Hamlet SCENE PREVIEWS

Act IV, scs. i/ii  Things are chaotic  Queen tells Claudius about Polonius  Claudius tells R & G to find Hamlet  R & G confront Hamlet—he calls them out for being suckups to Claudius, then bolts  Hamlet gets caught

Act IV, sc. iii  Claudius lets people know Hamlet must be exiled to England  Public loves Hamlet; they can’t know the real reason for his exile  Hamlet and Claudius converse—Hamlet lets Claudius know he KNOWS the real reason for the exile, but goes along with it  Claudius orders R & G to follow Hamlet to England  When everyone leaves, Claudius reveals his own evil scheme (death to Hamlet)

Act IV, sc. iv  Transitional scene: Hamlet on his way to England  Meets a Captain in Fortinbras’s army— is impressed with his resolve and bravery  Hamlet recommits (AGAIN) to acting instead of thinking

Act IV, sc. v  Back at Elsinore—a few days later  Ophelia has shattered under the strain—she has gone completely insane  Laertes brings a rebel army to get revenge on Claudius for his father’s death  Claudius talks Laertes down and turns his anger into need for revenge on Hamlet  Laertes sees his sister and is devastated by her mental state

Act IV, sc. vi  Horatio gets a letter from Hamlet  Hamlet was captured by pirates (deus ex machina, anyone?) and will return to Denmark  R & G are still on to England

Act IV, sc. vii  Claudius and Laertes scheme for Hamlet’s death  Has to look accidental—can’t hurt the queen, can’t rile up the Danish people (who love Hamlet)  Plan A: poisoned/real sword; Plan B: poisoned wine  Gertrude comes in with sad news about Ophelia