Robinson Crusoe: Top Ten Quotes, Free Study Guides and book notes including comprehensive chapter analysis, complete summary analysis, author biography information, character profiles, theme analysis, metaphor analysis, and top ten quotes on classic literature. Shmoop breaks down key quotations from Robinson Crusoe. Religion Quotes I consulted neither Father or Mother any more, nor so much as sent them Word of it; but leaving them to hear of it as they might, without asking God's Blessing, or my Father's, without any Consi.
Plot OverviewOn a dark winter night, aghost walks the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark. Discoveredfirst by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghostresembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudiushas inherited the throne and married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. WhenHoratio and the watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrudeand the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him, declaringominously that it is indeed his father’s spirit, and that he wasmurdered by none other than Claudius. Ordering Hamlet to seek revengeon the man who usurped his throne and married his wife, the ghostdisappears with the dawn.Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’sdeath, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature,he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness.
Claudiusand Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attemptto discover its cause. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantzand Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous LordChamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter,Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with thegirl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does not seem tolove Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares thathe wishes to ban marriages.A group of traveling actors comes to Elsinore, and Hamletseizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have theplayers perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by whichHamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father, so that ifClaudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of themurder arrives in the theater, Claudius leaps up and leaves theroom.
Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamletgoes to kill Claudius but finds him praying.
Since he believes thatkilling Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heaven,Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and decidesto wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearingfor his own safety, orders that Hamlet be sent to England at once.Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedchamberPolonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behindthe tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding there. He drawshis sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius. Forthis crime, he is immediately dispatched to England with Rosencrantzand Guildenstern. However, Claudius’s plan for Hamlet includes morethan banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed ordersfor the King of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death.In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes madwith grief and drowns in the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, whohas been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage.
Claudiusconvinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’sdeaths. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating thatthe prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his shipen route to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desirefor revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with Hamletin innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’ blade so thatif he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup plan, the king decidesto poison a goblet, which he will give Hamlet to drink should Hamletscore the first or second hits of the match.
Hamlet returns to thevicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place.Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he hadin fact always loved Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio thathe believes one must be prepared to die, since death can come at anymoment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s ordersto arrange the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit,but declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet. Instead,Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison.Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not dieof the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his own sword’sblade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsiblefor the queen’s death, he dies from the blade’s poison.
Hamlet thenstabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him todrink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamletdies immediately after achieving his revenge.At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, whohas led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enterswith ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildensternare dead.
Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entireroyal family lying sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to takepower of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s lastrequest, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story.
Fortinbras orders thatHamlet be carried away in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.
Hamlet: Entire PlayThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Entire playACT I SCENE I. A platform before the castle.FRANCISCO at his post. Enter to him BERNARDOEnter HORATIO and MARCELLUSExitEnter GhostExit GhostRe-enter GhostCock crowsExit GhostExeunt SCENE II. A room of state in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, HAMLET, POLONIUS, LAERTES, VOLTIMAND, CORNELIUS, Lords, and AttendantsExeunt VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUSExeunt all but HAMLETEnter HORATIO, MARCELLUS, and BERNARDOExeunt all but HAMLETExit SCENE III.
A room in Polonius' house.Enter LAERTES and OPHELIAEnter POLONIUSExitExeunt SCENE IV. The platform.Enter HAMLET, HORATIO, and MARCELLUSA flourish of trumpets, and ordnance shot off, withinEnter GhostGhost beckons HAMLETExeunt Ghost and HAMLETExeunt SCENE V. Another part of the platform.Enter GHOST and HAMLETExitWritingEnter HORATIO and MARCELLUSThey swearExeuntACT II SCENE I. A room in POLONIUS' house.Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDOExit REYNALDOEnter OPHELIAExeunt SCENE II. A room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and AttendantsExeunt ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and some AttendantsEnter POLONIUSExit POLONIUSRe-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUSGiving a paperExeunt VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUSReadsReadsReadsExeunt KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, and AttendantsEnter HAMLET, readingAsideEnter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExit POLONIUSFlourish of trumpets withinEnter POLONIUSEnter four or five PlayersExit POLONIUS with all the Players but the FirstExit First PlayerExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExitACT III SCENE I.
A room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, POLONIUS, OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERNExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExit QUEEN GERTRUDETo OPHELIAExeunt KING CLAUDIUS and POLONIUSEnter HAMLETExitRe-enter KING CLAUDIUS and POLONIUSExeunt SCENE II. A hall in the castle.Enter HAMLET and PlayersExeunt PlayersEnter POLONIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERNExit POLONIUSExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNEnter HORATIODanish march. Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, POLONIUS, OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and othersTo POLONIUSLying down at OPHELIA's feetHautboys play. The dumb-show entersEnter a King and a Queen very lovingly; the Queen embracing him, and he her. She kneels, and makes show of protestation unto him. He takes her up, and declines his head upon her neck: lays him down upon a bank of flowers: she, seeing him asleep, leaves him.
Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his crown, kisses it, and pours poison in the King's ears, and exit. The Queen returns; finds the King dead, and makes passionate action. The Poisoner, with some two or three Mutes, comes in again, seeming to lament with her. The dead body is carried away. The Poisoner wooes the Queen with gifts: she seems loath and unwilling awhile, but in the end accepts his loveExeuntEnter PrologueExitEnter two Players, King and QueenSleepsExitEnter LUCIANUSPours the poison into the sleeper's earsExeunt all but HAMLET and HORATIORe-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNRe-enter Players with recordersEnter POLONIUSExit POLONIUSExeunt all but HAMLETExit SCENE III. A room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERNExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNEnter POLONIUSExit POLONIUSRetires and kneelsEnter HAMLETExitExit SCENE IV. The Queen's closet.Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE and POLONIUSPOLONIUS hides behind the arrasEnter HAMLETMakes a pass through the arrasFalls and diesLifts up the array and discovers POLONIUSEnter GhostExit GhostPointing to POLONIUSExeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in POLONIUSACT IV SCENE I.
A room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERNExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNRe-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExeunt SCENE II. Another room in the castle.Enter HAMLETEnter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExeunt SCENE III. Another room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS, attendedEnter ROSENCRANTZEnter HAMLET and GUILDENSTERNTo some AttendantsExeunt AttendantsExitExeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERNExit SCENE IV. A plain in Denmark.Enter FORTINBRAS, a Captain, and Soldiers, marchingExeunt FORTINBRAS and SoldiersEnter HAMLET, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDENSTERN, and othersExitExeunt all except HAMLETExit SCENE V.
A room in the castle.Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE, HORATIO, and a GentlemanExit HORATIORe-enter HORATIO, with OPHELIASingsSingsEnter KING CLAUDIUSSingsSingsExitExit HORATIOA noise withinEnter another GentlemanNoise withinEnter LAERTES, armed; Danes followingThey retire without the doorRe-enter OPHELIASingsExitExeunt SCENE VI. Another room in the castle.Enter HORATIO and a ServantExit ServantEnter SailorsExeunt SCENE VII. Another room in the castle.Enter KING CLAUDIUS and LAERTESEnter a MessengerExit MessengerReadsEnter QUEEN GERTRUDEExitExeuntACT V SCENE I.
A churchyard.Enter two Clowns, with spades, & cEnter HAMLET and HORATIO, at a distanceExit Second ClownHe digs and singsThrows up a skullThrows up another skullSingsTakes the skullPuts down the skullEnter Priest, & c. In procession; the Corpse of OPHELIA, LAERTES and Mourners following; KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, their trains, & cRetiring with HORATIOScattering flowersLeaps into the graveLeaps into the graveGrappling with himThe Attendants part them, and they come out of the graveExitExit HORATIOTo LAERTESExeunt SCENE II.