Act IV is typically the act which shows the quickly
occurring consequences of the climactic action in Act III. Thus, Act IV is usually
called that of falling action. In this case, that action was killing Polonius. One of
the consequences in Act IV is Claudius' fear of Hamlet which prompts him to plot his
murder. Hamlet has survived the first attempt which has made Claudius even more
desperate. Now, he has plotted with Laertes, Polonius' son, to have Hamlet killed
"accidentally" during a fencing match. However, the initial ploy to poison Laertes'
foil will only work if Laertes succeeds on making a viable hit upon Hamlet. Doubting
Laertes ability, Claudius has developed a back up plan which involves coercing Hamlet
into drinking some poisoned wine at some point during the match to celebrate his
skills.
However, the consequences in a tragedy are not
confined only to one character. As the play resolves in Act V, the reader finds that
virtually all characters are killed by this plan, both innocent and
not.
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