Hamlet: Summary/ Analysis

Author: William Shakespeare was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. When he was 18 he married Anne Hathaway and had three children. Between  1585 and 1592, he was an actor, writer, and a part owner of a playing company named Lord Chamberlain's Men. He produced most of his work during the years 1589 and 1613.
Setting: Hamlet takes place in Denmark, the year is unknown, but is said to be the early 1600s.
Plot: The play begins with Bernardo, Francisco, and Horatio on watch. While on watch, they find the ghost of the old King Hamlet. They try to get it to talk, but are unable to do so. Meanwhile, Hamlet is with his uncle, King Claudius, and his mother, Queen Gertrude. Hamlet clearly doesn't like his new "father" and is mad at his mother for choosing to marry him. Laertes also asks the king for permission to return to France for school. Afterwards, we find Laertes and his sister, Ophelia, having a normal conversation. He tells her not to fall in love with Hamlet. Their father, Polonius, gives Laertes some advice before he leaves. He also tells Ophelia not to get too attached to Hamlet. Polonius is also an advisor to the king. Later that day, Hamlet is brought to go see the ghost of his dead father. He gets it to speak and finds that it was his uncle that killed his father, and is told that he must kill his uncle to avenge his father's death. He also chooses that he will act crazy in order to help carry out his goal. Next, Ophelia runs to her father and tells him that Hamlet had stormed into her closet (which is a private place) and was acting weird. Polonius tells her not to go see him anymore. Polonius also tells a man to go spy on Laertes in France. Later, the king and queen go tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to go spy on Hamlet. Hamlet then finds out that there are going to be players coming into the castle and decide to go set up a play that would see if the King really was guilty by his reaction to the play. Before the play, Ophelia goes to return  Hamlet's belongings that he gave her. He feels hurt by her betrayal, and becomes angry. Hamlet's plan to test the king's guilt with the play is successful, but his mother, surprised about the play, wishes to speak to him. While in his mothers room, Hamlet begins to yell at her about her betrayal to him and his father, and in the process kills Polonius (who was spying on them). During this the ghost appears again, but the queen is unable to see it. Feeling threatened, the king sends Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England to go have Hamlet killed. While Hamlet is away, Ophelia appears insane and beings to sing songs that actually have truth behind them. This is when Laertes returns from France and swears that he will avenge his father's death and well as Ophelia. Afterwards, the King finds out that Hamlet is actually on his way back from England and is confused as to how he escaped. The king then plans to have Hamlet and Laertes fight, poisoning Hamlet in the process. They then find out that Ophelia had drowned, and they are not sure if it was a suicide or not. During her funeral, Hamlet appears and Laertes attacks him,  but both are separated. Later on, Osric talks to Hamlet and convices him to fight with Laertes. Finally, the fight begins. The king poisons wine that he intends to give to Hamlet, but instead actually kills the queen. Hamlet then is hit and is poisoned  by Laertes' blade. Realizing what is going on, he hits Laertes with the sword, and stabs the king (as well as forces him to drink the poisoned wine). Laertes then dies, who is then followed by Hamlet. The prince of Norway, Fortinbras, then shows up, and gives Hamlet a burial.
Characters:
Claudius: Hamlet's uncle, who killed Old Hamlet. Married Hamlet's mother two months after Old Hamlet's death. He's plotting and very manipulative. Hamlet wants to kill him to avenge his father.
Hamlet: A very intelligent man, son to Old Hamlet and Claudius' nephew. Wants to the kill the king, since he killed his father. Is in love with Ophelia and best friends with Horatio (used to be with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). His sanity is questionable.
Polonius: Advisor to the king as well as Ophelia and Laertes' father. Acts dumb, but is actually quite smart
Horatio: One of Hamlet's friends, seems to be the most loyal
Laertes: Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother. Disliked Hamlet because he killed his father. Apparently is an excellent swordsman.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Hamlet's childhood friends. Sent by the king to go spy on Hamlet, betraying him while doing so.
Gertrude: Hamlet's mother. Hamlet seems to be very unhappy with her during the play. Her knowledge about the murder is unknown.
Ophelia: Polonius' daughter. Is in love with Hamlet, but he betrays him because of what her father tells her to do. Her innocence is questionable. She may or may not be pregnant with Hamlet's child.
Author's Style: Since this is a Shakespearean play, the way it is written is different than modern texts. He tends to leave some details out to allow for different interpretations. He also uses the double meaning of words to add more to what his characters are saying.
Tone: The tones throughout the play were actually quite hard for me to determine. I believe that many lines in the play can be said in different tones to allow for different interpretations.
Symbols: There actually wasn't very many objects in the play that had any other meanings. One I can think of is the flowers that Ophelia was handing out to everyone while she was insane. Rue means regret, Rosemary and Pansies mean remembrance and love, and daisies mean faithlessness.
Quotes: 
"To be, or not to be: that is the question" (Act 3, Scene 1)
Hamlet states this when contemplating suicide. This ties in to the theme of the mystery of death. Hamlet is constantly wondering about what happens after death and why we must die. Hamlet is surrounded by so much death and pain that he really seems to find interest in the idea of death.
"...the hellish Pyrrhus/ Old gransire Priam seeks" (Act 2, Scene 2)
Hamlet is speaking about the Greek story about the fall of Troy. Pyrrhus wanted to kill his father's killer, but since he's already dead, he kills his killer's father. This quote clearly shows the motif of revenge that is very evident within the play. Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all want to avenge their father's within the play.
"Denmark's a prison" (Act 2, Scene 2)
The idea of Denmark as a prison shows how Hamlet see the corruption in the people of the country. He sees the infidelity in his two friends, Ophelia, and his mother, and feels like his trapped, being the only one that stays loyal to all the right people.
Theme: One's fate and the mystery of death. Both are questioned throughout the play and the events in the play, in one way or another, deal with one or both ideas. Hamlet wonders about what happens after death, which is evident when he talks to his father's ghost. He thinks about his father's sins had affected him in the afterlife. Hamlet also wonders about his fate, if he was fated to end up killing his father's killer and if he was fated to die in the process.