Who is the author of the tragedy Hamlet? Who was Hamlet written for?

Composition

It seems clear: the scene is Elsinore, the residence of the Danish kings. The text of the play repeatedly emphasizes that everything happens in Denmark in those distant times when it conquered part of England and the English king became a tributary of the Danish crown. But the reader cannot escape the feeling that, with the exception of the mentions that this is Denmark, there is nothing specifically Danish in the tragedy. Shakespeare deliberately brought the action closer to the concepts of the audience of his theater. It is not for nothing that Goethe noted that wherever the action of Shakespeare’s plays takes place, we always see “England washed by the seas” and Shakespeare’s Romans are not so much Romans as English.

The impression is unmistakable, and Goethe explained it: Shakespeare's heroes are, first of all, people. The artist so subtly and accurately captured the universal humanity in the heroes whom he extracted from Roman history, the Scandinavian saga and Italian short stories that, with rare exceptions, the scene of action is perceived in a generalized way. It was an even more distinct Shakespearean theater, where performances were performed without scenery and the actors played in modern costumes.

When do the tragedy events take place? In the pre-Christian times of the legendary Amleth or in the era of Shakespeare? Knowing how things stand in Shakespeare's plays with the place of action, we are already on the way to answering the question about the time of action. It is now and always. Therefore, it makes no difference what kind of scenery will be used for Hamlet in the theater. He was played as a tragedy taking place in the Middle Ages, during the Renaissance, in wigs and hoops of the 18th century, in tailcoats and uniforms, in costumes of our time. The essence of the tragedy remained unchanged.

The duration of action in Shakespeare's plays varied from several years, as, for example, in The Winter's Tale, where sixteen years pass between the initial three acts and the final fourth and fifth acts, to one day, as in The Tempest.

How long do the events in Hamlet take? Analysis of the characters' actions and remarks showed the following.

* The first scene of the first act begins around midnight, when the Phantom appears, and ends at dawn.
* The second scene - in the palace - takes place in the morning or in the middle of the day.

* The third - seeing off Laertes - in the second half of the same day. This way they cover one day.
* Scenes four and five of Act I take place at midnight, when Hamlet meets the Ghost. With the first glimmer of dawn, when the rooster crows, this episode ends.
* These two days fall in the month of March.

Then there is a break lasting two months, and new scenes of the play take place in May. Reyaldo's sending to France, Ophelia's story about Hamlet's madness, the return of the ambassadors from Norway, Polonius' message to the king about the reason for the prince's madness, the arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Denmark, their meeting with Hamlet, the arrival of traveling actors in Elsinore - all this happens in one day.

The next day comes immediately, without interruption. They are also filled with events: Hamlet’s meeting with Ophelia, Hamlet’s lecture to the actors before the performance, the performance of “The Murder of Gonzago”, the king’s prayer and Hamlet’s refusal to kill him at that moment, the prince’s conversation with his mother, the murder of Polonius, the search for his body, Hamlet’s arrest and the king’s decision sending him to England takes up four scenes of the third act and the first three scenes of the fourth act.

Hamlet's departure for England apparently takes place on the next day, the fifth in a row. The duration of the new break in action is difficult to determine. During this period, news of Polonius's death reaches France, Laertes returns to Dacia, and Hamlet, sailing to England, encounters pirates who help him return to Elsinore. The final events take two days.

During the sixth day, the following happens: Ophelia's madness, Laertes' storming of the palace, the sailors' message about Hamlet's return to Denmark, Claudius's conspiracy with Laertes against the prince, Ophelia's death. The seventh day - events in the cemetery: Hamlet's conversation with the First Gravedigger, Ophelia's funeral, the prince's clash with Laertes.

The ghost appears in March, two months after the death of the king, the question arises: who poisoned him, Claudius? Based on the circumstances known to us, it turns out that the crime was committed in January. But from the Ghost we hear that it happened while he was “sleeping in the garden.” At this time of year they don’t sleep in the garden. We could have kept silent about this, but we stopped at this with intention. It has long been noted that in a number of Shakespeare's plays there is a double counting of time. On the one hand, it is obvious that the events depicted take quite a long time - months, years; on the other hand, the action of the Plays occurs so quickly that we do not have time to keep track of time and it seems to us that it goes on continuously or almost without pauses. Shakespeare does not have precision and complete consistency of time. What explains this kind of negligence will be discussed further.

Other works on this work

The Eternity of the Problems of the Hamlet Tragedy The history of the creation of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" "To be or not to be?" - the main question of the play “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare Hamlet - the ideal hero of his time Problems of good and evil in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Did Hamlet love Ophelia? Monologue “To be or not to be?” - the highest point of Hamlet's thoughts and doubts The problem of choice in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Characteristics of the image of Gertrude in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Characteristics of the image of Polonius in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Hamlet's personality Characteristics of the image of Laertes in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Tragedy "Hamlet" (1600-1601) Good and evil in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" Eternal tragedies of humanity (Based on W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet") "Hamlet": problems of hero and genre Hamlet as a bearer of humanistic ideas of the Renaissance Is Hamlet tragic? What is the tragedy of Ophelia "Hamlet" is one of the greatest works of world drama. Tragedy “Hamlet” The conflict of the tragedy "Hamlet" How close is Hamlet to us today? The main images of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" My thoughts on the images of Pechorin and Hamlet The problem of choice in the tragedy "Hamlet" Characteristics of the image of Claudius in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” \"He was a man - a man in everything; I will never meet anyone like him anymore\" (based on Shakespeare's tragedy \"Hamlet\") Hamlet is a personality facing the future Eternal tragedies of humanity The legend of Hamlet from the Danish chronicle and its reinterpretation by Shakespeare Danish Roman image of Horatio shadow of Hamlet "Hamlet Prince of Denmark" is a work of art and human genius Shakespeare's work is distinguished by its scale - its extraordinary breadth of interests and scope of thought. Poetic tragedy "Hamlet" Through the looking glass of Prince Hamlet, the other world in tragedy The tragedy "Hamlet" its philosophical and moral motives Hamlet is our contemporary This world of "Hamlet" meaning of minor characters Mastery of dramatic composition of the tragedy "Hamlet" Hamlet's image. Preliminary remarks A challenge posed to the whole world (based on William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet") "Hamlet" tragedy of the main character Hamlet and his high concept of honor Stage Hamlet and internal Hamlet What is the secret of Hamlet for us? Invisible faces of tragedy. Hamlet's father

Yesterday I attended the premiere of Valery Fokin’s play based on William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” at the Alexandrinsky Theater.
“Hamlet” is a classic that tests the director’s talent.
Attempts to make Hamlet modern have been made more than once. The last production I know of by Peter Stein with Evgeniy Mirov in the title role.
I understand the desire to modernize the action of the play, but Valery Fokin’s performance modernized the play almost beyond recognition.
The performance begins with dog handlers inspecting the stage, apparently for the presence of bombs. After Nord-Ost, such an introduction seems unsuccessful.
History, as we know, repeats itself twice: first as a tragedy, then as a comedy.
This is some kind of postmodernism: tragedy has turned into tragicomedy; ultra-modern Middle Ages on stage; the text is full of modern jargon: “kidding”, “pinned”, “sexy”, etc.

Judging by Fokine's interpretation, the murder of the king was initiated by the Danish Queen Gertrude, and Claudius was only an obedient executor. She gives Laertes the idea to kill his son Hamlet.

The Hamlet of the 21st century is a neurasthenic rushing around the hall and on the stage with a saucepan on his head in a fluttering ala straitjacket and proclaiming: “I have the liver of an intellectual!”

The theater is dead!
Apparently no one can write plays of this magnitude. There is a lack of big ideas, a poverty of stage plans. This is probably why a drunken Hamlet appears on stage.

This performance is as much William (our) Shakespeare as it is Valery Fokin.
However, this is not a tragedy. Shakespeare is also not the real author of the tragedy Hamlet.

April 23 marks the 445th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. This year also marks the 400th anniversary of the first edition of his famous sonnets.
Shakespeare is the most republished author. His works have undergone the greatest number of productions and film adaptations. Shakespeare continues to be relevant today.

What is the continuing appeal of Shakespeare's works?
In my opinion, the fact is that they are written about eternal questions and eternal answers, about the essence of human nature. This is what allows these works to be staged in a modern interpretation.
Recently, at the Lensovet Theater, I watched Shakespeare’s drama “Measure for Measure,” also in a modern interpretation. The fate of the unjust judge is still relevant. Also relevant are Othello, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet...

When I was in school, I was one of the few people in my class who read Hamlet (Shakespeare was not compulsory). Then, having bought the book “Foreign Literature of the Middle Ages,” I was surprised to read in it that Shakespeare was not the author of the concept of this tragedy, it has roots in historical myths, and Shakespeare only literary processed and recreated an ancient story.

Hamlet had a real prototype - the Danish prince Amlet, who lived before 826. About 400 years later, he was mentioned in one of the Icelandic sagas by the skald poet Snorri Sturluson (1178–1241), the most famous of the Icelanders, according to the inhabitants of this northern island.
It took 400 years for the story of a real person to become material for literature. For another 400 years, he gradually acquired the features of a popular literary hero.

Shakespeare created the tragedy Hamlet around 1600. It is considered to be his most profound work. Perhaps because it was the most unsuccessful in terms of completion.

From the very beginning, Shakespeare set himself the task of creating a “universal human type,” an “eternal image.” Hamlet is not the usual tragic hero who carries out revenge for the sake of Divine justice. Coming to the conclusion that it is impossible to restore harmony with one blow, he experiences the tragedy of alienation from the world and dooms himself to loneliness.

For several centuries, writers, critics, and scientists have been trying to solve the mystery of this image, to answer the question of why Hamlet, having learned the truth about his father’s murder at the beginning of the tragedy, postpones revenge and at the end of the play kills King Claudius almost by accident.

The plot connects the play "Hamlet" with the tradition of the English "revenge tragedy". The main plot of the “great tragedies” is the discovery by the hero of the true face of the world, in which evil is more powerful than it was imagined by humanists.

Hamlet makes a tragic discovery: having learned about the death of his father, the hasty marriage of his mother, and having heard the story of the Ghost, he discovers the imperfection of the world. “Time is dislocated,” evil, crime, deceit, betrayal are the normal state of the world.
In order to correct the world and defeat evil, Hamlet himself is forced to take the path of evil.

Revenge, as a form of restoring justice, was such only in the good old days, and now, when evil has spread, it does not solve anything. Hamlet makes the solution to this problem dependent on the general idea of ​​the world and its laws.

Shakespeare preserved the plot of the famous revenge tragedy, but shifted all his attention to the spiritual discord and the internal drama of the protagonist. This is the first reflective hero of world literature.

Hamlet has a philosophical mindset: from a particular case he always moves on to the general laws of the universe. He views the family drama of his father's murder as a portrait of a world in which evil flourishes. The frivolity of his mother, who so quickly forgot about her father and married Claudius, leads him to a generalization: “O women, your name is treachery.” The sight of Yorick's skull makes him think about the frailty of earthly things.

Hamlet appears as the fate that everyone has prepared for himself, preparing his death: Laertes dies from the sword, which he smeared with poison in order to kill Hamlet under the guise of a fair and safe duel; the king - from the same sword (according to his proposal, it should be real, unlike Hamlet’s sword) and from the poison that the King prepared in case Laertes was unable to inflict a fatal blow on Hamlet. Queen Gertrude drinks poison by mistake because she mistakenly trusted the king.
Justice triumphs!

However, how fair is it that William Shakespeare is not the author of the tragedy Hamlet, as well as Romeo and Juliet, and other numerous dramatic works?

There is a point of view whose supporters deny the authorship of Shakespeare (Shakespere) of Stratford and believe that “William Shakespeare” is a pseudonym under which another person or group of persons was hiding.
In 2008, Marina Litvinova’s book “The Vindication of Shakespeare” was published, where the author defends the version that the works of William Shakespeare were created by two authors - Francis Bacon and Manners, the fifth Earl of Rutland.

According to the official biography, William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon into a wealthy but not noble family. On November 27, 1582, 18-year-old William married a girl eight years older than him. Soon they had a daughter, and subsequently two more children. There is no reliable data about Shakespeare's life in the next 7-8 years.
It is believed that in his youth Shakespeare was first a butcher's assistant. He was forced to leave his home town of Stratford because he killed a deer on the property of Sir Thomas Lucy Charlicote.
Shakespeare went to London and at first made a living by guarding horses at the theater. Soon he began writing plays. Since 1595, the playwright is mentioned as a co-owner of Lord Chamberlain's Troupe, and four years later - as a co-owner of the Globe Theater. A few years later, Shakespeare returned to Stratford and began to live in a house that he bought with his theatrical earnings, where he died on April 23, 1616.

Scientists have put forward more than fifty versions of who could be hiding under the pseudonym Shakespeare.
Scientists are confused that the description of the playwright’s life contradicts the scale of his work. From Shakespeare's work it follows that he knew French, Italian, Latin, Greek well, and was fluent in the history of England and the ancient world. In addition, the playwright was well versed in law, music, botany, medicine, military and naval affairs.
Meanwhile, according to some reports, all members of his family were illiterate. There is no evidence that he himself received any education.

The lexical dictionary of William Shakespeare's works contains 15 thousand different words, while the contemporary English translation of the King James Bible contains only 5 thousand.
Many experts doubt that the poorly educated son of a craftsman could have such a rich vocabulary. Shakespeare never studied at universities or traveled abroad; his education at the “grammar school” is also in question.

During Shakespeare's lifetime and for several years after his death, no one ever called him a poet or playwright.

Performances of Shakespeare's plays took place in Oxford and Cambridge, while according to the rules, only works by their graduates could be staged within the walls of these ancient universities.

Contrary to the customs of Shakespeare's time, no one in all of England responded with a single word to Shakespeare's death.

Shakespeare's will is a very voluminous and detailed document, but it does not mention any books, papers, poems, or plays. When Shakespeare died, 18 plays remained unpublished; however, nothing is said about them in the will either.

Renowned American historian and writer Paul Straits claims that the great playwright William Shakespeare is actually Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. He wrote under the pseudonym Shakespeare and was the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth.

There is even a hypothesis according to which Shakespeare was a woman. In June 2004, American scholar Robin Williams stated that Shakespeare was actually a woman, namely the Oxford Countess Mary of Pembroke (1561-1621). According to the scientist, the countess composed magnificent literary works, but could not openly write for the theater, which in those days was considered immoral in England. Therefore, she decided to write plays under the pseudonym Shakespeare.

There is a version that Shakespeare was actually Italian. Allegedly he was born in Sicily and his name was Michelangelo Crolalanza. Then, fleeing the Inquisition, he moved to England and changed his last name.

Shakespeare's most famous portrait, the so-called Flower Portrait, which bears the date "1609", has been found to be a fake. The painting, previously thought to be a portrait of William Shakespeare, depicts someone other than the great playwright. This was stated by experts from the National Portrait Gallery in London.

One of my acquaintances, who wrote one play, also considers himself an outstanding playwright. But I don’t consider myself a critic, a poet, or a writer. “A true master is always aware of his own imperfections and therefore strives for the ideal. And then the poet knows how and can hold a pause. It wouldn’t even occur to a graphomaniac!”

When I worked at a school, I once organized a viewing and discussion of Grigory Kozintsev’s film “Hamlet.” When the film ended I asked:
- Well, how did anyone understand the phrase “to be or not to be?”?
- Being yourself means standing up for your truth and fighting to the end; not to be - to submit, to adapt.
- So, should we accept evil or fight?
- To submit to evil means to begin to serve it.
“He has a hopeless situation,” said seventh-grader Vova. - Either resist evil or submit. It's better to fight.
- But what makes people cowardly and adapt? - Dmitry asked leading questions, together with the children, looking for an answer that the children, he was sure, would tell him. - What makes people do evil?
- Fear of death.
“I’m not afraid of death,” fifth-grader Sasha suddenly said. - Die anyway; sooner or later – it doesn’t matter.
- When evil people die, they can look at themselves from the outside and evaluate for themselves how painful evil is, so that in the next life they can correct it and not go to hell.
“It seems to me that hell is the pain of the misfortunes that you caused to other people,” said third-grader Sasha.”
(from my true-life novel “The Wanderer” (mystery) on the New Russian Literature website http://www.newruslit.nm.ru

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 a cause that is “not worth a damn,” but he himself still has not decided 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: 2832.

Hamlet, tormented by the problem of choosing between honor and duty, has been forcing readers and theater lovers to think about the meaning of life, human destiny and the imperfection of society for 500 years. The immortal work “The Tragic Story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” is considered one of the famous tragedies in the world. This story is not just a high-level murder that happened in the Danish kingdom. The value of the image of the young prince lies in the feelings that force the reader to experience.

History of creation

During William Shakespeare's time, works for theater productions were created based on existing plays. “Hamlet” was no exception - back in the 7th century, the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus wrote down the legend of Prince Hamlet, which was included in the collection of Scandinavian sagas. Based on its motives, a contemporary and compatriot of the English playwright (it is assumed that it was Thomas Kyd) composed a play that was staged in theaters, but has not survived to this day. In those days there was a joke about “a bunch of Hamlets scattering handfuls of tragic monologues.”

In the period 1600-1601, Shakespeare simply remade the literary work. The work of the great poet differs from the Scandinavian source in the sophistication of its artistic outline and meaning: the author shifted the emphasis from external struggle to the spiritual suffering of the main character. Although the audience still saw, first of all, a bloody story.

During Shakespeare's lifetime, the tragedy went through three editions. However, researchers believe that all of them were created without the permission of the author and are considered “pirated” because only some monologues are fully recorded in each, while the speeches of other characters are either poorly presented or completely absent. The fact is that the publishers paid the actors to “leak” the plays, but the actors could only reproduce their words verbatim in the production.

Scene V from the play "Hamlet": Act IV (Ophelia before the king and queen)

Later, literary scholars managed to compile the full text of the play. The only thing that remained “behind the scenes” was the final form of the work that was presented to the public. The modern division of the play into acts and actions does not belong to the author.

In Russia, dozens of writers tried to translate Hamlet. Shakespeare's most famous tragedy is read "from the words" of the poet and translator Mikhail Lozinsky and writer. The latter endowed the work with a more vibrant artistic language.

Plot and characters

Shakespeare included many characters in the list of the main characters of the tragedy:

• Claudius - King of Denmark;
• Hamlet is the son of the deceased and nephew of the king;
• Polonius is a close nobleman of the reigning king;
• Horatio is Hamlet's learned friend;
• Laertes is the son of Polonius;
• Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius, Hamlet’s beloved;
• Gertrude - Hamlet's mother, widow of the previous king, wife of Claudius;
• Rosencrantz and Guildestern are Hamlet's friends;
• The ghost of Hamlet's father.

The plot of the play is based on the Danish prince's thirst for revenge on the current king for the murder of his father. A ghost appears in front of the castle in Elsinore every night. One day, Horatio becomes convinced that these are not rumors, but reality, and tells Hamlet, who came from school to his father’s funeral, about what he saw. The young man's grief is further aggravated by his mother's betrayal - Gertrude immediately after her husband's death married his brother.

The young man manages to talk with the night shadow of the deceased autocrat, who told the truth: the king was poisoned by Claudius when he was peacefully resting in the garden. The ghost begs his son to avenge him. Hamlet decides to pretend to be crazy in order to bring his uncle into the open.

The first to suspect Hamlet's madness was his beloved girl Ophelia. Soon the news that the prince had gone mad reached the king. But the monarch is not so easy to fool, and he sends the young man’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildestern, to find out the truth. Hamlet immediately reveals the purpose of the sent comrades, so he continues to play the madman.

The prince comes up with another plan related to the arrival of artists in the city. Hamlet asks the troupe to insert a couple of poems of their own composition into the play about the murder of the main character Priam. The king, present at the performance, cannot stand such a direct indication of guilt and leaves the theater, thereby betraying his crime.

Prince Hamlet is invited to her chambers by the queen, outraged by her son's behavior. During the conversation, he mistakes Polonius, who is hiding behind the carpet, for the king and pierces him with a sword.

Shocked by the murder of his father, Laertes arrives from Paris, but another surprise awaits him at home - his sister Ophelia has gone crazy. And King Claudius decides to destroy Hamlet with the hands of an angry Laertes, having come up with a cunning idea: the son of Polonius will meet the prince in a duel in which he will hit him with a poisoned sword.

Before the fight, to be sure, the ruler puts a cup of wine and poison on the table to give Hamlet a drink. In this performance, everyone was destined to die: Laertes wounded the enemy, while changing rapiers, the Danish prince dealt a fatal blow to Laertes and the king with a poisonous sword, and the queen accidentally drank poisoned wine.

When analyzing a work, literary scholars give a very specific description of the hero. The main character of the tragedy becomes a misanthrope, because it is impossible to remain a philanthropist while maintaining honor in such a society. According to socionics, Hamlet’s personality type is an ethical-intuitive extrovert: a romantic intolerant of evil, prone to endless reasoning, doubts and hesitations, focused on the global problems of humanity. Asks questions whether people deserve happiness, what is the meaning of life, is it possible to eradicate evil.

A humanist, a man of modern times, he is tormented by the need to take revenge. But decisions are difficult for Hamlet, because he is not sure that the world will change for the better with the departure of Claudius. And murder will make him equal to those on the “dark side.” The hero faces complete disappointments, even in love. He comes to the conclusion that man is a weak creature in the face of evil. He cannot come to terms with injustice, but finding the strength to take decisive steps is also not easy.

The philosophical essence of “Hamlet” is the tragedy of the conflict between a high personality and a society where lies, betrayal and hypocrisy flourish. The prince's reasoning speaks of an internal struggle; the hero is torn between a sense of duty and his worldview. And the famous monologue “To be or not to be” not only reflects the question of all times: what is easier - to come to terms with misfortunes and continue to live, or to end mental suffering by death. The question of choice is brought to the fore: fight injustice or meekly accept it.

Productions and film adaptations

The number of theatrical and film productions of this immortal work is incalculable. Richard Burbage was the first to embody the image of Shakespeare's Hamlet at London's Globe Theater at the beginning of the 17th century. Subsequently, the story of the Danish prince was transferred to the stage of the temples of Melpomene in almost every corner of the globe. Hamlet appeared in cinema in 1907 - the Frenchman Georges Méliès presented the audience with a silent short film. It is still unclear who got the main role.

Let us note the most interesting productions of English tragedy in cinema and theater:

"Hamlet" (1964)

A two-part drama dedicated to the 400th birthday of William Shakespeare was directed by Grigory Kozintsev, choosing the inimitable for the key role. 10 years before the film adaptation, Kozintsev staged the play at the Drama Theater named after. , and it was a resounding success. The film adaptation expected the same degree of popularity, and not only in the Soviet Union.

Having hatched the idea for the film, the director immediately decided on Hamlet. However, the actors for the other main roles were not inferior in talent to Smoktunovsky. Ophelia was played by the fragile, already familiar to the audience as Assol from “Scarlet Sails” and Gutierre from “Amphibian Man”. The film stars Mikhail Nazvanov (King Claudius), Elsa Radzin (Queen Gertrude), Yuri Tolubeev (Polonius).

"Hamlet I Collage" (2013)

The play by Canadian director Robert Lepage captivated the audience with its originality, becoming the highlight of the Theater of Nations season. The uniqueness of the work is that all the images were embodied, and high 3D technologies were used in the production itself.

Mironov shows the world the wonders of transformation, instantly changing images. The authors of the production managed to harmoniously combine circus tricks and animation, enhanced by brilliant acting. Hamlet's biography underwent significant changes.

"Hamlet" (2015)

The performance with the participation of the English theater-goers was delighted. The production was made famous by the actor's name, but overall it received unflattering reviews.

Tickets began to be sold in the summer a year before the premiere, and by mid-autumn the box office was empty. Benedict was called the incomparable Hamlet.

"Hamlet" (2016)

In the spring of 2016, he presented the new “Hamlet” at the St. Petersburg Maly Drama Theater. The modernity of the Prince of Denmark is revealed by his clothes - in the main role he wears jeans on stage.

But the innovations are not at all in clothes, but in the sense: Dodin reoriented Hamlet’s thoughts from the thirst for restoration of justice to revenge in its pure manifestation. The young man appears as an obsessed killer. Plays Ophelia.

• Hamlet's role is the longest in Shakespeare's plays. The volume of text coming from his lips is 1506 lines. And in general, the tragedy is larger than the author’s other works - it stretches over 4 thousand lines.
• For the author's contemporaries, the tragedy was a story of bloody revenge. And only at the end of the 18th century he turned the perception of the work upside down - he saw in the main character not an avenger, but a thinking representative of the Renaissance.
• In 2012, the character took second place in the Guinness Book of Records for the frequency of appearances of human book characters in films and on television (the leader was).

• Crimea often became a location for filming Soviet films. The scene of the monologue “To be or not to be...” performed by Innokenty Smoktunovsky was filmed at the “Children's Beach” in Alupka.
• According to socionics, a harmonious business or family union will be made up of such types as Hamlet (ethical-intuitive extrovert) and (logical-intuitive extrovert). In the Hamlet and Jack pair, relationships can remain in balance for a long time: the first partner is responsible for communication skills and the emotional component, the second is responsible for the reasonable use and distribution of resources.

Quotes

“There are many things in nature, friend Horatio, that our sages never dreamed of.”

“And then there is silence.”

“How often has blindness saved us,
Where foresight has failed!”

“Close to my son, but away from my friend.”

“You turned your eyes with your pupils into your soul.”

"Don't drink wine, Gertrude!"

“The great have no power in their desires.”

“The madness of the powerful requires supervision.”

“Call me any instrument, you may upset me, but you can’t play me.”