In order to do this, he puts on an act of insanity, which includes him dismissing his love for Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, even though he had previously made romantic advances towards her. Polonius becomes worried about Hamlet’s obvious insanity and decides to approach the King and Queen. Meanwhile, Hamlet is having difficulty convincing himself that Claudius is responsible for the death of his father, and in an attempt to “catch the king’s conscience” Hamlet hires a travelling troupe of actors to perform a play, closely resembling the events described to him by the ghost.

As Hamlet watches Claudius’ reaction to the play, he is convinced that the new king is guilty, but cannot bring himself to kill him outright. He decides to tell Gertrude that she is married to the man who killed her husband. Unfortunately, Polonius, who is hidden behind a tapestry in the Queens room, overhears and, in a panic, cries out for help. When Hamlet hears this, he stabs Polonius and kills him, thinking that he is Claudius. As soon as Claudius hears about this, he sends Hamlet to England, saying that he just wants to secure Hamlets safety while he comes to his senses. Rosencratz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlets childhood friends, who are now spies for Claudius, accompany him to England. The plan is for Hamlet to give a letter to the King of England, in which Claudius asks for Hamlet to be sentenced to death.

While this is all happening, Ophelia loses her own sanity, driven by Hamlets condition and the death of her father. Laertes, her brother, returns to Elsinore from his studies and vows to take revenge on Hamlet for what he has done to his family. News is delivered that Hamlet is back in Denmark, much to the surprise of Claudius, and that Ophelia has drowned herself in a river. Claudius plots with Laertes, to kill Hamlet when he returns to Elsinore. When Hamlet finishes his story, Ophelia’s funeral procession enters and Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel.

This is all part of Claudius’ plot. Instead of a dull blade, Laertes will select a sharp one, and its tip will be dipped in poison, so that just one wound will kill the Prince. Claudius has also spiked a chalice with poison, in case his first attempt fails. Unfortunately for Claudius, the plan starts to go wrong from the beginning. Laertes does not manage to wound Hamlet at all. Between rounds, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned chalice. Then Laertes manages to wound Hamlet but loses the poisoned rapier in the process, causing him to be poisoned as well. Gertrude dies; Laertes manages to reveal the plot against Hamlet before he dies, telling him he has “not a half-hour’s life” left. Hamlet is furious and manages to stab Claudius with the poisoned sword and make him drink from the chalice that killed Gertrude. Hamlet then dies in Horatio’s arms as Fortinbras enters the castle. As the entire royal family has been killed, Fortinbras takes the throne and orders Hamlet and the rest to be buried with a proper funeral.