Hamlet | Act IV, Scene 5 Summary and Analysis
Summary
Horatio, Gertrude, and a Gentleman enter. At Horatio’s urging, the Queen finally agrees to speak with Ophelia, who the Gentleman reports to be in a distracted, pitiable state, babbling nonsense about her dead father. Ophelia enters singing of a dead man, and a maid deflowered. Claudius enters, and seeing her state, orders Horatio to “Follow her close; give her good watch.” Alone with Gertrude, Claudius relays all the bad news from court: Polonius’ murder and hasty burial, Hamlet’s “remove” to England, public unrest at Polonius’ death, Ophelia’s madness, and...
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