A complete summary of William Shakespeare's Play, Hamlet. Find out more about the tragedy set in Denmark and the revenge of Prince Hamlet upon Uncle Claudius A short summary of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Hamlet. Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare 's tragedy Hamlet (1599–1601). He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew of the usurping Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. 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. The story of Hamlet is based on a Danish revenge story first recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in the 1100s. In these stories, a Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince's father and married his mother. 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. Read and download Hamlet for free. Learn about this Shakespeare play, find scene-by-scene summaries, and discover more Folger resources. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Shakespeare homepage | Hamlet | Entire play 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. 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.