Horatio and fellow guards encounter the ghost of the late King Hamlet, so they tell Prince Hamlet and he demands to see for himself. The ghost of his father tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who is the current king.
CLIMAX
Hamlet contemplates what his father's ghost asks him to do: get revenge by killing Claudius.
FALLING ACTION
Hamlet has the actors put on a play with a reenactment of his father's murder to prove that Claudius is guilty. Claudius runs out when this scene happens. Hamlet accidentally stabs Polonius through a curtain while talking to his mother after the show.
RESOLUTION
Laertes and Hamlet have a duel after finding out about Ophelia's death. Laertes' sword is dipped in poison with the objective to kill Hamlet. Somehow, the swords get switched and they are both stabbed with the poisoned sword.
Before Hamlet died, he managed to stab Claudius and force him to drink the poisonous wine. Gertrude accidentally drank the poisonous wine, which killed her. Horatio is the last to survive.
When Fortinbras and his army return from Poland, he's shocked to see all of the royal family dead. Horatio informs him that some of Hamlet's last words were that Fortinbras be crowned king of Denmark since he was all that was left.