Hamlet

Hamlet is William Shakespeare's tragedy about the prince of Denmark, whose father's ghost accuses the new king, Claudius, of murder. Hamlet seeks evidence while struggling with grief, anger, and the demands of revenge. His encounters with Ophelia, Gertrude, Horatio, and the court expose differences between appearance and intention, while a performance within the play becomes a means of testing an accusation. Soliloquies give inward questioning unusual dramatic scope without stopping the consequences of outward action. The tragedy follows the damage produced when family obligations, political corruption, and uncertain judgment become inseparable.