HAMLET’S changed behaviour, and the death of her father, made Ophelia so unhappy that she cared nothing for her own life, and drowned in the river.

Claudius easily persuaded her brother Laertes to blame Hamlet. A supposedly friendly fencing match was arranged, in which only Laertes’s rapier would be sharpened, and tipped with poison.

Laertes managed to nick Hamlet with the poisoned tip, but in the struggle the swords changed hands, and to his horror Hamlet (who thought his sword was blunt) pierced Laertes through to the heart.

Amidst all this drama, no one noticed the Queen drink Hamlet’s wine — and the poison meant for him took his mother’s life.

Hamlet’s father, his mother, and Ophelia were all gone; he had killed Polonius and Laertes, and his own life was ebbing away. He now did what he had so long hesitated to do, and with his last strength, Hamlet ran Claudius through.