Act 1 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet Essay

Shakespeare uses Horatio to unfold the story of Hamlet, beginning with the opening scene all the way until Hamlet’s death. In Act 1, Horatio foreshadows what is in store for Denmark and Hamlet. After encountering the Ghost once before, Horatio becomes skeptical about its presence. Although Horatio has now seen the Ghost, unlike before when the knights spoke to him about it, he fears that it has appeared to share some dark news. "A mote to trouble the mind’s eye/In the most high and palmy state of Rome/A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,.../And prologue to the omen coming on,"

When Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio first lay eyes on the ghost, they all marvel at how much it resembles the king in all his glory; he is decked out in a full suit of armor. In fact, it is “the very same armor he had on/When… He smote the sledded Polacks” (I.i.60-63). The king clearly had a reputation of striking down his enemies and fighting on the front lines for his country. Due to his fighting nature, however, the king made an enemy of many, including young Fortinbras, and he reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered in a “most foul, strange, and unnatural” manner (I.v.28). The ghost then beseeches Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” implying as well that Hamlet will probably have to kill his uncle and the new king, Claudius. In a time such as medieval Denmark, this would seem just and reasonable, seeing as the ghost of the king Hamlet is a fair representation of the kind of men and actions Danish society

The first problem in the play occurs when a ghost begins showing up at the castle. At the beginning of the play two guards stand outside of the castle speaking of a ghost they had seen twice before “this dreaded sight twice seen of us” (1.1.25). Horatio, a scholar, stands with the men when the ghost comes by again and Marcellus, a guard, says to Horatio “Thou art a scholar; speak to it Horatio” (1.1.42). After failed attempts at speaking with the ghost, it leaves and Horatio contemplates whose ghost it could have been. Marcellus asks Horatio “Is it not like the king?” (1.1.58) to which Horatio agrees and points out that the ghost wore the very armor the late King wore to battle with Norway. Horatio knew that he should consult Prince Hamlet about the appearance of the late King Hamlet’s ghost as perhaps he will know what to do. Claudius, brother to the late King, announces that he has married his brother’s wife

       In Act I, Scene II, one is first made aware of the strength of Hamlet's relationship with Horatio when the latter informs Hamlet that he has seen what he believes is the ghost of the former King Hamlet. This introduction to the relationship between Horatio and Hamlet demonstrates the strong bonds of trust and confidence they share. Unlike the other characters who have seen the apparition and would choose to shrink away from it, Horatio, recognizing the ghost for who it might be, tries to make contact with it, albeit unsuccessfully. After this initial contact, and recognizing the significance of what he has witnessed, it is Horatio that takes Hamlet into his confidence to relate what he has seen. "As I do live, my honored lord, 'tis true, / And we did think it writ down in our duty / To let you know of it" (1.2. 220-222). Horatio gives Hamlet a very detailed account of the sighting, answering Hamlet's questions with the honesty and insight of a concerned friend. It is obvious by Horatio's candor that he is neither fearful of Hamlet's response, nor is he concerned that Hamlet will not believe his accounting of the event.

In Hamlet, the utmost theme is doubt. Hamlet, the protagonist, has the most uncertainty about his life. He feels as if he can trust no one, not even his own mother. In the play, Hamlet questions his morals and struggles with himself. Hamlet is not the only one with the feeling of doubt. Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, and Horatio also lack trust in many situations. Because of doubt and Hamlet’s fatal flaw, the characters are lead into a downfall and Denmark’s future is at risk.

In act one, scene one, line 28, the guards state that they have seen something frightening: “What, has this thing appeared again tonight?” (1.1.28). It is here that the audience is able to witness the ghosts, particularly when one guard says, “Look where it comes again” (1.1.49). The ghosts now appear on stage. Horatio, a man of logic and reason, is also scared and admits that, “It harrows me with fear and wonder,” thereby allowing the audience to learn that the former king, father of Hamlet, is dead. There is a ghost clothed in his armor strolling the castle’s battlements all through the night.

Soon Horatio, the hero’s closest friend (“Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man / As e'er my conversation coped withal.”), and Marcellus make contact with Hamlet and escort him to the ramparts of Elsinore. Philip Edwards in “The Ghost: Messenger from a Higher Court of Values?” explains that “Hamlet is galvanized into activity by the news of the appearance of a ghost that resembles his dead father”(Edwards 66-67). At one a.m. the ghost reveals to the protagonist that King Hamlet I was murdered by Claudius, who had a relationship with Gertrude prior to the murder; the ghost requests revenge by Hamlet: “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.”

Scene two is the longest scene within act one in Hamlet. Like every act and scene, there are important and not so important parts to it. There are many parts that my group decided to incorporate into our script for such reasons. In this scene, there were parts that were repetitive, for example, when Horatio tells hamlet that he’s seen his dad’s ghost, hamlet questions him on what he saw. Due to the fact that hamlet was asking way too many questions, we decided to not include all of it. Also, when someone was acknowledged after another, we did not decide to do so. Instead, we acknowledged everyone in the room at once to save time.

For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has brought him there in the night so that he can see it for himself. [. . .] Whatever the message is that has wakened the ghost, it refuses to share it with them (35).

During their night watch, Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus see the ghost. Hamlet breaks free from Horatio and Marcellus and meets the ghost who says that he is the spirit of Hamlet’s dead father. The ghost explains to Hamlet how that his brother Claudius murdered him and that, as his son, Hamlet must avenge his dead father. Hamlet swears to carry out the revenge before the arrival of Horatio and Marcellus. Shakespeare uses this sudden revelation to drive the plot through the use of dramatic irony.

It then vanishes into the woods. Hamlet pursues the ghost, leaving behind Horatio and Marcellus. The ghost informs him of his foul and unnatural

Intrepid and filled with fear, Bernardo and Francisco carried the news to their close friend Horatio, who hypothesized that the ghost “… [Boded] some strange eruption to [the] state of Denmark” (1.1.80). This quote supports the philosophy that the presence of a ghost in a place, foreshadowed a tragic event. Ghosts of the renaissance were characterized by their malevolence and ignorance. Therefore, the presence of the ghost on the castle roof foreshadowed conflict to come. When Hamlet first met the ghost he was also filled with fear and he asked it if it was “… a spirit of heath or goblin” and whether it “[brought] with [it] airs from heaven or blasts from hell” (1.4.44-46).

In Act I of Hamlet, by Shakespeare, we are introduced to a lot of important characters. In Act I Scene I, there are four characters introduced: Bernardo, Francisco, Horatio, and Marcellus. In this scene, Marcellus and Bernardo, two soldiers, witness a ghost in the castle and bring the attention to Horatio, a friend of Hamlet who is the Prince of Denmark. They come to an assumption that the ghost is the former king who died 2 months ago, which is Hamlet's father. They try to get the ghost to speak but it just comes and goes. In Scene II, Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, is the new king of Denmark. Not only is Hamlet still mourning about his father's death, but now has to deal with the fact that his mother is now married to his uncle. After Horatio

William Shakespeare's Hamlet Hamlet was written around the year 1600 in the final years of the

Hamlet has been praised and revered for centuries as one of William Shakespeare's best known and most popular tragedies. Based on its popularity, critics alike have taken various viewpoints and theories in order to explain Hamlet's actions throughout the play. The psychoanalytic point of view is one of the most famous positions taken on Hamlet.