A
~ H A M L E T ~ (Regained) Walkthrough
with a Timeline of events
- Years Earlier (Events before May 14 are all offstage)
Hamlet Sr defeated "an ambitious Norway," that was trying to conquer Denmark. The ambitious leader Hamlet Sr defeated is the "old Norway" who is King of Norway at the time of the play.
Hamlet Sr defeated a Polish military force.
Hamlet Sr killed Fortinbrasse Sr of Norway, who had challenged him to personal combat. The victory gave Denmark control of Elsinore Castle and the surrounding land.
Hamlet Sr defeated England, forcing England to pay tribute to Denmark.
March 17- Hamlet Sr dies, secretly poisoned to death by his brother Claudius.
A false story is spread that Hamlet Sr died from snakebite.
March 20- Hamlet is notified in Wittenberg, Germany, where Hamlet is attending the university, that his father has died, and he immediately leaves for Elsinore.
March 22- Hamlet arrives in Elsinore.
March 23- Hamlet's best friend, Horatio, arrives in Elsinore to attend the funeral of Hamlet Sr. Hamlet is involved in the official activities, and has also been depressed and keeping to himself, and Horatio doesn't see him. Horatio makes friends with some of the military personnel.
March 24- Hamlet Sr's funeral is held.
Hamlet notices Ophelia, and she notices him, and their romance begins.
Hamlet and Ophelia agree they'll marry someday, but decide to keep their engagement secret until marriage becomes a practical possibility.
from March 25 to April 19- Hamlet observes Claudius being attentive to Gertrude and giving her gifts. He never liked Claudius.
April 20- Gertrude marries Claudius.
from March 25 to May 11- The electors consider the choice for a new King.
May 10- Gertrude has observed Hamlet's depressed spirits, and suggests to Claudius that he contact Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet, in hopes that Hamlet will be cheered up by having friends around. Claudius does send a letter (for his own reasons) to R & G, in Wittenberg, and requests their presence at Elsinore.
May 12- Claudius is elected King.
That night, the castle sentinels see a Ghost that looks exactly like Hamlet Sr. The Ghost is dressed in full battle armor, the same as Hamlet Sr dressed when he went to war.
May 13 and May 14- Coronation festivities for Claudius as the new King.
Castle sentinels see the Ghost again, each night.
the play . H A M L E T . begins - Scene 1
May 14, night. After midnight, so actually the 15th.
The guards have asked Horatio to accompany them on watch duty, as a witness, and they all see the Ghost.
It's mentioned that Fortinbrasse Jr, of Norway, is raising an army to attack Denmark.
Horatio and the guards decide to tell Hamlet about the Ghost.
Scene 2- May 15, morning until just after noon
Claudius's first day of regular business as King.
Claudius sends a diplomatic mission to Norway, in an effort to prevent Fortinbrasse from attacking Denmark. (The King of Norway, that Claudius is asking for assistance, is the same "ambitious Norway" that Hamlet Sr once defeated in war.)
(The diplomatic mission was Polonius's idea, which Claudius gladly agreed to.)
The ambassadors leave for Norway.
Claudius gives Laertes leave to return to France.
Hamlet obeys his mother's request to remain at Elsinore.
(By remaining at Elsinore, Hamlet has nothing to do. He is not able to continue his university studies, he's entirely dependent on Gertrude - and Claudius - for his support, and he has no independent means that would provide security for him to marry Ophelia. He's nothing more than a pampered guest at the Castle, a "beggar," and Elsinore is essentially no more than a nice, comfortable prison for him.)
Claudius announces he'll celebrate his successful business of the day with a rouse.
Horatio and the guards tell Hamlet about the Ghost.
Hamlet says he'll accompany them that night, to see the Ghost, and requests they tell nobody else.
Scene 3- May 15, the afternoon
- Laertes leaves for France, with sexual adventure on his mind.
Before he leaves, Laertes lectures Ophelia about Hamlet and sex, since he can't resist talking about sex in some way in anticipation of his trip.
Polonius lectures Laertes about everything before he leaves.
Polonius pries into what Laertes said to Ophelia.
Polonius thinks Hamlet is just like Laertes, so he tells Ophelia not to believe Hamlet, and to avoid him.
May 15, later in the afternoon, and into the evening- (Offstage) Hamlet tries to see Ophelia, but she refuses him in obedience to her father.
(Hamlet worries that Ophelia is fickle, as Gertrude appears to him to be. He doesn't know that Ophelia is only obeying her father, and that her love for him has not changed.)
(Offstage) The ambassadors arrive in Norway.
(Old Norway and Fortinbrasse 'Put On A Show' for the ambassadors, and convince them that Norway didn't know what Fortinbrasse was doing, and is sorry about it. Norway suggests that Fortinbrasse could attack Poland, to give him something to do. He also suggests that, as a gesture of goodwill, Fortinbrasse be allowed to go through Denmark on his way to Poland. The ambassadors are pleased at getting a "peaceful" agreement so easily.)
(Offstage) The ambassadors happily accept the agreement, and leave to return to Elsinore.
(After the ambassadors leave, Norway and Fortinbrasse chuckle and talk. Crafty old Norway gives Fortinbrasse advice about how to proceed after he gets his army, the Norwegian army, into Denmark.)
Scene 4- May 15, night; after midnight, so actually the 16th
- Hamlet visits the guard station.
Hamlet talks about Claudius's riotous drinking.
The Ghost appears.
Scene 5- Hamlet follows the Ghost and talks to it.
The Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudius's murder of Hamlet Sr, and calls for revenge.
The Ghost implies wrongdoing by Gertrude, but tells Hamlet to take no action against her. However, the idea of his mother being culpable in the death of his father begins to work on Hamlet's mind.
Hamlet refuses to reveal to the guards what the Ghost said.
Hamlet requests secrecy from the guards, and they agree.
Hamlet returns to his room in Elsinore Castle to sleep. He plans to kill Claudius as soon as he can.
May 16, morning- (Offstage) Hamlet has a bad dream, which terrifies him and changes his plans.
(Offstage) Hamlet rushes to Ophelia's room, to assure himself that she's still alive and well, but his nightmare has left him speechless. He frightens her badly.
(Hamlet realizes that if he fails in his attempt to kill Claudius, the consequences could be grim for himself and those he cares about. Hamlet puts aside his impulsive idea of immediate attack, and begins looking for an assured way to get Claudius.)
(Hamlet decides to avoid Ophelia until he can kill Claudius, to be certain she's safe and not involved in any way.)
Scene 6- Polonius sends an agent to France with a crazy scheme to check on Laertes.
(The agent, Reynaldo, will never return, and is seen no more in the play, because Laertes is going to kill him.)
Ophelia tells Polonius about Hamlet's behavior when he rushed into her room.
Polonius is convinced - for the wrong reason - that Hamlet loves Ophelia, and he decides to involve Claudius to ensure the marriage happens.
Scene 7- May 16, afternoon
- R & G arrive, and are instructed to find out what's bothering Hamlet, and to be friendly company for him.
The ambassadors return from Norway.
The ambassadors report they have reached an agreement which allows Fortinbrasse to keep his army, and receive a lot of money, and which includes allowing Fortinbrasse to bring his army into Denmark without opposition.
Claudius says it sounds fine to him.
Polonius tells Claudius that Hamlet is mad for Ophelia's love. He produces love letters that he's stolen from his daughter to try to prove it.
Polonius suggests a spying plan, using Ophelia to prove Hamlet loves her.
R & G talk to Hamlet.
Hamlet quickly discerns they're no longer his friends, but are working for Claudius. Hamlet also blames Gertrude for R & G becoming spies against him, because she knew R & G, but Claudius didn't.
R & G mention a company of actors is coming to Elsinore.
The actors arrive, who are old friends of Hamlet.
Hamlet arranges with the actors to perform a play he wants, hoping to get more certain proof of Claudius's guilt, and maybe even a public confession from Claudius.
Scene 8- May 17, morning
- Claudius and Gertrude talk to R & G.
R & G say Hamlet won't reveal what's bothering him.- R & G mention the actors, and that Hamlet is arranging for a play to be performed.
Polonius's spying plan against Hamlet begins, using Ophelia to try to get proof Hamlet loves her, to persuade Claudius to approve and order the marriage.
By accident, Polonius makes a remark that stirs Claudius's conscience about the murder of Hamlet Sr, but there's no audience to see Claudius's reaction and it goes unnoticed. So, Polonius gives Claudius some "rehearsal" in controlling himself, before Hamlet's Mousetrap play.
Claudius and Polonius hide behind an arras to listen as Hamlet and Ophelia talk.
Gertrude also hides, and overhears what is said.
Hamlet suffers a tragic misapprehension about what's going on, rejects Ophelia, and insists she go to a nunnery.
Claudius says it didn't sound like love to him, but he thinks Hamlet is dangerous. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England, as an ambassador to collect tribute England owes Denmark, and move Hamlet far away from him.
Polonius suggests to Claudius that, after the play Hamlet is going to present, Polonius could hide in Gertrude's room while Hamlet talks to Gertrude, and tell Claudius what Hamlet says.
May 17, evening, and on into nighttime, until midnight- (Offstage) Ophelia decides that she will go to a nunnery, as Hamlet told her to do.
Scene 9- Hamlet talks to the actors about how to perform the play. He tells them to act natural, and also he unintentionally tells them to focus their performance on him.
Hamlet asks Horatio to help him observe Claudius's reaction to the play.
Claudius, Gertrude, and everybody else arrives, and . . .
The Mousetrap play begins.
Hamlet acts like a jerk in the audience, and gives Claudius an excuse to get up and leave that has nothing to do with the content of the play. Claudius walks out, and Polonius orders the play to be stopped.
Everybody is annoyed at Hamlet for ruining a play they all wanted to see, performed by great actors.
The play fails to get a public confession from Claudius.
Hamlet confers with Horatio, and congratulates himself on getting a reaction out of Claudius.
Hamlet now plans to kill Claudius this same night.
(Offstage) Claudius tells Gertrude, Polonius, and R & G that he left the play because of Hamlet's rude behavior.
R & G tell Hamlet that Gertrude wants to talk to him.
Polonius tells Hamlet that Gertrude wants to talk to him.
Hamlet makes his "drink hot blood" speech at the stroke of midnight.
Hamlet goes and hides in Claudius's room, waiting for his chance to have Claudius alone and kill him.
Scene 10- May 18, after midnight of the 17th until morning
- Claudius and R & G meet in Claudius's room, as Hamlet lurks in the shadows.
Claudius tells R & G to prepare for immediate departure for England, while he finishes the paperwork for Hamlet's diplomatic mission.
R & G exit to pack.
Polonius arrives at Claudius's room, and says he'll go to Gertrude's room to hide and listen to what Gertrude and Hamlet say.
Polonius exits to go to Gertrude's room.
Claudius is now alone, he thinks, and he prays, since he's very worried that his soul will go to Hell. Claudius makes the confession that Hamlet was hoping to get at the Mousetrap play, but Hamlet is the only one who hears it.
Hamlet considers killing Claudius, but doesn't, because Claudius is praying, and for other reasons.
Hamlet leaves to go to Gertrude's room.
Claudius's prayer fails, he thinks. He doesn't know it saved his life.
Scene 11- Polonius hides in Gertrude's room.
Hamlet enters Gertrude's room and starts trying to lecture her.
Polonius cries out and Hamlet accidentally stabs him to death.
Polonius dies, accidentally summoning the Ghost as the last act of his life.
Hamlet ignores Polonius's body and continues to lecture Gertrude.
The Ghost appears. He reminds Hamlet that Claudius is the intended target, and tells Hamlet to comfort his mother.
Hamlet lectures at length to Gertrude.
Gertrude promises to remain silent about what Hamlet has told her. From Hamlet's speech and behavior, she thinks he is truly insane.
(Offstage) R & G return to Claudius's room to get the paperwork from Claudius for the trip to England.
(Hamlet now plans to kill Claudius, but try to make it look like Polonius killed Claudius. Hamlet doesn't tell Gertrude this.)
Hamlet drags Polonius's body out of Gertrude's room, intending to take it to Claudius's room.
(Offstage) The presence of R & G, in Claudius's room, spoils Hamlet's plan. Hamlet decides to hide Polonius's body, to gain some time during which he might be able to kill Claudius.
(Offstage) Hamlet drags Polonius's body on past Claudius's room, to hides it under the stairs, hoping nobody will find out Polonius is dead, for a few hours.
(Offstage) When Gertrude realizes that Hamlet said he intended to take Polonius's body to Claudius's room, she reacts with alarm. She rushes out, to go to Claudius's room to defend Hamlet, expecting Hamlet to be there under arrest for murder, caught red handed with Polonius's body.
Scene 12- Gertrude rushes into Claudius's room, is relieved that Hamlet is not under arrest there, and defends Hamlet as she intended to do.
She reveals that Hamlet has killed Polonius.
Claudius orders R & G to find Hamlet, and find Polonius's body.
Claudius decides that Hamlet will leave for England the first thing in the morning.
Claudius and Gertrude leave to talk to their friends, for political assistance in the death of Polonius. Claudius doesn't want Polonius's death to interfere with his plan to send Hamlet to England to be killed.
Scene 13- Hamlet has just hidden Polonius's body under the stairs, but he hardly has time to turn around before R & G approach with servants and guards, asking where the body is.
Hamlet is taken to Claudius.
(Offstage) Claudius has returned to his room to await word about Hamlet and Polonius's body.
(Offstage) Gertrude takes over the task of talking to political friends, since they're primarily her friends, from her years as Queen.
Scene 14- Claudius asks where Polonius is, and Hamlet finally tells him.
Claudius tells Hamlet he'll have to go to England immediately.
Hamlet is surprised the trip to England is still on, because he expected to be thrown in the dungeon for killing Polonius.
Hamlet leaves for the docks of the nearby town, escorted by R & G.
Scene 15- Hamlet sees the army of Fortinbrasse arriving, and talks to one of Fortinbrasse's captains.
The captain tells the cover story, saying the forces are on their way to Poland. The captain doesn't mention that this "Pol-land" is the land of "Pol-onius."
Hamlet and R & G leave for England.
(Offstage) Word is sent to Laertes, in France, that his father is dead. However, Laertes was already on his way back to Elsinore, because he had some trouble in Paris involving a family servant who met an unfortunate end.
(Offstage) Fortinbrasse orders his army to move a day's march to the west, well out of sight of the castle, and camp there, while he gathers information to judge the best time to attack Elsinore.
May 18, later in the day- (Offstage) Ophelia is told that Hamlet has killed Polonius.
May 19- (Offstage) Polonius is buried quietly, in a private service with little ceremony. Claudius wants to keep Polonius's death quiet, to avoid talk and political trouble. He doesn't want to have to explain why he sent Polonius's killer to England.
(Offstage) Ophelia changes her mind about going to the nunnery, and waits at Elsinore for Hamlet to return.
(Offstage) On board ship, during the night, Hamlet finds the official communication from Claudius to England. It orders England to kill him. Hamlet suspected the trip to England, instead of being thrown in the dungeon, was too good to be true.
(Offstage) Hamlet substitutes a forgery, which orders that R & G be killed instead of him.
May 20- (Offstage) Hamlet's ship is attacked by pirates. Pirate activity increased after the death of Hamlet Sr deranged the Danish naval command.
(Offstage) During the fighting Hamlet jumps onto the pirate ship and is taken prisoner.
(Offstage) The ship with R & G escapes and continues to England.
(Offstage) The pirates agree to return Hamlet to Denmark in exchange for a favor.
(Offstage) People observe that Ophelia is behaving strangely.
May 21- (Offstage) Laertes arrives in Denmark. He talks to some people in the town, becomes outraged about his father's death, and recruits a mob from the town to challenge Claudius.
Scene 16- Ophelia seeks out Gertrude, and sings to her "madly" about the death of her father, and Hamlet being away on a trip.
(Offstage) Castle security has been relaxed since Claudius's "successful" diplomatic mission.
Laertes storms the castle with a mob from the town, overcomes the defenders, and confronts Claudius. Gertrude protects Claudius (because if Laertes takes over it'll spoil Hamlet's chance to be King.)
Ophelia appears, sings to her brother, and gives him flowers.
Laertes agrees to hear Claudius's side of the story, about the death of Polonius, and they leave to talk to Laertes's friends.
Scene 17- Sailors bring Horatio a letter from Hamlet, saying Hamlet is back. The sailors also bring letters from Hamlet to Claudius and Gertrude.
Claudius is not available to receive his letters, and Gertrude's, so Horatio entrusts the letters to Claudio, a thoroughly reliable fellow. Horatio then leaves with the sailors (pirates) to find Hamlet. (The pirate captain didn't want to bring his ship too close to the military forces at Elsinore, and landed Hamlet some distance away.)
May 22, morning- (Offstage) Fortinbrasse is informed that a mob stormed the castle. He decides that this is his best chance, and orders his army to move out, toward Elsinore.
Scene 18- Claudius has convinced Laertes that the death of Polonius wasn't his fault, and that Hamlet is to blame. Claudius lies to Laertes about not taking action against Hamlet, whom he doesn't expect to return from England.
A messenger arrives with the letters from Hamlet to Claudius and Gertrude, which tell Claudius that Hamlet is back.
Claudius and Laertes conspire to kill Hamlet at a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. They decide to use both a sharp, poisoned foil, and poisoned wine, as well.
Gertrude announces Ophelia's death.
May 22, later in the day
An inquest is held into Ophelia's death. The official verdict is accidental death, as Gertrude reported.
Scene 19- May 23
- Ophelia's funeral is held.
Hamlet returns with Horatio in time to talk to the gravedigger and see the funeral.
Laertes and Hamlet scuffle and exchange words.
Scene 20- Hamlet and Horatio talk inside the castle. Hamlet tells Horatio about Claudius's scheme against him, and about his forged orders to England.
A courtier tells Hamlet about the fencing match.
Hamlet agrees to participate, despite his misgivings.
The fencing match is arranged. (All the top leadership of the Castle is there.)
Claudius deceptively drops poison, an "onyx," into Hamlet's wine.
(Offstage) Fortinbrasse is approaching Elsinore, to take a look at the situation.
Claudius drinks a toast to Hamlet, and orders that all the cannons be fired. (Since it's only a salute, the cannons are firing blank charges.)
(Offstage) When all the cannons at Elsinore suddenly fire, Fortinbrasse thinks the Danes must have discovered his scheme, and that they're shooting at him. He orders his army to attack the Castle. (As Fortinbrasse's attack proceeds, he'll get to the walls of Elsinore with his army in great shape, since the cannons are only firing blanks for the fencing match salute. When he gets there, Fortinbrasse will discover that Laertes's mob broke down the doors, and he can charge right in. The Danish soldiers are still bruised and tired from fighting with Laertes's mob, and they have no leadership. The Danish defenders will quickly surrender.)
The fencing match begins.
Knowing that the poison has dissolved, Claudius deceptively drops both a pearl, and an onyx that he's palmed, into Hamlet's wine to cover for the poison. (Claudius has covered up for his poisoning of the wine, and will get away with murdering Hamlet, if Hamlet drinks the wine.)
Gertrude innocently sips from Hamlet's poisoned wine, as a gesture that she's cheering for Hamlet.
Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned foil.
Hamlet and Laertes grapple. Laertes's intense training as a fencer leads him to do a quick foil switch, reflexively, to free himself, without thinking at the moment that he's giving Hamlet the poisoned foil.
Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned foil.
Gertrude exclaims that the wine is poisoned, and dies.
Laertes confesses the plot.
Hamlet wounds Claudius with the poisoned foil.
(Horatio quickly kills Claudius's bodyguards, to protect Hamlet, when the guards move to protect the King. The others in the room who were moving forward stop and back away.)
Hamlet tilts the cup of poisoned wine to Claudius's mouth, and Claudius can't help swallowing some. (Claudius can't resist wine, it's his "vicious mole of nature.")
Claudius dies.
Laertes announces his forgiveness of Hamlet.
Laertes dies.
Hamlet instructs Horatio to tell his story, so people will know that he was not merely an assassin.
It's announced that Fortinbrasse is there, also, that ambassadors from England have arrived.
Hamlet announces his support for Fortinbrasse.
Hamlet dies.
The English ambassadors announce that R & G are dead.
Fortinbrasse takes over as ruler at Elsinore, and orders that Hamlet be honored in death as a royal soldier.
(Offstage) Hamlet will be buried the next day, May 24, two months after the funeral for his father. He now rests in peace there, by Ophelia.
(Regained)
The timeline includes both onstage events, and significant offstage events.
The calendar dates of events in this list are discretionary. The death of Hamlet Sr on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, is taken from Hamlet's mention of Saint Patrick in the play, just after he talks to the Ghost. It's a reasonable starting point, especially since St Patrick is associated with snakes in legend, and the false story of Hamlet Sr's death was that he died from a snake bite. March 17 is also the feast day of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is associated with Gertrude in the play.
The events are timed so that the Mousetrap play is performed two calendar months after Hamlet Sr's death, since Hamlet mentions the time of "two months" at the play. That leads to the catastrophic fencing match occurring two months after Hamlet Sr's funeral, minus one day, as the conclusion. Hamlet's funeral (offstage, after the play ends) will be two months to the day after Hamlet Sr's funeral.
The Scene changes are marked. The author did not divide his play into Acts, so I don't, either. The traditional Act divisions for Hamlet are not authentic, were incompetently done by a later editor who did not understand the play, and they are misleading for the events. The authentic play is divided into Scenes, only.
Europe was in the Little Ice Age in Elizabethan times; the weather was colder than it is now. The nights would have been quite cold, as Horatio and Hamlet both mention, even well into Spring. A springtime setting agrees with Ophelia's ability to obtain a variety of flowers. It can't be late autumn or winter, and even late summer or early autumn is unlikely, because of the flowers.
The purpose of using calendar dates is to give a realistic feel for the passage of time. Only the order of events and their rough time of day can be given, in most cases. Dramatic license must be allowed for the passage of time, overall.
Most of the international travel times are unrealistically short, to agree with onstage events, so special allowance is required there, for dramatic purposes. "The play's the thing," as we know. (Actual travel times, as they may have been in Elizabethan days, are of no consequence. All of the "international travelers" in the play are really only actors standing backstage, waiting to go on again.)
The pre-play events are timed approximately, in coordination with dramatic purposes. A week is allowed between Hamlet Sr's death and his state funeral, and so on, to lead up to the start of the play. It would, again, be pointless to compare the timing of any real, historical state funeral in relation to Hamlet.
We see that it's only about 7 days between the time the Ghost calls on Hamlet for revenge (May 16, early a.m.) until Hamlet dies (May 23) - and Hamlet was away for 5 of those days (May 18 to 23.)
The traditional notion of a long delay by Hamlet has been grossly misstated, and does not exist in the facts of the play. It's only a week.
The reason why the myth of a long delay by Hamlet has persisted for so long, is because previous commentators have been too oblivious, or too lazy, to do what you're seeing here, for one thing. It's a very complex play, and there's a great deal of action condensed into a short period of time, so it isn't an easy task to get the timing, but that's a poor excuse when there's been four centuries for somebody to do this. It ought to have been done long, long ago.
(I discover that my original remarks, in the paragraph above, are not entirely fair. Somebody has done a reasonable timeline of the play, although not in the comprehensive, detailed way of a full timeline. Miss Kate Field, writing in Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1870, concluded that the action of the play "cannot cover more than ten days." She was absolutely right. It's a shame her male colleagues in the study of Hamlet did not pay better attention to her, and they allowed the myth about months of delay to persist. The woman got it right, gentlemen.)
(See: "Fechter as Hamlet," by Kate Field, The Atlantic monthly magazine, Volume 26, Issue 157, November 1870, pp. 558-9.)
Commentators on Hamlet haven't been doing their homework on the play - although they will typically ramble on endlessly as they indulge their own personal proclivities in subject matter, for which the play serves only as a point of departure, and nothing more. Interpretation of the play has long been in need of "more matter, with less art." It is disappointingly rare in the historical commentary on Hamlet even to find a commentator who was able to pay attention to what he was supposed to be talking about: the play, itself. Polonius lives!
In addition to the general misunderstandings, there has been one notable specific which has misled commentators who have not studied the play with enough care. Ophelia's "twice" at the Mousetrap play has been taken as factual, and therefore has been badly misinterpreted, historically. It proves to be allusion and characterization by the author, and not a factual statement of the passage of time.
Additionally, the Hamlet character is a young, sad man for whom a long afternoon seems like an eternity, but most of the well-known commentators on the play have been old men, to whom the idea of "a long time" sounds like months and months. Perception of time changes with age.
Shakespeare remembered being young.