Synopsis Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet’s father, suddenly dies, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, usually shortened to just Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599-1602. It is arguably one of his most famous tragedies. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. Get all the key plot points of William Shakespeare's Hamlet on one page. From the creators of SparkNotes. Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy written between 1599 and 1601. Set in Denmark, the play follows Prince Hamlet as he seeks revenge against his uncle Claudius, who murdered Hamlet's father to seize the throne and marry Hamlet's mother. A short summary of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Hamlet. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet: I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg. Many scholars have attempted to read personal history into the writings of William Shakespeare. One work that has often intrigued them is The Tragedy of Hamlet (1603), the Bard’s story of an. Hamlet is Shakespeare's most popular, and most puzzling, play. It follows the form of a revenge tragedy, in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father's murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Hamlet is a tragedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare about 1599–1601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603 from an unauthorized text. Often considered the greatest drama of all time, the play tells the story of the troubled titular prince of Denmark.