Book Review: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Introduction

Few works in world literature rival the complexity, depth, and enduring influence of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Written around 1600 and performed countless times across centuries, Hamlet is more than just a revenge tragedy. It is a meditation on morality, human frailty, madness, and the meaning of existence itself. Shakespeare uses the story of Prince Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder as a vehicle for exploring the tension between action and hesitation, reality and illusion, and life and death.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of Hamlet, breaking down its plot, characters, themes, and style. In addition, it concludes with homework-style questions and answers, making it a useful study guide for students engaging with this timeless play.

Plot Summary

The play opens on the battlements of Elsinore Castle in Denmark, where guards and Prince Hamlet’s friend Horatio witness the ghost of King Hamlet. The ghost soon reveals to Prince Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who now rules as king and has married Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.

Devastated and outraged, Hamlet vows revenge but struggles with indecision. He feigns madness (“antic disposition”) to conceal his plans and to test Claudius’s guilt. Hamlet stages a play-within-a-play, The Mousetrap, mirroring the circumstances of his father’s murder. Claudius’s guilty reaction confirms the ghost’s accusation.

Still, Hamlet hesitates. He misses opportunities to kill Claudius, famously sparing him when he finds him praying, fearing Claudius might go to heaven. Meanwhile, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, advisor to the king, while confronting his mother Gertrude.

Polonius’s death drives Ophelia (Polonius’s daughter and Hamlet’s love interest) into madness and ultimately to her tragic death. Her brother Laertes returns, furious, and conspires with Claudius to kill Hamlet in a duel. The scheme involves a poisoned sword and a poisoned cup of wine.

The final act unfolds in carnage. Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine. Laertes wounds Hamlet, but Hamlet wounds him in return. Before dying, Laertes reconciles with Hamlet, confessing Claudius’s treachery. Hamlet kills Claudius at last but succumbs to his own wounds. With nearly all central figures dead, Fortinbras of Norway arrives to take control of Denmark.

Themes

1. Revenge and Justice

Revenge is the play’s central theme. Hamlet struggles to balance the demand for vengeance with moral hesitation. Is murder justified when seeking justice? Shakespeare presents revenge as both a duty and a corrupting force.

2. Madness — Real and Feigned

Hamlet’s madness, whether genuine or performed, drives much of the action. Shakespeare blurs the line between sanity and insanity, raising questions about perception and truth. Ophelia’s genuine descent into madness provides a tragic counterpoint to Hamlet’s “antic disposition.”

3. Appearance vs. Reality

From Claudius’s false piety to Hamlet’s feigned madness, the play constantly questions what is real versus what is staged. Theatricality itself is central, as the play-within-the-play exposes hidden truths.

4. Mortality and the Meaning of Life

Hamlet’s existential crisis dominates the play, most famously in the “To be or not to be” soliloquy. The inevitability of death and the uncertainty of what comes after loom over every act, culminating in the bloody final scene.

5. Corruption and Power

Denmark is portrayed as “an unweeded garden” corrupted by Claudius’s crime. The political decay mirrors the moral decay of the court, showing how personal sin pollutes society.

Character Analysis

Hamlet

The intellectual prince is reflective, witty, and philosophical, yet paralyzed by overthinking. His indecision reflects a deep moral sensitivity, but it also leads to tragedy.

Claudius

A shrewd, manipulative king whose guilt weighs heavily on him. Shakespeare portrays him as human, not purely villainous, making his character more nuanced.

Gertrude

Hamlet’s mother, torn between her son and Claudius. Her motivations remain ambiguous—was she complicit in King Hamlet’s murder or simply naïve?

Ophelia

The embodiment of innocence destroyed by corruption and manipulation. Her madness and death are among the play’s most haunting moments.

Laertes

A foil to Hamlet, Laertes is decisive and action-oriented. His willingness to act without hesitation contrasts Hamlet’s prolonged indecision.

Shakespeare’s Style

Shakespeare uses soliloquies to grant audiences access to Hamlet’s inner struggles. His poetic language—filled with metaphor, irony, and wordplay—elevates the drama to a universal reflection on human nature. The blending of comic relief (gravediggers, Polonius’s verbosity) with tragedy intensifies the emotional impact.

Why Hamlet Still Matters

Hamlet remains essential reading because it captures the timeless struggle between action and hesitation, morality and vengeance, and life and death. Its influence spans literature, theater, psychology (Freud famously analyzed Hamlet’s Oedipal complex), and popular culture. Every generation finds new meaning in Hamlet’s existential musings.

Homework Questions & Answers

Q1: Why does Hamlet delay avenging his father’s death?
A1: Hamlet delays because he is torn between moral conscience, fear of damnation, and overthinking. His hesitation reflects his philosophical nature and raises the question of whether revenge is ever justified.

Q2: Compare and contrast Hamlet and Laertes as foils.
A2: Hamlet is reflective and hesitant, while Laertes is impulsive and decisive. Both seek revenge for their fathers’ deaths, but their approaches highlight Hamlet’s tragic flaw: indecision.

Q3: What role does the theme of appearance versus reality play in Hamlet?
A3: The theme surfaces in Hamlet’s feigned madness, Claudius’s false piety, and the play-within-the-play. Shakespeare suggests truth is often hidden beneath masks and appearances.

Q4: How does Ophelia’s madness reflect the corruption of Denmark?
A4: Ophelia, innocent and obedient, becomes a casualty of the deceitful court. Her breakdown mirrors the state’s moral decay and emphasizes how corruption destroys innocence.

Q5: Explain the significance of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy.
A5: The soliloquy reflects Hamlet’s deep existential crisis, debating life, death, and the fear of the unknown. It encapsulates the play’s meditation on mortality and the paralysis caused by uncertainty.

Conclusion

Shakespeare’s Hamlet endures as a masterpiece because it confronts humanity’s deepest questions through unforgettable characters, poetic brilliance, and tragic grandeur. It is both a personal story of revenge and a universal exploration of what it means to live, act, and die.