Hamlet thought about what to do next as he watched musicians gathering in the great hall. Soon Rosencrantz and Guildenstern returned.
"Sir," said Guildenstern to Hamlet, "the king is angry and your mother is very upset."
"Perhaps you’d feel better," added Rosencrantz, "if you told us what’s troubling you."
Hamlet was certain now that his friends were spying on him. He grabbed a flute from one of the musicians. "Can you play this?" he said.
"I cannot get a sound out of it," replied Guildenstern nervously.
"And yet you think that you can get sounds out of me—that I’ll tell you what’s on my mind!" exclaimed Hamlet. "You are wrong to think I am easier to play than a flute!"
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern scurried out just as Polonius entered.
"Your mother wishes to see you, my lord," the old man said. Then Polonius went to Gertrude’s sitting room. "When Hamlet gets here, try to find out what’s really bothering him," he instructed and hid himself behind a heavy curtain.
Meanwhile Rosencrantz and Guildenstern had gone straight to the king. They reported that Hamlet seemed even more deranged than before. When they left, the king was all alone.
"What have I done?" he thought. "My sin is the greatest of all—I’ve killed my own brother. How can I be forgiven, since I am not willing to give up what I have gained by my foul deed—my brother’s kingdom and his queen? Angels in heaven, soften this heart of steel and help me repent!" He knelt down and tried to pray.
At that moment Hamlet walked past Claudius’ chambers and saw the king kneeling. "I could kill him now so easily!" he thought, drawing his sword. Then he paused. "Claudius murdered my father before my father had time to confess his sins, so he could not go straight to heaven. But if I kill Claudius now, while he’s praying, this murderer will go to heaven! What kind of revenge is that? It’s better to kill him when he’s drinking or gambling—when his soul is black and headed straight to hell!" Putting his sword back in its sheath, Hamlet quietly left.
Claudius sighed and stood up. "My words are empty," he muttered. "My heart is not in them. And empty words can never reach God’s ear."
When Hamlet got to the queen’s chambers, Gertrude said, "You have offended the king, your father."
"Mother," replied Hamlet, "you have offended the king, my father."
"How dare you speak to me this way?" Gertrude began to get up from her chair, but Hamlet pushed her back down.
"You shall not budge until we talk this out!" he shouted.
Frightened by Hamlet’s roughness, the queen cried out, "Do you mean to kill me? Help!"
Polonius, who could hear but not see what was happening, panicked. "Help, help!" he yelled.
Hamlet, thinking that Polonius was Claudius, thrust his sword through the curtain and stabbed the old man.
Gertrude gasped. "What a rash and bloody deed!"
"Almost as bloody as killing a king and marrying his brother!" said Hamlet.
"Killing a king?" echoed Gertrude, bewildered.
Hamlet lifted the curtain and saw Polonius’ body. "Farewell, you old, meddling fool. Being a busybody can be dangerous," he said.
"Now, Mother. My father was handsome, noble, kind—how could you dishonor his memory by so hastily marrying that villain and murderer?"
The queen went pale. "Oh Hamlet, stop!"
At that moment the ghost appeared to the prince. Hamlet jumped up, staring. "What do you want? Do you come to scold me for taking too long?"
"You must avenge me," wailed the ghost.
"Who are you speaking to?" Gertrude whispered.
"My father’s spirit! Can’t you see it?"
"Alas, you are truly mad!" his mother moaned.
The ghost vanished, and Hamlet looked down at the dead Polonius. "For this I am sorry," he muttered. "Mother, good night."
After Hamlet left, Gertrude rushed to Claudius and told him that Hamlet had killed Polonius in a fit of madness. The king was now very afraid for his own life. He summoned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
"Hamlet has committed a grave crime," said the king. "You must take him to England. There is a boat leaving soon." He handed Rosencrantz a letter. "Present this to the king of England on your arrival."
What no one but the king knew was that the letter contained orders to have Hamlet put to death!
That night Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet rode toward the coast. On their way they saw thousands of soldiers marching along the road. Hamlet stopped their captain and inquired who they were.
"We are the army of Norway, sir," replied the captain.
"Your king gave us permission to march through Denmark on our way to Poland."
"Prince Fortinbras is waging war against Poland?" said Hamlet.
"Not really," answered the captain. "He wants to capture only a tiny piece of land, which the Poles will fight to defend."
Hamlet was astonished. "Fortinbras has put together a whole army," he thought, "and will risk his life for a small patch of earth. I have a beloved father’s murder to avenge, and I’ve done nothing! Fortinbras shames me!"
At that moment something changed inside Hamlet. He resolved to find a way to return to Elsinore and kill Claudius. "From this time forth," he said to himself, "my thoughts will be either bloody or worthless!" But for now, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as guards, he had no choice but to ride on toward the ship.
Back at Elsinore, another tragedy was unfolding. After the death of her father, Ophelia had gone insane. She wandered past Claudius and Gertrude, who were seated in the great hall. She was carrying wildflowers, speaking nonsense, and singing bits of sad songs about love and death. "Grief has made her mad," said Gertrude sadly.
"When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions," replied Claudius. "Hamlet, the man she loved, has murdered her father, and now Hamlet is gone too."
Suddenly they heard footsteps and shouts.
A servant ran into the hall, quickly shutting the doors behind him. "Laertes has learned of his father’s death and returned from France!" he cried. "The mob calls him ‘lord’ and wants to crown him king!"
The doors flew open as Laertes and his followers burst in. Laertes ran up to Claudius. "I want revenge on the man who killed my father!" he shouted.
"Good Laertes, I am guiltless of your father’s death," protested Claudius.
Then Laertes walked up to Ophelia, but she did not recognize her brother. Instead she handed him some flowers.
"Here," she said. "These are pansies. I wanted violets, but they withered when my father died. Now you must sing!"
Laertes saw that she was mad. "Oh, sweet Ophelia! God in heaven, do you see this?" he cried.
"I share your grief," said the king. "I swear your father’s death will be avenged!"
Not long after, a man came to see Horatio with a letter from Hamlet. The letter explained that Hamlet’s ship had been attacked by pirates. But Hamlet had convinced the pirates to release him, and now he wanted Horatio to meet with him. Hamlet was on his way back to Elsinore!