's letter. It contained a request to immediately execute Hamlet. Providence protected the prince, and, using his father’s signet, he replaced the letter in which he wrote: “The donors must be killed immediately.” And with this message, Rosencrantz and Guildestern sail towards their doom. The ship was attacked by robbers, Hamlet was captured and taken to Denmark. Now he is ready for revenge.

Osric, a close associate of the king, appears and reports that the king has bet that Hamlet will defeat Laertes in a duel. Hamlet agrees to the duel, but his heart is heavy and he anticipates a trap.

Before the duel, he asks for an apology from Laertes: “My act, which hurt your honor, nature, feeling, / - I declare this, - was insane.”

The king prepared another trap for loyalty - he placed a goblet of poisoned wine to give it to Hamlet when he was thirsty. Laertes wounds Hamlet, they exchange rapiers, Hamlet wounds Laertes. The Queen drinks poisoned wine for Hamlet's victory. The king was unable to stop her. The queen dies, but manages to say: “Oh, my Hamlet, drink! I was poisoned." Laertes confesses his betrayal to Hamlet: “The king, the king is guilty...”

Hamlet hits the king with a poisoned blade and dies himself. Horatio wants to drink the poisoned wine so he can follow the prince. But the dying Hamlet asks: “Breathe in the harsh world, so that my / Tell the story.” Horatio informs Fortinbras and the English ambassadors about the tragedy that has occurred.

Fortinbras gives the order: “Let Hamlet be raised to the platform like a warrior...”

Shakespeare's Hamlet - summary

Tragedy in 5 acts (Translation from English by Boris Pasternak)

Characters

Claudius, King of Denmark

Hamlet, son of the former and nephew of the current king

Polonius, Chamberlain of the Court

Horatio, Hamlet's friend

Laertes, son of Polonius

Voltimand, courtier

Cornelius, courtier

Rosencrantz, courtier

Guildenstern, courtier

Osric, courtier

Priest

Marcellus, officer

Bernardo, officer

Francisco, soldier

Reinaldo, servant of Polonius

Two men, gravediggers Fortinbras, Prince of Norway Captain

English ambassadors

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother Ophelia, daughter of Polonius Ghost of Hamlet's father

Act one Scene 1

Elsinore. The area in front of the castle. Midnight. Francisco at his post. Bernardo comes up to him and replaces him. Soon Horatio and Marcellus enter. The latter wonders if the Phantom, whom they had already seen twice together at night, appeared at night. According to Marcellus, “Horatio considers this all a play of the imagination and does not believe...” A few minutes later the Ghost actually enters, “with the posture of the spitting image of the deceased king” (i.e. Hamlet, the father of the current Danish prince, also Hamlet). Horatio tries to enter into a conversation with the Phantom, to find out why he took the form of the late monarch, but the Phantom, offended, leaves. Horatio believes, “this is a sign of turmoil threatening the state.” Marcellus wonders why Denmark has recently begun to actively arm itself, and why the guards at night have become tougher. Horatio explains that the reason for this lies in the actions of the Norwegian prince Fortinbras. He is “in excess of innate enthusiasm... in Norway he has recruited a detachment of thugs ready for battle in exchange for bread” and is moving towards the borders of Denmark. Fortinbras intends to challenge the result of the duel between the old king Hamlet and his father, as a result of which Hamlet, as the winner, was given the disputed lands. Bernardo blames old Hamlet for the fact that wars are falling on Denmark because of him. Horatio recalls that, just as before the decline of the Roman Empire, people were haunted by ominous omens, so now bad omens indicate the approach of terrible changes in Denmark. Horatio considers the appearance of the Phantom to be one of these signs. At this moment, the Ghost returns with the intention of saying something to those gathered, but the rooster crows - and the Ghost disappears. Horatio decides that it is necessary to inform about the appearance of the Ghost of Prince Hamlet.

Reception hall in the castle. Enter the king, queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand, Cornelius, courtiers and retinue. - Claudius (the king) makes a speech from which it follows that no matter how deep his grief for his dead brother (old Hamlet), henceforth he should be more restrained. The king announces that, after consulting with the courtiers, he has taken his brother's widow, Queen Gertrude, as his wife. He further informs the audience that Prince Fortinbras is bothering the Danish crown, “demanding the return of his father’s lost regions, which the late King Hamlet rightfully got for himself.” Claudius announces that he is sending a letter to the Norwegian king (Fortinbras's uncle), in which he informs him of the plans of young Fortinbras. The fact is that the Norwegian king is already very old and does not have time to follow the plans of his warlike nephew. Claudius gives the letter to Voltimand and Cornelius and sends envoys to Norway. Laertes asks the king for permission to return to France, where he came from for the coronation ceremony of Claudius. Claudius, having secured the consent of Polonius (Laertes' father), gives his permission. The king is interested in the affairs of Prince Hamlet, the reason for his bad mood, gloominess, and reluctance to communicate with him and the queen. Hamlet cannot forget his father; he considers his mother’s marriage to Claudius a crime against the memory of the deceased, but does not speak about this directly. The Queen persuades her son to stop “looking for his father’s traces in the dust.” Hamlet objects that his soul cannot rest:

Neither the gloom of the cloak on me, nor the blackness of the dress, nor the hoarse intermittency of breathing, nor the tears in three streams, nor the thinness, nor other evidence of suffering can express my soul. These are the ways to appear, for these are only actions, and they are easy to play, but my grief is free from embellishment and does not put them on display.

The king invites the prince to “guard the sadness,” but not to establish himself in it. He assures Hamlet that he and the queen sincerely love him, and asks not to leave for Witenberg, where Hamlet wanted to continue his studies. The royal couple wants to see their son next to them. After Hamlet’s mother asks the same thing, the prince agrees to stay. Everyone except Hamlet leaves. Left alone, Hamlet pronounces a monologue in which he yearns for his father, involuntarily comparing him with Claudius:

Enter Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo. Hamlet complains to them that “the funeral pie has gone from the funeral to the wedding table,” shares his longing for his father, and speaks of him as “a man in the full sense of the word.” Horatio tells the prince that the Ghost of his father is wandering around the castle. Hamlet decides to meet the Ghost at night and try to talk to him.

A room in Polonius's house. Laertes says goodbye to his sister (Ophelia), advises her not to take seriously the courtship of Prince Hamlet, not to forget that there is an abyss between them, that Hamlet has no control over his fate (he must marry a representative of the royal family, thereby strengthening relations with some country ).

Polonius enters. He hurries his son to the ship. An experienced and cunning courtier, he teaches him “worldly wisdom”:

Do not give publicity to cherished thoughts, Do not give way to incongruous ones. Be simple with people, but don’t be a friend. Chain your trusted and best friends with steel hoops, But don’t rub your hands until they calluses. Shake with people you meet. Try to beware of fights, but if you fight, get down to business in such a way that others will beware. Listen to everyone, but rarely talk to anyone. Endure their judgment and hide your judgments. Dress up in whatever your wallet allows, But don't dress up - richly, but without pretentiousness.

After listening to the instructions, Laertes leaves. Ophelia tells her father that Prince Hamlet declared his love to her “with courtesy.” Polonius shares the same point of view as his son. He advises his daughter not to take what Hamlet said at face value and under no circumstances to give in to the prince’s persuasion (so as not to remain a fool). According to Polonius, Hamlet’s “oaths are liars.”

The area in front of the castle. Enter Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus. The sounds of cannon shots can be heard. This is fired when the king raises a healthy cup at a feast. Hamlet speaks with disgust about the constant feasts of King Claudius, which covered the Danes with shame and earned them the nickname “drunkards and swine.”

The Phantom enters. Hamlet asks him why he took the form of his late father. The ghost beckons Hamlet. Hamlet follows him, although Horatio dissuades him. “I don’t value my life like a pin. Why is he dangerous for my soul when it is immortal, like him?” - Hamlet responds. Horatio fears that the Phantom will “turn into something that will deprive you of your sanity and push you into madness.”

However, Hamlet leaves after the Ghost. Horatio wonders what the Phantom's behavior could mean. Having found no answer, Marcellus decides that, apparently, “there is some kind of rot in the Danish state.” The friends decide to follow the prince and help him if necessary.

Enter the Ghost and Hamlet. The ghost announces:

I am the spirit of your dear father, condemned to wander for a certain period of time at night, and to burn in fire during the day, until my earthly curses burn out to the ground.

The Ghost calls on Hamlet to avenge his father's murder. He tells how Claudius, “an incestuous and adulterer,” poisoned the old king while he slept in the garden. Claudius poured poison into his brother's ear, and then announced to the Danes that the sleeping king had been bitten by a snake. Thus, the old king was “deprived of his crown, his life, his queen by the hand of his brother” and was sent to the Last Judgment without confession or repentance. The ghost begs Hamlet to avenge him, but not to offend his mother. She will be punished by God and her own conscience. The ghost leaves. Hamlet vows to do his will.

Enter Horatio and Marcellus. Hamlet asks his friends not to tell anyone about what happened and, no matter how Hamlet behaves in the future, not to reveal his secret. Horatio and Marcellus swear on the sword.

Act two Scene 1

Elsinore. A room in Polonius's house. Polonius sends Reynaldo after Laertes, asking him to keep an eye on his son and in a roundabout way to make inquiries about his behavior. At the same time, Polonius even allows Reynaldo to lie about Laertes whatever he wants, except stories that harm his son’s honor.

Reynaldo leaves. Ophelia appears. She says that Hamlet came to her. He was strangely, sloppily dressed, trembling all over, “as if released from under the earth to tell about the horrors of Gehenna.” Hamlet looked attentively at Ophelia for a long time, squeezed her hand, and then “shaked his hand, bowed three times and let out such a deep sigh, as if he had carried the remnant of his last breath into him,” after which he respectfully left. Polonius decides that this is “a clear explosion of love madness, in the frenzy of which sometimes they reach desperate decisions.” Polonius and Ophelia go to the king to notify him of Hamlet’s strange behavior, and also to offer an explanation for the prince’s gloom and absurd actions: passionate and unrequited love.

Room in the castle. Enter the King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and retinue. The king welcomes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, shares with them, Hamlet’s peers “from school years,” his concerns about Hamlet’s behavior, and asks for secret surveillance to be established over him. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree and go to Hamlet's chambers.

Polonius appears. He came to explain to the king “the root of Hamlet’s nonsense.” At this time, ambassadors from Fortinbras return and talk about the successful completion of their mission. The Norwegian king gave his nephew, who was secretly planning a strike against Denmark from him, a “rout”, and then ordered him to “move the recruited soldiers on a campaign against Poland.” The Norwegians ask Claudius to allow their troops to pass through Danish territory “under the sure guarantee” that they will not conduct military operations against the Danes. The king thanks the ambassadors and invites them to a feast in the evening. When Voltimand and Cornelius leave, Polonius, without further ado (“brevity is the soul of the mind, and verbosity is the body and embellishment”), announces to the royal couple that Hamlet has “gone mad” from love for his daughter. As proof, Polonius presents the king with poems written by Hamlet's hand and his declaration of love to Ophelia. Polonius claims that, since he himself advised his daughter to be extremely careful and not to cross the “threshold of what is permitted,” the rejected Hamlet “fell into melancholy, lost Dopetite, lost sleep, then lost strength, and then from a mild disorder he fell into a severe one, in which he rages we are flying on the mountain.” The king and queen readily agree with this interpretation of Hamlet's strange behavior. Polonius, for greater persuasiveness, suggests sending Ophelia to Hamlet, and hiding behind the curtain and eavesdropping on what the prince will talk about with the girl. The king, queen and retinue leave. Hamlet appears reading a book. He feigns insanity, declares that Polonius is a fishmonger, and advises him to “be as honest,” which means “to be the only one out of ten thousand.” Hamlet advises Polonius not to allow his daughter to marry and have children. Polonius aside says that he was convinced that he was right (Hamlet went crazy because of Ophelia). To renew the conversation with the prince that had died out, Polonius asks what Hamlet is reading. He answers: “Words, words, words...” The book describes the shortcomings and weaknesses of old people. Hamlet understands that everything in it is true, but “he considers it shameless to publish it,” because all people will someday grow old. Polonius privately calls Hamlet’s “madness” “consistent in its own way.” He advises the prince to get away from the open air. Hamlet grins: “Where, to the grave?” Polonius cannot help but note the insightfulness of the prince’s answers and asks permission to leave. After Polonius leaves, Rosencranz and Guildenstern appear. Hamlet is glad to see them, he is interested in what is new in the world. Rosencrantz states: “Nothing, prince, except that there is a conscience in the world.” Hamlet states that this means the world will soon end and asks what brought his school friends to prison (“Denmark is a prison”). Rosencrantz disagrees with the prince. Then Hamlet says that “for you it is not a prison, for things in themselves are not good or bad, but only in our assessment. For me it is a prison." Rosencrantz believes that Hamlet's "lust for glory makes it a prison." The prince invites his friends to go to court. They call themselves his “faithful servants.” Hamlet begins to suspect something is wrong: “My servants have begun to keep too good an eye on me lately.” Hamlet realizes that the king and queen have sent for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to keep an eye on the prince. Hamlet asks his friends about this directly. They admit that Hamlet guessed the truth. Hamlet, in order not to put his friends in the position of traitors, himself names the reason that prompted the king to do this. “Recently, I don’t know why, I lost all my cheerfulness and habit of studying. I feel so uneasy that this flower garden of the universe, the earth, seems to me like a barren rock, and this immense tent of air with an impregnably ascended firmament, this, you see, royal vault, lined with a golden spark, "" in my opinion, is simply an accumulation stinking and “harmful fumes. What a miracle of nature man is!.. The beauty of the universe! The crown of all living things! And what is this quintessence of dust to me? Men don’t interest me, and neither do women.”

Rosencrantz tells Hamlet that he invited traveling actors to the castle. Hamlet promises the actors a warm welcome. He asks if actors are appreciated like in the old days. Rosenkrantz says traditional theater is criticized in the city. The fact is that children who sing with very high voices have become fashionable among viewers, and these singers are incredibly successful. Hamlet wonders what these children will do, “when their voices grow rough and they themselves become actors in ordinary theaters, whether they will not regret that their elders set them against their own future.” Rosenkrantz replies that tastes change all the time, and therefore the commercial success of a play also changes: “At one time they didn’t give anything for a play unless it dealt with a literary opponent.” Hamlet is not surprised. “For example, now my uncle is the Danish king, and the same ones who made faces at him during my father’s life give twenty, forty, fifty and a hundred ducats for his small images.”

The sounds of trumpets are heard. These are actors. Hamlet belatedly shakes hands with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, since “the concept of hospitality includes tact and social conventions.” The actors enter. Hamlet greets them with sincere joy, since he remembers almost everyone well from the plays they previously performed for him. He asks the actors to present him with a “sample of their art” in order to verify their skill - to read the text of Pyrrhus (the ancient Greek hero who took revenge on the Trojans for the death of his father). When the actor reaches the words “The sight of the desecrated queen is terrible...”, Hamlet’s face changes. He sends the actors away, asking Polonius to make them more comfortable. Hamlet asks the actors to perform the play “The Murder of Gonzago” tomorrow evening by the royal couple (the Duke of Urbana was killed by Gonzago, who poured poison into his ear).

Hamlet intends to write a piece of text himself, which the actors agree to memorize and present during the play. Everyone comes out. Hamlet is left alone, pronouncing a monologue about the actors and their fantastic gift of transformation. Hamlet imagines how the actor would make the audience weep if he had the same reason to mourn as Hamlet. The prince calls himself a coward because, knowing about the murder of his father, he has not yet lifted a finger to avenge him.

Hamlet decides to check the veracity of the Ghost's words. To do this, he, with the help of actors, will perform a performance in front of Claudius in which the events will exactly repeat the scene of his father’s poisoning in the garden. Hamlet decides to monitor Claudius's reaction: if the king gives himself away, the prince will take revenge, as the Ghost insisted. Otherwise, Hamlet will begin to believe that “that spirit was the devil.”

Act Three Scene 1

Elsinore. Room in the castle. Enter the King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The king laments that his childhood friends were unable to extract anything from Hamlet about the reasons for his “excitement.” He advises Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to encourage Hamlet's passion for the theater and entertain him in every possible way. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, followed by the queen, leave. Polonius tells Ophelia to walk with a book in her hands. “Reading will justify the seclusion of the place. We are all good: with a holy face and external piety, on occasion, we can sugar the devil himself.” The king aside notes that Polonius, without suspecting it, hit the mark: “After all, the whore’s cheeks, if you take off the rouge, are not as terrible as my deeds under the red words.” Polonius and the king are in hiding. Hamlet enters. He delivers a monologue:

To be or not to be, that is the question. Is it worthy

Should we resign ourselves to the blows of fate, or should we show resistance and end them in mortal combat with a whole sea of ​​troubles? Die. Forget yourself. And to know that by doing this you break the chain of heartache and thousands of deprivations inherent in the body. Isn't this the Desired Goal? Die. Lose yourself in sleep. Fall asleep... and dream? Here is the answer. What dreams will you dream in that mortal sleep, When the veil of earthly feelings is removed? Here's the explanation. This is what prolongs the life of our misfortunes for so many years. Otherwise, who would bear the humiliation of the century, The untruth of the oppressor, the nobles, Shyness, rejected feelings, Slow judgment and most of all, The ridicule of the unworthy at the worthy, When all ends are so easily tied up by the blow of a dagger? Who would agree to trudge groaning under the burden of life, if the unknown after death, the fear of a country from which no one ever returned, did not incline the will to put up better with a familiar evil, than to seek flight to the unfamiliar. So thought turns us all into cowards And our resolve withers like a flower In the sterility of a mental dead end. This is how plans on a grand scale, which initially promised success, perish from long delays.

Hamlet notices Ophelia, joyfully greets her, and asks her to remember him in her prayers. Ophelia says that she still has the prince's gifts, which she wants to return to him. Hamlet notes that Ophelia can hardly be considered a decent girl, because she is very beautiful, and beauty is incompatible with virtue. Hamlet advises her to go to a monastery - “why breed sinners?.. Be as pure as ice and pure as snow, you will not escape from vain... And if you absolutely need a husband, marry a fool. The smart ones know too much what monsters you make of them...” Hamlet leaves. Ophelia laments about “what charm the mind has lost... a combination of knowledge, eloquence and valor.”

The king and Polonius emerge from a secluded place from where they heard the conversation between Ophelia and Hamlet. Claudius is now sure that unhappy love has nothing to do with Hamlet’s state of mind: “there is no madness. He’s either nursing in the dark corners of his melancholy, hatching something more dangerous.” Claudius decides, for his own safety, to send Hamlet out of the country to England. Polonius supports the king: “Send him to England, or put him where you decide.” Claudius likes this idea: “So be it. Influential madmen are sent to prison.”

Hall in the castle. Hamlet gives the actors the last instructions before the performance - to speak “easily and without hesitation”, “not to cut the air... with your hands”, but to play with restraint and naturalness. According to Galet, the theater is “a mirror in front of nature, designed to show valor its true face and its true face - baseness.” The actors leave. Hamlet asks Horatio, his closest friend, to carefully observe Claudius throughout the play. Horatio agrees.

Enter the king, queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and guards with torches. The spectators take their seats. Hamlet asks permission to lay his head on Ophelia's lap. The prince says that for the sake of his beloved, he would even walk the wheel, because he needs to be happy - after all, his mother looks very joyful, although his father died only two hours ago. The show begins. The actors perform a pantomime - a summary of the subsequent play. First, the king and queen appear before the audience, who expresses their devotion to their husband. The king falls asleep, the queen leaves, and the poisoner sneaks up on the sleeping man and pours poison into his ear. The queen expresses despair with gestures, the “corpse” is carried away, and the poisoner wins the queen’s favor with gifts. The actors begin to introduce the play with words. As the action progresses, Hamlet inquires about his mother’s opinion, assuring her that she has nothing to do with the “most nasty tricks” of the heroes, since her conscience is clear. When the action reaches its climax (the main character pours poison into his rival's ear), Hamlet explains out loud that this is the Duke of Gonzago, who commits murder to seize the throne. At the same time, the king and queen get up and leave the hall, followed by their retinue. Horatio remains alone next to Hamlet. They agree that the Phantom was absolutely right. Gil: Denstern returns to announce to Hamlet that the king felt ill at the performance, and the queen considers Hamlet’s behavior provocative and asks her son to come up to her bedchamber. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern persistently wonder what the cause of Hamlet's grief is. He takes the flute from the musician and, handing it to Guildenstern, demands that he perform something. Guildenstern refuses because he has not studied and does not know how to play. Hamlet explains, “It is as easy as lying.” The Prince reproaches Guildenstern for the fact that, not knowing how to play the simplest musical instrument, he undertakes to play on the strings of Hamlet's soul. Hamlet goes to the queen, deciding to have a straight talk with her.

Room in the castle. Enter the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The king admits that he does not love Hamlet and “does not intend to indulge in madness.” He signs papers to be handed over to the English authorities. Claudius gives them to Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, who are tasked with escorting Hamlet to England. Left alone, Claudius remembers his atrocities and unsuccessfully tries to pray:

I have the seal of an ancient curse on me:

Murder of a brother. I'm burning with thirst

I'm eager with all my heart, but I can't pray.

There is no pardon for such guilt...

I have everything with me why I killed:

My crown, land and queen.

Why forgive someone who is stubborn in sin?

Hamlet enters. It seems to him that the opportune moment has come to stab the king, but the prince refuses this intention. There is no need for him to “send a murderer to heaven” (since Claudius will be killed during prayer, that is, with his sins forgiven) while his father was killed without repentance. Hamlet passes by and goes to the queen's bedroom.

The queen and Polonius enter, who persuades Gertrude to convince her son to “curb his antics.” Polonius himself hides behind the curtain and eavesdrops. The queen shames Hamlet for insulting his father (referring to Claudius), but Hamlet responds by also blaming his mother for insulting his father (referring to his real father). Hamlet speaks more and more decisively* calls his mother a hypocrite. The Queen is frightened, Polonius, standing behind the curtain, calls the guards. Hamlet shouts “Oh, so? Are there rats here? pierces the carpet and stabs Polonius. The Queen is horrified by the “unparalleled villainy.” Hamlet believes that his offense is no worse than the betrayal committed by his mother. Hamlet tells his mother everything that the Ghost told him. He accuses his mother of having done something “that deprives agreements and makes the rituals of the church an empty set of words.”

The Queen begs for mercy, at that moment the Phantom enters. Hamlet talks to him, he reproaches Hamlet for being too harsh towards his mother. The ghost is visible only to Hamlet, but it seems to the queen that her son is talking to emptiness, she decides that Hamlet is having a seizure. Hamlet explains to her that his mind is completely clear. The Queen agrees with her son in everything. Hamlet advises her to “part with her worse half in order to enjoy her better half”, not to go to Claudius at night, and to pretend that she has a conscience. Hamlet regrets the murder of Polonius he unwittingly committed; he is ready to answer for his crime. The Queen asks Hamlet what she should do now. He asks his mother not to reveal his secret to the king under any circumstances - “that Hamlet is not crazy at all, but is pretending for some purpose.” Hamlet tells his mother that he is being sent to England. “Two school friends, no better in loyalty than two vipers, are carrying a package and laying out my path to the set nets.” However, Hamlet has a plan to avoid succumbing to the king's tricks. He is confident that he will be able to outplay both his friends and Claudius.

Act Four

Elsinore. Room in the castle. The queen tells her husband her version of the murder of Polonius: Hamlet was delirious when he plunged his sword into the old man, he did not realize what he was doing. The king believes that he himself is “responsible for the murder” because he did not isolate Hamlet from society in time. Now there is nothing left but to “make amends for the crime ourselves.”

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are looking for Hamlet. He refuses to indicate the burial place of Polonius. Hamlet compares Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to sponges that absorb healthy juices, and the king squeezes them into his mouth as needed.

The king believes that Hamlet “cannot be dealt with harshly. The common people are attached to him.” Claudius plans to frame Hamlet's exile as an official assignment. Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern. Claudius announces to Hamlet that the prince must leave the country immediately. The king explains this by saying that Hamlet committed a murder that can only be hushed up if the prince disappears from Denmark. Hamlet submits. Left alone, Claudius repeats what he wrote in the order to the English:

Secretly I give Hamlet into your hands to be killed. Do it, England! With him I will melt like in the heat of a fever. Deliver me from this fire. As long as he is alive, there is no life for me.

Plain in Denmark. Fortinbras, the captain and the army on the march appear. Fortinbras sends messengers to the Danish king to notify him that the Norwegian army is crossing into Danish territory under the treaty. Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern. The captain informs Hamlet that the army is moving to seize a completely insignificant territory from Poland. Hamlet is amazed at how easily people go to die for the sake of dubious glory, and scolds himself for delaying revenge on Claudius.

Room in the castle. The Queen and Horatio enter. The latter tells the queen that Ophelia is obsessed with the death of her father. The girl sees deception everywhere. The Queen decides to talk to Ophelia so that her behavior does not give rise to rumors. Ophelia sings songs about Hamlet in a pilgrim's cloak, then about the deceased Polonius, then about a gullible girl deprived of her innocence by her lover, then about the need to notify Laertes about the death of her father.

Claudius, present at the scene of Ophelia's madness, says that trouble never comes alone - the death of Polonius, Hamlet's exile, Ophelia's illness. In addition, rumors spread that Polonius was buried “on the sly” for a reason. The most unpleasant thing is that Laertes came secretly from France, “lives by rumor and believes the talkers, and they buzzed all his ears about the death of his father.”

Laertes disarms the royal guards and breaks into the king's chambers to get an answer to all questions regarding the mysterious burial of Polonius. Claudius urges Laertes to calm down, because in an enraged state he will not be able to hear the truth that the king intends to tell him. Claudius brings his condolences to Laertes and praises his courage. Ophelia appears. The sight of his distraught sister completes Laertes’ despair. He is ready to take revenge on everyone for the grief that befell his home. Ophelia asks those gathered to sing along with her: “And you pick up: “Jump into the hole, jump from the bottom, break the spindles. Spin, spin, spinner, until it falls apart.” This is the key thief who took away the owner’s daughter.” Ophelia sorts through the herbs and distributes them to others: “Here is rosemary, it’s for remembrance: take it, my friend, and remember. And these are pansies: this is something to think about... Here are a few stems for me. It can also be called the Mother of God herb... I wanted to give you violets, but they all withered when my father died. They say he had an easy ending.” Ophelia hums, prays for her father and leaves. Laertes demands justice from the king. The king promises to sort everything out together with Laertes, “and the guilty one to the scaffold.”

Scene 6

Sailors come to Horatio from the ship on which Hamlet sailed to England. They bring a letter from the prince. From the letter it follows that the ship was attacked by pirates, Hamlet was captured, but the sea robbers treated him “prudently.” Before this, Hamlet, having seen through the king’s deception, secretly replaced his letter to the English, which was carried by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Now Hamlet is again in Denmark. In the substituted letter, Hamlet, on behalf of the king (he had his father’s royal seal with him), demands the execution of the givers, i.e. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

The king presents the story of Polonius to Laertes as the personal tyranny of Hamlet, who sows death everywhere and even tries to kill the king himself (however, Claudius has no evidence of this). Claudius did not punish Hamlet, since he spared the feelings of the Queen Mother. In addition, the common people are very attached to the prince:

It’s better not to tease this element, Otherwise the rising wind will return the arrows to me with the tip back.

Laertes decides to take revenge on Hamlet. The messenger brings the king a letter from the prince, who informs him that he is moving towards the palace. Claudius is amazed, but pulls himself together. He decides that he can get rid of Hamlet with the help of Laertes, using the latter's blind desire to avenge the death of his father. The king praises Laertes' extraordinary fencing abilities and hints that it would be good to arrange a sword fight between Laertes and Hamlet. At the same time, the king advises replacing one blunt rapier with a sharp (combat) one. Laertes, to enhance the effect, is going to smear the tip of the rapier with poison. In addition, to guarantee, the king promises to place cups in the hall and poison the wine intended for Hamlet. The queen appears and reports that Ophelia has drowned. All attempts by Claudius to put Laertes to rest are futile. Laertes is determined to take cruel revenge on Hamlet for the death of his loved ones.

Act five

Elsinore. Cemetery. Two gravediggers enter with shovels. The first gravedigger wonders “whether it is right to bury her (Ophelia) in a Christian way, if she arbitrarily sought eternal bliss.” The second gravedigger replies that the investigator who examined Ophelia’s body, as well as the king and queen, decided to bury the girl in a Christian manner. He believes that if Ophelia had not been “a noblewoman, she would not have seen a Christian burial.” Hamlet and Horatio enter and stop at a distance. The first burial grounder sings a song of light content (about love for girls). Hamlet is amazed “is this joker really not aware of the nature of his work, that he sings while digging a grave.” Horatio assures the prince that it is a matter of habit. A gravedigger throws skulls out of a grave. Hamlet wonders who they might have belonged to during their lifetime. He wonders where all the deeds, concerns, and achievements of people have disappeared, who during their lives tried so hard to be different from each other, and after death they look exactly the same and occupy the same amount of space in the ground. Hamlet asks the gravedigger whose grave this is. “Mine, sir,” he replies. Hamlet wonders whose skull the gravedigger pulled out of the ground. He answers that Yorick, the royal jester. Hamlet takes the skull in his hands and exclaims: “Poor Yorick!” The Prince played with Yorick a lot as a child. It is strange for him to see that his once dearly beloved friend has now turned into a pile of disgustingly smelling bones. Hamlet says that both the great commander Alexander the Great and Caesar go into the ground and become clay, from which they then make plugs for beer barrels.

Decayed by Caesar from the cold, they seal up the outside of the house. Before whom the whole world lay in dust, sticks out like a plug in the crack.

A procession enters, led by a priest, followed by the coffin, Laertes, his attendants, the king, queen and their retinue. Hamlet notices that the order of the funeral is distorted, that there is evidence that this is “a farewell to a suicide.” Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is in the coffin. Laertes jumps into the grave and asks to bury himself so as not to be separated from his sister. Hamlet approaches the pit and does the same. Laertes begins to beat the prince right in the grave. The queen asks to stop the fight. The prince is surprised by the wild hatred with which his recent friend Laertes treats him. They are separated, and the royal procession leaves with Laertes.

Hamlet explains to Horatio that he was displeased that Laertes "exhibited his sorrow so loudly" in the cemetery.

However, the prince is ashamed of the way he behaved towards Laertes. In Laertes' misfortune, Hamlet sees a similarity to his own troubles and wants to make peace with him.

Osric (a courtier) appears, a man without his own opinion, only assenting to Hamlet and agreeing with the prince’s completely contradictory judgments (Hamlet deliberately teases him). Osric tells Hamlet that the king is offering him and Laertes a sword fight, while Claudius bets Laertes that Hamlet will lose to Laertes, a recognized fencing master, in no more than three blows. Hamlet accepts the challenge, although he admits to Horatio that he is tormented by ominous premonitions. Despite Horatio's advice to refrain from the duel, Hamlet decides to "be above superstition."

Enter the king, queen, Laertes, Osric, retinue, servants with rapiers. The king joins hands with Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for his behavior in the cemetery, assuring him that his madness is to blame. Hamlet explains that he made many tragic mistakes, but did not at all wish harm to either Laertes or Polonius and Ophelia. Laertes accepts the apology, but according to the laws of honor, he must fight Hamlet in a duel. The king orders wine to be served and cannons to be fired whenever Hamlet repels a blow. The king throws a pearl containing poison into the goblet. The fight begins. Hamlet is not inferior to Laertes, does not miss a beat. The king brings him a cup, but Hamlet refuses to drink for now. The king proudly tells the queen: “Our son is victorious.” The queen wipes her son's heated face with a handkerchief and drinks to his health from the cup intended by the king for Hamlet. Claudius shouts at Gertrude not to drink wine, but she does not listen to him. Laertes fights Hamlet, but his conscience torments him, because he fights with a poisoned rapier. Laertes wounds Hamlet. Then, in a fight, they exchange rapiers, and Hamlet wounds Laertes. The king orders them to be separated. The queen falls. The king tries to imagine that this is “a simple fainting spell at the sight of blood.” However, the queen manages to warn her son that the wine was poisoned and dies. Hamlet announces that there is treason in the palace and looks for the culprit. Laertes explains that both of them were wounded by a poisoned rapier and will soon die. And the king poured poison into the goblet to poison Hamlet. It's all the king's fault. Hamlet decides to use “poisoned steel for its intended purpose” and stabs the king, but he calls for the guards. Then Hamlet forces Claudius to finish the poisoned wine left unfinished by the queen. The king is dying. Laertes forgives Hamlet his and his father's blood and also dies. Faithful Horatio tries to commit suicide so as not to be separated from the prince (there is still some poison left in the goblet). A weakening Hamlet asks his friend not to do this. Horatio must tell his descendants the whole truth about Hamlet. Cannon fire can be heard in the distance. This is “Fortinbras salutes the English ambassadors, passing in victory from Poland.” Hamlet manages to tell Horatio that since the line of Danish kings is interrupted, let the Danes choose Prince Fortinbras. Hamlet dies.

Enter Fortinbras and the English ambassadors with drums, banners and retinue. Horatio tells Fortinbras the details of the tragedy that took place in Elsinore. Fortinbras believes that he “has bad fortune.” He is ready to accept the Danish throne, but first he orders the last military honors to be given to the worthy Prince Hamlet.

Below in the Similar topics block you can find links to summaries of other similar works.

William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet was written in 1600-1601 and is one of the most famous works of world literature. The plot of the tragedy is based on the legend of the ruler of Denmark, dedicated to the story of the protagonist's revenge for the death of his father. In Hamlet, Shakespeare raises a number of important themes regarding issues of morality, honor and duty of heroes. The author pays special attention to the philosophical theme of life and death.

Main characters

Hamlet – Prince of Denmark, the son of the former and nephew of the current king, was killed by Laertes.

Claudius- Danish king, killed Hamlet's father and married Gertrude, was killed by Hamlet.

Polonium- the chief royal adviser, the father of Laertes and Ophelia, was killed by Hamlet.

Laertes- the son of Polonius, Ophelia's brother, a skilled swordsman, was killed by Hamlet.

Horatio- Hamlet's close friend.

Other characters

Ophelia- Polonius’s daughter, Laertes’ sister, went crazy after her father’s death and drowned in the river.

Gertrude– the Danish queen, Hamlet’s mother, Claudius’s wife, died after drinking wine poisoned by the king.

Hamlet's Father's Ghost

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern – Hamlet's former university friends.

Fortinbras- Norwegian prince.

Marcellus, Bernardo - officers.

Act 1

Scene 1

Elsinore. The area in front of the castle. Midnight. Officer Bernardo relieves Soldier Fernardo on duty. Officer Marcellus and Hamlet's friend Horatio appear in the square. Marcellus asks Bernardo if he has seen the ghost, which the castle guards have already noticed twice. Horatio finds this just a trick of the imagination.

Suddenly, a ghost resembling the late king appears. Horatio asks the spirit who he is, but he, offended by the question, disappears. Horatio believes that the appearance of a ghost is “a sign of turmoil threatening the state.”

Marcellus asks Horatio why the kingdom has been actively preparing for war lately. Horatio says that Hamlet killed “the ruler of the Norwegians, Fortinbras” in battle and, according to the agreement, received the lands of the vanquished. However, the “younger Fortinbras” decided to recapture the lost lands, and this is precisely the “pretext for confusion and turmoil in the region.”

Suddenly the ghost appears again, but disappears with the crow of a rooster. Horatio decides to tell Hamlet about what he saw.

Scene 2

Reception hall in the castle. The king announces his decision to marry his late brother's sister, Gertrude. Outraged by the attempts of Prince Fortinbras to regain power in the lost lands, Claudius sends courtiers with a letter to his uncle, the king of the Norwegians, so that he will nip his nephew's plans in the bud.

Laertes asks the king for permission to leave for France, Claudius allows it. The Queen advises Hamlet to stop grieving for his father: “This is how the world was created: what is alive will die / And after life it will go into eternity.” Claudius reports that he and the queen are against Hamlet returning to study in Wittenberg.

Left alone, Hamlet is outraged that his mother, a month after her husband’s death, stopped grieving and married Claudius: “O women, your name is treachery!” .

Horatio tells Hamlet that for two nights in a row he, Marcellus and Bernardo saw the ghost of his father in armor. The prince asks to keep this news secret.

Scene 3

A room in Polonius's house. Saying goodbye to Ophelia, Laertes asks his sister to avoid Hamlet and not take his advances seriously. Polonius blesses his son on the road, instructing him how to behave in France. Ophelia tells her father about Hamlet's courtship. Polonius forbids his daughter to see the prince.

Scene 4

Midnight, Hamlet and Horatio and Marcellus are on the platform in front of the castle. A ghost appears. Hamlet turns to him, but the spirit, without answering anything, beckons the prince to follow him.

Scene 5

The ghost tells Hamlet that he is the spirit of his dead father, reveals the secret of his death and asks his son to take revenge for his murder. Contrary to popular belief, the former king did not die from a snake bite. His brother Claudius killed him by pouring henbane infusion into the king’s ear while he was sleeping in the garden. In addition, even before the death of the former king, Claudius “drew the queen into shameful cohabitation.”

Hamlet warns Horatio and Marcellus that he will deliberately behave like a madman and asks them to swear that they will not tell anyone about their conversation and that they saw the ghost of Hamlet's father.

Act 2

Scene 1

Polonius sends his confidant Reynaldo to Paris to deliver a letter to Laertes. He asks to find out as much as possible about his son - about how he behaves and who is in his social circle.

Frightened Ophelia tells Polonius about Hamlet's crazy behavior. The adviser decides that the prince has gone crazy with love for his daughter.

Scene 2

The king and queen invite Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hamlet's former university friends) to find out the reason for the prince's madness. Ambassador Voltimand reports the Norwegian's answer - having learned about the actions of Fortinbras's nephew, the King of Norway forbade him to fight with Denmark and sent the heir on a campaign to Poland. Polonius shares with the king and queen the assumption that the reason for Hamlet's madness is his love for Ophelia.

Talking with Hamlet, Polonius is amazed at the accuracy of the prince’s statements: “If this is madness, then it is consistent in its own way.”

In a conversation between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet calls Denmark a prison. The prince understands that they did not come of their own free will, but by order of the king and queen.

Actors invited by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to Elsinore. Hamlet greets them kindly. The prince asks to read Aeneas' monologue to Dido, which talks about the murder of Priam by Pyrrhus, and also to play The Murder of Gonzago at tomorrow's performance, adding a short passage written by Hamlet.

Left alone, Hamlet admires the actor's skill, accusing himself of impotence. Fearing that the Devil appeared to him in the form of a ghost, the prince decides to first follow his uncle and check his guilt.

Act 3

Scene 1

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and queen that they were unable to find out from Hamlet the reason for his strange behavior. Having set up a meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet, the king and Polonius hide, watching them.

Hamlet enters the room, pondering what stops a person from committing suicide:

“To be or not to be, that is the question.
Is it worthy
Resign yourself to the blows of fate,
Or must we resist
And in mortal combat with a whole sea of ​​troubles
End them? Die. Forget yourself."

Ophelia wants to return Hamlet's gifts. The prince, realizing that they are being overheard, continues to behave like a madman, telling the girl that he never loved her and no matter how much virtue is instilled in her, “the sinful spirit cannot be smoked out of her.” Hamlet advises Ophelia to go to a monastery so as not to produce sinners.

Having heard Hamlet’s speeches, the king understands that the reason for the prince’s madness is different: “he’s not exactly cherishing / In the dark corners of his soul, / Hatching something more dangerous.” Claudius decides to protect himself by sending his nephew to England.

Scene 2

Preparations for the play. Hamlet asks Horatio to look carefully at the king when the actors play a scene similar to the episode of his father's death.

Before the play begins, Hamlet places his head in Ophelia's lap. Starting with pantomime, the actors depict the scene of the poisoning of the former king. During the performance, Hamlet tells Claudius that the play is called "The Mousetrap" and comments on what is happening on stage. At the moment when the actor on stage was about to poison the sleeping man, Claudius rose sharply and left the hall with his retinue, thereby revealing his guilt in the death of Hamlet’s father.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that the king and queen are very upset about what happened. The prince, holding a flute in his hand, replied: “Look, what kind of dirt you mixed me with. You are going to play on me." “Call me any instrument, you can upset me, but you can’t play me.”

Scene 3

The king is trying to atone for the sin of fratricide with prayer. Seeing Claudius praying, the prince hesitates, because he can take revenge for his father’s murder right now. However, Hamlet decides to delay the punishment so that the king's soul does not go to heaven.

Scene 4

Queen's room. Gertrude called Hamlet to talk to her. Polonius, eavesdropping, hides behind the carpet in her bedroom. Hamlet is rude to his mother, accusing the queen of insulting the memory of his father. Frightened Gertrude decides that her son wants to kill her. Polonius calls the guards from behind the carpet. The prince, thinking it is the king, stabs the carpet and kills the royal advisor.

Hamlet blames his mother for the fall. Suddenly a ghost appears, which only the prince sees and hears. Gertrude becomes convinced of her son's madness. Dragging Polonius' body, Hamlet leaves.

Act 4

Scene 1

Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius. The king orders to find the prince and take the body of the murdered adviser to the chapel.

Scene 2

Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he “mixed the body of Polonius with the earth to which the corpse is akin.” The prince compares Rosencrantz “to a sponge living on the juices of royal favors.”

Scene 3

Amused, Hamlet tells the king that Polonius is at dinner - “at one where he is not dining, but he is being eaten,” but then he admits that he hid the adviser’s body near the gallery stairs. The king orders Hamlet to be immediately lured onto the ship and taken to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Claudius decides that the Briton must repay his debt by killing the prince.

Scene 4

Plain in Denmark. The Norwegian army is passing through local lands. They explain to Hamlet that the military is going to “take away a place that is not noticeable by anything.” Hamlet reflects that the “decisive prince” is “glad to sacrifice his life” for the sake of a cause that is “not worth a damn,” but he himself still did not dare to take revenge.

Scene 5

Upon learning of Polonius's death, Ophelia goes crazy. The girl grieves for her father and sings strange songs. Horatio shares his fears and concerns with the queen - “the people are grumbling”, “all the dirt has surfaced from the bottom”.

Laertes, who secretly returned from France, breaks into the castle with a crowd of rebels who proclaim him king. The young man wants to avenge the death of his father, but the king pacifies his ardor, promising to compensate for the loss and help “in an alliance to achieve the truth.” Seeing the mad Ophelia, Laertes becomes even more passionate about revenge.

Scene 6

Horatio receives Hamlet's letter from the sailors. The prince reports that he has ended up with the pirates, asks to give the king the letters he sent and to rush to his aid as quickly as possible.

Scene 7

The king finds an ally in Laertes, pointing out to him that they have a common enemy. Letters from Hamlet are delivered to Claudius - the prince writes that he was landed naked on Danish soil and asks the king to receive him tomorrow.

Laertes is waiting to meet Hamlet. Claudius offers to guide the young man’s actions so that Hamlet dies “himself of his own free will.” Laertes agrees, deciding to be sure before the battle with the prince to smear the tip of the rapier with poisonous ointment.

Suddenly the queen appears with the news that Ophelia has drowned in the river:

“She wanted to cover the willow with herbs,
I grabbed the branch, and he broke,
And, as it was, with a pile of colored trophies,
She fell into the stream."

Act 5

Scene 1

Elsinore. Cemetery. The gravediggers dig a grave for Ophelia, discussing whether it is possible to give a suicide a Christian burial. Seeing the skulls thrown away by the gravedigger, Hamlet wonders who these people were. The gravedigger shows the prince the skull of Yorick, the royal skoromokh. Taking it in his hands, Hamlet turns to Horatio: “Poor Yorick! “I knew him, Horatio.” He was a man of endless wit,” “and now this very disgust and nausea comes to the throat.”

Ophelia is buried. Wanting to say goodbye to his sister for the last time, Laertes jumps into her grave, asking to be buried with his sister. Outraged by the falseness of what is happening, the prince, who was standing aside, jumps into the grave into the ice behind Laertes and they fight. By order of the king, they are separated. Hamlet says that he wants to “settle the rivalry” with Laertes in a fight. The king asks Laertes not to take any action for now - “just chat. Everything is coming to an end."

Scene 2

Hamlet tells Horatio that he found a letter from Claudius on the ship, in which the king ordered the prince to be killed upon arrival in England. Hamlet changed its contents, ordering the immediate death of the bearers of the letter. The prince understands that he sent Rosencrantz and Guildestern to death, but his conscience does not torment him.

Hamlet admits to Horatio that he regrets the quarrel with Laertes and wants to make peace with him. The king's close associate Ozdrik reports that Claudius bet with Laertes six Arab horses that the prince would win the battle. Hamlet has a strange premonition, but he brushes it off.

Before the duel, Hamlet asks Laertes for forgiveness, saying that he did not wish him harm. Unnoticed, the king throws poison into the prince's glass of wine. In the midst of the battle, Laertes wounds Hamlet, after which they exchange rapiers and Hamlet wounds Laertes. Laertes realizes that he himself was “caught in the net” of his cunning.

The Queen accidentally drinks from Hamlet's glass and dies. Hamlet orders to find the culprit. Laertes reports that the rapier and drink were poisoned and the king is to blame. Hamlet kills the king with a poisoned rapier. Dying, Laertes forgives Hamlet. Horatio wants to drink the remaining poison from the glass, but Hamlet takes the cup from his friend, asking him to tell the uninitiated “the truth about him.”

Shots and a march are heard in the distance - Fortinbras returns from Poland with victory. Dying, Hamlet recognizes Fortinbras' right to the Danish throne. Fortinbras orders the prince to be buried with honor. A cannon salvo is heard.

Conclusion

In Hamlet, using the example of the Danish prince as an example, Shakespeare portrays a personality of modern times, whose strength and weakness lie in his morality and sharp mind. Being a philosopher and humanist by nature, Hamlet finds himself in circumstances that force him to take revenge and bloodshed. This is the tragedy of the hero’s situation - having seen the dark side of life, fratricide, betrayal, he became disillusioned with life and lost his understanding of its value. Shakespeare does not give a definite answer to the eternal question “To be or not to be?” in his work, leaving it up to the reader.

Tragedy Quiz

After reading a short version of Shakespeare's famous work, test yourself with this test:

Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 2159.

In the era of online games and movies, few people read books. But vivid images will fade from memory in a few minutes, but classical literature, which has been read for centuries, is remembered forever. It is irrational to deprive yourself of the opportunity to enjoy the immortal creations of geniuses, because they not only provide answers to many questions that have not lost their urgency after hundreds of years. Such diamonds of world literature include “Hamlet,” a brief retelling of which awaits you below.

About Shakespeare. "Hamlet": history of creation

The genius of literature and theater was born in 1564, baptized on April 26. But the exact date of birth is not known. The biography of this amazing writer is overgrown with many myths and guesses. Perhaps this is due to the lack of accurate knowledge and its replacement with speculation.

It is known that little William grew up in a wealthy family. From a young age he attended school, but was unable to graduate due to financial difficulties. Soon there will be a move to London, where Shakespeare will create Hamlet. The retelling of the tragedy is intended to encourage schoolchildren, students, and people who love literature to read it in its entirety or go to the play of the same name.

The tragedy is based on a “vagrant” plot about the Danish prince Amleth, whose uncle killed his father in order to take over the state. Critics found the origins of the plot in the Danish chronicles of Saxo Grammar, dating back to approximately the 12th century. During the development of theatrical art, an unknown author creates a drama based on this plot, borrowing it from the French writer Francois de Bolfort. Most likely, it was in the theater that Shakespeare learned this plot and created the tragedy “Hamlet” (see a brief retelling below).

First act

A brief retelling of Hamlet by act will give an idea of ​​the plot of the tragedy.

The act begins with a conversation between two officers, Bernardo and Marcellus, about what they saw at night a ghost that looks very much like the late king. After the conversation, they actually see a ghost. The soldiers try to talk to him, but the spirit does not answer them.

Next, the reader sees the current king, Claudius, and Hamlet, the son of the deceased king. Claudius says that he took Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, as his wife. Upon learning of this, Hamlet is very upset. He remembers what a worthy owner of the royal throne his father was, and how his parents loved each other. Only a month has passed since his death, and his mother got married. The prince's friend, Horatio, tells him that he saw a ghost that closely resembled his father. Hamlet decides to go with a friend on night duty to see everything with his own eyes.

The brother of Hamlet's bride Ophelia, Laertes, leaves and says goodbye to his sister.

Hamlet sees a ghost on the duty station. This is the spirit of his dead father. He tells his son that he died not from a snake bite, but from the treachery of his brother, who took his throne. Claudius poured henbane juice into his brother's ears, which poisoned and killed him instantly. The father asks for revenge for his murder. Later, Hamlet gives a brief retelling of what he heard to his friend Horatio.

Second act

Polonius talking to his daughter Ophelia. She is scared because she saw Hamlet. He had a very strange appearance, and his behavior spoke of great confusion of spirit. The news of Hamlet's madness spreads throughout the kingdom. Polonius talks to Hamlet and notices that, despite the apparent madness, the prince's conversations are very logical and consistent.

His friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to see Hamlet. They tell the prince that a very talented acting company has arrived in the city. Hamlet asks them to tell everyone that he has lost his mind. Polonius joins them and also reports on the actors.

Third act

Claudius asks Guildenstern if he knows the reason for Hamlet's madness.

Together with the queen and Polonius, they decide to arrange a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia in order to understand whether he is going crazy because of love for her.

In this act, Hamlet pronounces his brilliant monologue “To be or not to be.” A retelling will not convey the full essence of the monologue; we recommend reading it yourself.

The prince negotiates something with the actors.

The show begins. Actors portray the king and queen. Hamlet asked to perform the play; a very brief retelling of recent events to the actors allowed them to show on the stage the circumstances of the fatal death of Hamlet's father. The king falls asleep in the garden, is poisoned, and the criminal gains the queen's trust. Claudius cannot stand such a spectacle and orders the performance to be stopped. They leave with the queen.

Guildenstern conveys to Hamlet his mother's request to talk to her.

Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he wants to send the prince to England.

Polonius hides behind the curtains in Gertrude's room and waits for Hamlet. During their conversation, the spirit of his father appears to the prince and asks him not to horrify his mother with his behavior, but to focus on revenge.

Hamlet hits the heavy curtains with his sword and accidentally kills Polonius. He reveals to his mother a terrible secret about his father's death.

Act Four

The fourth act of the tragedy is full of tragic events. More and more, it seems to those around him, Prince Hamlet (a brief retelling of Act 4 will give a more accurate explanation of his actions).

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask Hamlet where Polonius' body is. The prince does not tell them, accusing the courtiers of only seeking the king's privileges and favor.

Ophelia is brought to the queen. The girl went crazy from the experience. Laertes returned secretly. He and a group of people supporting him defeated the guards and rushed to the castle.

Horatio is brought a letter from Hamlet, which says that the ship on which he sailed was captured by pirates. The prince is their prisoner.

The king tells Laertes, who seeks revenge for who is to blame for his death, hoping that Laertes will kill Hamlet.

The Queen is brought the news that Ophelia has died. She drowned in the river.

Fifth act

A conversation between two grave diggers is described. They consider Ophelia a suicide and condemn her.

At Ophelia's funeral, Laertes throws himself into a pit. Hamlet also jumps there, sincerely suffering from the death of his former lover.

Afterwards Laertes and Hamlet go to duel. They hurt each other. The Queen takes the cup intended for Hamlet from Claudius and drinks. The cup is poisoned, Gertrude dies. The weapon that Claudius prepared is also poisoned. Both Hamlet and Laertes are already feeling the effects of the poison. Hamlet kills Claudius with the same sword. Horatio reaches for the poisoned glass, but Hamlet asks him to stop so that all the secrets can be revealed and his name cleared. Fortinbras discovers the truth and orders Hamlet to be buried with honors.

Why read a summary of the story "Hamlet"?

This question often worries modern schoolchildren. Let's start by asking a question. It is not quite correctly defined, since “Hamlet” is not a story, its genre is tragedy.

Its main theme is the theme of revenge. It may seem irrelevant, but its essence is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, there are many intertwined subthemes in Hamlet: loyalty, love, friendship, honor and duty. It is difficult to find a person who remains indifferent after reading the tragedy. Another reason to read this immortal work is Hamlet's monologue. “To be or not to be” has been said thousands of times, here are questions and answers that, after almost five centuries, have not lost their poignancy. Unfortunately, a brief retelling will not convey all the emotional coloring of the work. Shakespeare created Hamlet based on legends, but his tragedy outgrew its sources and became a world masterpiece.