Hamlet Act IV Notes

Act IV

Scene I

·         Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet murdered Polonius

·         Claudius demands that Hamlet be sent to London

·         Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get Hamlet for him

Scene II

·         Rosencrantz and Guildenstern retrieve Hamlet

·         Hamlet makes fun of everybody in the room

Scene III

·         Claudius demands Hamlet to tell him where the corpse of Polonius is

·         Hamlet cracks more jokes and avoids the question

·         Claudius sends Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to London

·         He also makes arrangements for Hamlet to be killed upon arrival

Scene IV

·         On the way to England, they pass by the army of Prince Fortinbras

·         In a conflict, Hamlet asks what the fight is over

·         Several dialogues later, it is revealed that the conflict is over a small piece of land

·         Fortinbras also says that it is vengeance over the man who killed his father

·         Hamlet follows Fortinbras’s example and carry out his revenge plan

Scene V

·         Ophelia, in the meantime, has gone mad

·         She sings songs, dances, and talks nonsense about the death of her father

·         Laertes shows up since a couple weeks ago his father was murdered

·         Ophelia hands out flowers and leaves the room

·         Laertes is furious about his father’s death

Scene VI

·         Horatio bumps into some sailors carrying a letter that is ,apparently, addressed to him

·         It reads that Hamlet has escaped and is heading back to the palace

Scene VII

·         Claudius finds out that Hamlet is alive and coming home

·         Laertes feels that he has to avenge his father’s death and kill Hamlet

·         They plan and plan and plan

·         They come up with plans and backup plans if the first ones fail, All to kill Hamlet

·         Gertrude then runs in and explains that Ophelia had drown in a stream