After being summoned back home from abroad for the sudden death of his father (Hamlet, the King of Denmark), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is visited by a mysterious ghost resembling his late father. The ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by Claudius, the King’s brother, who then took the throne and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. The ghost encourages Hamlet to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius.

The task before Hamlet weighs heavily upon him. Hamlet’s uncertainty is what makes the character so believable – he is arguably one of literature’s most psychologically complex characters. He is slow to take action, but when he does it is rash and violent. We can see this in the famous “curtain scene” when Hamlet kills Polonius.

REVENGE?!?!?!