HAMLET: A Modern Verse Translation & Study Guide

Guards see the ghost of the dead King Hamlet. They decide to tell Prince Hamlet.

Claudius addresses the court; Hamlet mourns his father. Horatio tells Hamlet of the ghost.

Laertes warns Ophelia about Hamlet. Polonius advises Laertes, then tells Ophelia to avoid Hamlet.

Hamlet joins the watch. The ghost appears and signals Hamlet to follow it alone.

The ghost reveals Claudius murdered King Hamlet. Hamlet swears revenge and makes Horatio and Marcellus promise secrecy.

Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes. Ophelia reports Hamlet’s strange behaviour.

Claudius summons Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. Polonius believes Hamlet’s madness is love for Ophelia. Hamlet plots to expose Claudius’s guilt.

Claudius and Polonius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet delivers “To be or not to be.” Ophelia returns his gifts; Hamlet denies loving her. Claudius grows suspicious.

Hamlet instructs the players and has them perform a scene mirroring his father’s murder. Claudius reacts guiltily and leaves. Hamlet sees this as proof of Claudius’s guilt.

Claudius tries to pray, feeling guilt. Hamlet sees him alone and considers killing him, but decides not to, fearing Claudius’s soul might go to heaven.

Hamlet confronts Gertrude in her chamber. He kills Polonius, hiding behind a curtain, mistaking him for Claudius. The ghost appears, reminding Hamlet of his mission. Gertrude is shaken.

Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet has killed Polonius. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to find out where Hamlet has hidden Polonius’s body, but he evades them.

Claudius questions Hamlet about Polonius’s body. Hamlet mocks him but eventually reveals its location. Claudius secretly orders Hamlet’s execution in England.

Hamlet sees Fortinbras’s army and reflects on his inaction. Inspired by their bravery, he vows to pursue revenge more boldly.

Ophelia, mad with grief, sings disjointed songs. Laertes returns, furious about his father’s death. Claudius calms him, promising answers and justice.

Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet, revealing he escaped the ship to England after pirates attacked. Hamlet is returning to Denmark and asks Horatio to meet him.

Claudius and Laertes plot Hamlet’s death. Claudius suggests a rigged fencing match and poisoned wine. Gertrude enters and reports that Ophelia has drowned.

Gravediggers joke about death while digging Ophelia’s grave. Hamlet reflects on mortality, holding Yorick’s skull. Ophelia’s funeral arrives; Laertes leaps into her grave. Hamlet reveals himself and grapples with Laertes in grief and anger.

Hamlet tells Horatio how he escaped death and replaced the letter with one condemning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He agrees to duel Laertes. During the match, Gertrude drinks poisoned wine. Laertes wounds Hamlet with a poisoned blade but is also wounded. Dying, he reveals Claudius’s plot. Hamlet kills Claudius, then dies. Fortinbras arrives to claim the throne.