1. BACKGROUND
   1. Shakespeare's Time
   2. Shakespeare's Sources
   3. Religious Views
2. STRUCTURE
   1. Tragedy
3. SYNOPSIS
   1. Play-at-a-Glance
   2. Act One
   3. Act Two
   4. Act Three
   5. Act Four
   6. Act Five
4. THEMES
   1. Appearance and Reality
   2. Reason and Passion
   3. Things Rank in Nature
   4. Revenge
   5. Madness
   6. Spying
5. DRAMATIC DEVICES
   1. Play-within-a-Play
   2. Foil
6. CHARACTERS
   1. Hamlet
   2. King Hamlet
   3. The Ghost
   4. Gertrude
   5. Claudius
   6. Ophelia
   7. Polonius
   8. Laertes
   9. Horatio
   10. Fortinbras
   11. Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern
7. HAMLET'S CHANGING STATES-OF-MIND
8. HAMLET'S SOLILOQUIES AND OTHER SPEECHES