Prince Hamlet dedicates himself to avenging his father's death, but, because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudio and Gertrude become concerned about the prince's erratic behavior and attempt to discover the cause. They employ a couple of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet might be madly in love with his daughter Ophelia, Claudius agrees to spy on Hamlet as he converses with the girl. But although Hamlet certainly seems crazy, he does not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a convent and declares that he wants to ban marriages. A group of traveling actors arrive in Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes an idea to test his uncle. guilt. It will have players act out a scene that closely resembles the sequence in which Hamlet imagines that his uncle has killed his father, so that if Claudius is guilty, he will surely react. When the moment of murder arrives in the theater, Claudio jumps up and leaves the room. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. Because he believes that killing Claudius while he is praying would send Claudius' soul to heaven, Hamlet believes it would be inadequate revenge and decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened by Hamlet's madness and fearing for his own safety, orders Hamlet to be sent to England immediately. Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose bedroom Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise coming from behind the tapestry, Hamlet believes that the king is hiding there. He draws his sword and pierces the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime he is immediately sent to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, Claudius' plan for Hamlet includes more than just exile, as he gave Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sealed orders for the king of England demanding that Hamlet be put to death. Following the death of her father, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the sea. river. Polonius' son Laertes, who had remained in France, returns to Denmark in a rage. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is responsible for the death of his father and sister. When Horatio and the king receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route to England, Claudius devises a plan to exploit Laertes' desire for revenge to ensure his death of Hamlet..