Key Facts
full title · The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
author · William Shakespeare
type of work · Play
genre · Tragedy, revenge tragedy
language · English
time and place written · London, England, early seventeenth century
(probably 1600–1602)
date of first publication · 1603, in a pirated quarto edition
titled The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet; 1604 in
a superior quarto edition
protagonist · Hamlet
major conflict · Hamlet feels a responsibility to avenge his father’s
murder by his uncle Claudius, but Claudius is now the king and thus
well protected. Moreover, Hamlet struggles with his doubts about whether
he can trust the ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate
thing to do.
rising action · The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells Hamlet to revenge
his murder; Hamlet feigns madness to his intentions; Hamlet stages the
mousetrap play; Hamlet passes up the opportunity to kill Claudius
while he is praying.
climax · When Hamlet stabs Polonius through the arras in Act
III, scene iv, he commits himself to overtly violent action and
brings himself into unavoidable conflict with the king. Another
possible climax comes at the end of Act IV, scene iv, when Hamlet
resolves to commit himself fully to violent revenge.
falling action · Hamlet is sent to England to be killed; Hamlet returns
to Denmark and confronts Laertes at Ophelia’s funeral; the fencing match;
the deaths of the royal family
setting (time) · The late medieval period, though the play’s chronological
setting is notoriously imprecise
settings (place) · Denmark
foreshadowing · The ghost, which is taken to foreshadow an ominous
future
for Denmark
tone · Dark, ironic, melancholy, passionate, contemplative,
desperate, violent
themes · The impossibility of certainty; the complexity of action;
the mystery of death; the nation as a diseased body
motifs · Incest and incestuous desire; ears and hearing; death
and suicide; darkness and the supernatural; misogyny
symbols · The ghost (the spiritual consequences of death); Yorick’s
skull (the physical consequences of death)
