Hamlet Chapter 13 Summary

Scene V. Elsinore. A room in the castle.: chapter recap, key events, character developments, and running summary.

By William Shakespeare

16 chapters

Scene V. Elsinore. A room in the castle.

Chapter 131,723 wordsCompleted

The scene opens in a room of Elsinore with Queen Gertrude, Horatio, and a Gentleman. Gertrude declares she will not speak with “her,” and the Gentleman comments on her importunity and distracted mood. Horatio urges her to be spoken to, then exits, leaving Gertrude to lament her own guilt in a short soliloquy about sin and jealousy.

Horatio re‑enters carrying Ophelia. Ophelia asks where “the beauteous majesty of Denmark” is, then launches into a series of fragmented songs: first a nonsense verse about a “cockle hat and staff,” then a dirge proclaiming a dead lover and describing a green turf and a stone at his heels, followed by a mournful chant about a shroud white as snow. King Claudius enters; Gertrude greets him, and Ophelia continues singing, offering a Valentine‑day parody and a strange prayer about an owl being a baker’s daughter. Claudius exchanges brief, bewildered remarks with her.

After Ophelia exits, a noise is heard. Gertrude asks its source; Claudius summons his “Switzers” (guards). A new Gentleman arrives, delivering an incoherent tirade about Laertes being proclaimed king, the crowd’s applause, and the absurdity of the situation. Gertrude reacts with disgust, calling the Danes “false Danish dogs.”

Laertes then bursts in, armed and followed by several Danes. He demands the king’s presence, accuses the king of killing his father, and declares a vow of revenge. Gertrude tries to calm him, calling him “good Laertes.” Laertes, in a tirade, speaks of his father’s death, his own bastard status, and swears to avenge him, invoking blood and curses. Claudius attempts to pacify Laertes, asking why he is incensed and offering to let him speak; he promises a hearing and even hints at granting the crown if Laertes can prove the king’s guilt.

The dialogue continues with Laertes pressing for the truth of his father’s death, repeatedly demanding “Where is my father?” and receiving the reply “Dead.” Claudius asserts that the death was not caused by him, but Laertes refuses the explanation, vowing to pursue revenge regardless of the consequences.

Ophelia re‑enters, in a frenzy of madness, exclaiming about heat, tears, and the loss of rational thought. She sings more disjointed verses about graves, rosemary for remembrance, pansies for thoughts, fennel, columbines, rue, daisies, and violets, all tied to her father’s death and her own sorrow. She repeatedly mourns the dead and calls on God’s mercy.

Laertes reacts to her madness with brief, dismissive remarks, calling it “nothing’s more than matter.” Claudius then proposes a formal confrontation: he will allow Laertes to choose his wisest friends as witnesses, and if they prove the king’s guilt, Claudius will surrender the crown, his life, and all his possessions to Laertes; if not, Laertes must be patient. Laertes accepts the terms, demanding a proper funeral for his father and accusing the court of neglect.

Claudius concludes by promising that the “great axe” will fall where the offence lies and invites Laertes to go with him. The scene ends with Laertes and Claudius exiting together, leaving the chamber in a state of unresolved tension and looming retribution.

What happened until now

Summary of the chapters Scene I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle. to Scene V. Elsinore. A room in the castle..

Guards Bernardo, Horatio, and Marcellus encounter the ghost of the dead King Hamlet on the battlements, learn of looming conflict with Norway and decide to inform Prince Hamlet. Claudius consolidates power by marrying Gertrude, sending envoys to Norway about Fortinbras, and granting Laertes permission to return to France; Polonius supports this. Hamlet expresses deep grief and disgust over his mother’s swift remarriage, delivers his “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy, and, after hearing the guards’ report of the ghost, vows to join them on watch and confront the apparition. Laertes cautions Ophelia against Hamlet’s fleeting affection and urges her to preserve her virtue; Polonius delivers a lengthy set of paternal maxims to Laertes, including “to thine own self be true,” and then confronts Ophelia about Hamlet’s advances, warning her that his vows are unreliable and commanding her to cease all contact with him. The ghost of the dead King appears to Prince Hamlet on the platform; Hamlet confronts and vows to follow it despite Horatio and Marcellus' warnings; Marcellus declares that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Polonius sends Reynaldo to Paris to discreetly probe Laertes' conduct, and later, after Ophelia reports Hamlet's bizarre and frantic behavior, Polonius decides to inform the king about Hamlet's apparent madness caused by love. Claudius commissions Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet; Polonius attributes Hamlet’s madness to Ophelia’s love and plots to trap him by arranging a meeting behind an arras; ambassadors Voltimand and Cornelius report that Norway’s threat has been pacified and a payment secured; Hamlet exchanges sharp wit with Polonius, delivers the “What a piece of work is a man” soliloquy, confronts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about their motives, and decides to have a troupe perform a play that will reveal Claudius’s guilt; the Players arrive in Elsinore. Hamlet delivers the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy, confronts Ophelia and urges her to a nunnery, while Claudius arranges a covert observation of Hamlet’s encounter with Ophelia and resolves to exile Hamlet to England; Polonius and Claudius continue plotting to discover the cause of Hamlet’s apparent madness. Hamlet gives the Players a detailed instruction on naturalistic acting, denounces over‑acting, and designates the upcoming performance as the “Mousetrap” to trap King Claudius’s conscience. Claudius orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England and Polonius prepares to eavesdrop behind the arras; Claudius delivers a guilt‑filled soliloquy; Hamlet decides not to kill a praying Claudius, postponing his revenge; Claudius muses on the inadequacy of his prayers before exiting. Hamlet encounters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a castle chamber; they demand the location of a dead body, but Hamlet cryptically refuses, launching a metaphor‑laden tirade about being a sponge that soaks up the king’s favor and will later be left dry, before ordering them to “Hide fox, and all after” and exiting. Claudius orders Hamlet’s immediate exile to England with the intention that he be killed; Rosencrantz pledges to see the king’s lethal instructions carried out in England. Hamlet observes a Norwegian army under Prince Fortinbras marching through Denmark to claim a worthless parcel of land, prompting a self‑critical soliloquy in which he condemns his own procrastination, resolves to pursue decisive, violent action, and vows that his thoughts must be “bloody” or meaningless. Ophelia’s madness erupts in a series of disjointed songs about death, love, and remembrance; Laertes returns to Elsinore demanding vengeance for his father’s death, confronts King Claudius, and a volatile exchange forces Claudius to promise a hearing and a possible reward for Laertes’s proof of guilt.

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