Original: O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs
Modern: Oh, this is what deep sorrow does to people; it comes

Original: All from her father’s death. O Gertrude, Gertrude,
Modern: All from her father’s death. Oh Gertrude, Gertrude,

Original: When sorrows come, they come not single spies.
Modern: When troubles come, they don’t come one at a time like lone scouts.

Original: But in battalions! First, her father slain;
Modern: But in whole armies! First, her father was killed;

Original: Next, your son gone, and he most violent author
Modern: Next, your son is gone, and he was the one who violently caused

Original: Of his own just remove; the people muddied,
Modern: His own justified banishment; the people are confused,

Original: Thick and and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers
Modern: Their minds clouded with dark and unhealthy thoughts and rumors

Original: For good Polonius’ death, and we have done but greenly
Modern: About good Polonius’ death, and we have acted foolishly

Original: In hugger-mugger to inter him; poor Ophelia
Modern: By burying him in secret and haste; poor Ophelia

Original: Divided from herself and her fair judgment,
Modern: Is separated from her true self and her good sense,

Original: Without the which we are pictures or mere beasts;
Modern: Without which we are just empty images or nothing but animals;

Original: Last, and as much containing as all these,
Modern: Finally, and just as threatening as all these other problems,

Original: Her brother is in secret come from France;
Modern: Her brother has secretly returned from France;

Original: Feeds on his wonder, keeps, himself in clouds,
Modern: He feeds on his suspicions, keeps himself hidden in mystery,

Original: And wants not buzzers to infect his ear
Modern: And has no shortage of gossipers to poison his ear

Original: With pestilent speeches of his father’s death,
Modern: With harmful stories about his father’s death,

Original: Wherein necessity, of matter beggar’d,
Modern: In which desperation, lacking real facts,

Original: Will nothing stick our person to arraign
Modern: Will not hesitate to accuse me personally

Original: In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this,
Modern: In everyone’s ears. Oh my dear Gertrude, this situation,

Original: Like to a murd’ring piece, in many places
Modern: Like a cannon that shoots in all directions,

Original: Give me superfluous death.
Modern: Kills me over and over again.

In Act IV, Scene 5 of Hamlet, Queen Gertrude initially refuses to speak with Ophelia, who has been seeking an audience while in a distressed state. A gentleman describes Ophelia’s erratic behavior and incoherent speech, noting that although her words lack clear meaning, her manner of delivery causes observers to attempt to interpret her fragmented utterances. Horatio advises that it would be wise to speak with her, as her condition might lead people to form dangerous suspicions. When Ophelia enters, she appears visibly mad and sings fragmented songs about death, lost love, and betrayal, distributing flowers while speaking in riddles and making cryptic references that seem to allude to her father’s death and Hamlet’s treatment of her.

The scene continues as King Claudius enters and witnesses Ophelia’s madness firsthand. After Ophelia exits, Claudius explains to Gertrude that her condition stems from grief over her father Polonius’s death, noting how multiple sorrows have befallen them simultaneously. A messenger then arrives with urgent news that Laertes has returned from France with a rebellious mob, demanding to know what happened to his father. Laertes bursts in with his followers, threatening Claudius and demanding answers about Polonius’s death. When Ophelia returns in her mad state and Laertes sees his sister’s condition, he is deeply moved by the contrast between her former beauty and virtue and her current madness, vowing that her condition will be avenged.

Hamlet tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, who has now married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude and assumed the throne. Commanded by his father’s spirit to seek revenge, Hamlet struggles with doubt, melancholy, and the moral complexity of his task. To investigate the ghost’s claims and plan his revenge, he feigns madness, which creates tension throughout the Danish court.

As Hamlet deliberates, his erratic behavior affects everyone around him, particularly his love interest Ophelia, daughter of the king’s advisor Polonius. To test Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet stages a play mirroring his father’s murder, which confirms the king’s culpability. However, Hamlet’s actions become increasingly destructive—he accidentally kills Polonius while the old man spies on him, and his rejection of Ophelia contributes to her descent into genuine madness and eventual drowning.

The play reaches its climax when Ophelia’s brother Laertes returns to avenge his father’s death. Claudius manipulates Laertes into challenging Hamlet to a duel, secretly poisoning Laertes’s sword and preparing poisoned wine as backup. The final scene erupts in tragedy: during the duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned blade, Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine, and Hamlet finally kills Claudius. As Hamlet dies, he names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as Denmark’s next ruler, bringing the cycle of revenge and political instability to a close. The play ends with Fortinbras restoring order to the Danish court as bodies are carried off in a funeral march.