Good evening and welcome to another episode of Brush Up Your Shakespeare, where we make

Shakespeare fun and easy, the way it was always meant to be.

Today we are in Act 5, Scene 1 of Hamlet.

We haven't seen Prince Hamlet for a few scenes now,

but he will reappear here in this scene.

We know from a letter, Hamlet wrote to Horatio, that he has escaped the death

trap laid for him by King Claudius in England and has returned to Denmark. Hamlet writes a letter to Claudius as well telling him that

Hamlet is back in Denmark.

Ophelia has managed to drown herself but from the description given by Queen

Gertrude it is hard to tell whether Ophelia actually meant to kill herself or whether it was an accident.

Ophelia's brother, Leertes, is saddened and angry as hell, over the fact his father, Polonius, was killed by Hamlet while Léertes was off in France.

Now returned to Denmark, Léertes finds his sister has gone mad and as a result she drowns.

Claudius takes Leertes aside and they come up with a cutting plan to get rid of Hamlet once and

for all.

In a friendly fencing match, L'Arties will stab and kill Hamlet with a real

sword with no button on the tip. And if that doesn't work, L'Artes will poison his sword, so if he only scratches Hamlet, he will die.

And if Léertes doesn't even get a scratch in, Claudius will give Hamlet a cup of wine to drink in celebration of Hamlet's

victory.

Oh yes, there will be poison.

In the wine, of course.

But the fencing match must wait until the next scene.

The scene we are in today, Act 5,

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