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Hamlet William Shakespeare
Act One Scene I • The play opens with a solitary soldier, Francisco, on guard on the battlements of Elsinore Castle, the residence of the newly married King Claudius and Queen Gertrude of Denmark. Gertrude is the widow of King Hamlet, who died recently. Claudius was King Hamlet’s brother.
Act One Scene I • The scene is played out in the cold, dark hours between midnight and dawn. Barnardo arrives to take over the watch from Francisco. The men are tense and anxious. Horatio and Marcellus join Barnardo and the men discuss recent events. A ghostly figure, resembling the late King Hamlet, appears. Horatio (who is a scholar, not a soldier) challenges the ghost, which stalks away. • The men talk about Denmark’s war preparations and fear of a Norwegian attack. The ghost returns but leaves on hearing a cock crow, which signals the arrival of dawn. The men agree to tell Prince Hamlet what they have seen.
Act One Scene I: Key Points • The opening exchange establishes an air of tension. The soldiers are nervous and jumpy. Francisco can hardly wait to get away and Barnardo is anxious that his colleagues join him quickly. • Horatio is a scholar and a sceptic. He did not believe the soldiers when they reported that they had seen a ghost and so agreed to join them on their watch. He is shocked when the ghost appears. • The men fear that King Hamlet’s spirit returning from the dead is a sign that some calamity is about to occur.
Act One Scene I: Key Points • We learn about the urgent preparations for war in Denmark. This conversation reveals details about an earlier war that King Fortinbras of Norway waged against King Hamlet. King Hamlet killed Fortinbras and seized some of his territory. This has given young Fortinbras, his son, two motives for attacking Denmark: to avenge the death of his father and to recapture the lost Norwegian territory. • The references to the late King Hamlet are flattering and encourage admiration. Horatio describes him as “our valiant Hamlet”
Act One Scene I: Questions • How does Shakespeare make it clear the guards are nervous on their watch? • What is the guard’s and Horatio’s view of Old Hamlet, the dead king? Quote from the text in your answer. • How do the guards and Horatio interpret the significance of the Ghost’s appearance? • At the end of the scene, what do Horatio and the guards decide to do?
Act One Scene II • King Claudius addresses his court. He justifies his marriage and accession to the throne. He sends ambassadors to Norway to deal with the threat posed by the young Fortinbras. He confirms Hamlet as his successor . He permits Laertes, son of Polonius (chief adviser), to return to France.
Act One Scene II • He then turns to the more difficult family matter that is troubling both him and Queen Gertrude: Hamlet’s hostility to Claudius and resentment that his mother has remarried so soon after his father’s death. • Claudius and Gertrude urge Hamlet to accept their marriage. However, Hamlet’s first soliloquy is a passionate condemnation of both of them. • Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet that they have seen his father’s spirit in armour. Hamlet is determined to confront the ghost.
Act One Scene II: Key Points Notice that Shakespeare does not introduce Claudius as a villain. He appears instead as a kindly monarch, anxious to please everyone. Claudius is shown to be a confident and efficient ruler. He appears in full control and uses the royal “we” to indicate his power. He deals with the threat from Fortinbras in a brisk, diplomatic way. Shakespeare’s audience would have seen Gertrude and Claudius’ marriage as immoral.
Act One Scene II: Key Points Claudius’ appeal to Hamlet to accept him as a father is met by complete silence which would be very awkward for the king, in front of his court. The embarrassed Gertrude has to intervene but even she gets only a grudging response. The first of Hamlet’s soliloquies in the play reveals that Gertrude married Claudius “within a month” of King Hamlet’s funeral. The theme of appearance versus reality is established here. Claudius manages to win the approval of the court but Hamlet hints at the fact that there is a much darker reality behind his relaxed and cheerful persona.
Key Quotations • Hamlet: “A little more than kin, and less than kind” • Hamlet: “… that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter” • Hamlet: “So excellent a king, that was to this/Hyperion to a satyr” • Hamlet: “Frailty, thy name is woman!”
Hamlet: Character Hamlet is sullen and grim in public but maintains his self-control. Alone on stage, he speaks out in soliloquy with fierce passion. Through the soliloquy we discover the reason for Hamlet’s depressive state: hostility towards his mother and hatred of his uncle.
Act One Scene III: Key Points • The emphasis on this scene is on Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet. We learn that Hamlet has declared his love for Ophelia, however, neither her brother nor her father believe he is sincere. • Laertes wants to protect his sister’s honour and reputation which reflects on the family as a whole. • The scene suggests that none of this family are good at minding their own business. All three give advice to each other, but particularly Polonius and Laertes. • Polonius is an authoritarian father. He tells Ophelia that she is not to spend any more time with Hamlet and she agrees. At this time children were expected to obey their parents without question. • Ophelia is present in this scene but says very little and although her relationship with Hamlet is discussed at length we do not get much of her own perspective on the romance.
Polonius • Polonius is a pompous and long-winded character. • He is a deeply cynical character: he is sceptical of Hamlet’s intentions. He thinks Ophelia is naïve – “you speak like a green girl”. He never considers the fact that Hamlet might genuinely love Ophelia. • He is shrewd and practical and so has built a reputation for wisdom, particularly with Claudius. However, although he loves sharing his wisdom with others, his advice for Laertes is not very inspiring. He encourages cynicism in Laertes rather than nobility or greatness.
Laertes Laertes is well intentioned but also a little foolish. His advice to Ophelia seems ridiculous given his own lack of experience and his complete ignorance about the nature of the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. However, it is clear that Laertes dearly loves his sister. There is a clear parallel between Laertes and Hamlet. Both young men want to study abroad, both express concern over the sexual behaviour of their female relatives and the parallel path of their lives will continue throughout the play.
Ophelia Ophelia is an obedient and passive character. She politely listens to Laertes’ lecture and though she shows some spirit in her retort she ultimately listens passively as is expected of her. She also listens without objection to her father’s lecture about Hamlet. She yields to Polonius’ wishes to stop seeing Hamlet. She is dutiful daughter.
Act One Scene III: Key Quotations • Polonius: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” • Polonius: “And with a larger tether may he walk / Then may be given to you.” • Ophelia: “He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders of his affection to me”
Act One Scene IV: Key Points Hamlet’s commentary on the Dane’s drunkenness and the bad name it gives the Danes is interesting. His disapproval over the drunken antics of Claudius and his court shows his own high standards. The remark of Marcellus, following the appearance of the ghost is significant: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. This accurate insight echoes Hamlet’s feelings at the end of Act One Scene II: “All is not well” Hamlet is excited to see the ghost of his father and eager to find out what he wants. Though Horatio urges caution, Hamlet is determined to speak with the ghost.
Act One Scene IV: Key Quotations Marcellus: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
Act One Scene V: Key Points This scene provides the first major climax of the play as the crime of Claudius is revealed. The truth sets the main action of the play in motion as Hamlet is tasked with avenging his father’s murder. Hamlet’s previous hostility towards his uncle was based on natural instinct and suspicion. Now he knows the truth, it’s even more terrible than he suspected. The ghost reveals that Gertrude was unfaithful to the king with Claudius before his death. She has now added nicest to her list of crimes.
Act One Scene V: Key Points The greatest significance of the ghost is in the burden of knowledge which is now placed on Hamlet and the task of revenge which is imposed on him by command from his wronged father. Hamlet’s closing words shows that he recognises he is not the ideal man for the task at hand: “The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!” Hamlet struggles to maintain emotional stability, unsurprising given the news and job he has received. His lack of control is signified in his “wild and whirling words” to his companions.
Act One Scene V: Key Points The idea of Hamlet’s madness is introduced here. He warns his friends that in the future he may pretend to be mad: “To put an antic disposition on” in order to avoid suspicion. However, in this scene he is actually quite unstable . It becomes difficult to tell the difference between the act and reality.
Act One Scene V: Questions • How did old Hamlet die? • Do you pity the Ghost? Explain your answer by referring to the text. • Hamlet says he will adopt an “antic disposition”. What does he mean by this? • The ghost tells Hamlet to “revenge” his murder. Does Hamlet seem willing to obey? Explain your answer. • Is this at odds with Hamlet’s closing lines of the scene. Explain.
Act One Scene V: Key Quotations Ghost: “If thou didst ever thy dear father love - … Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder Ghost: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown” Hamlet: “That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” Hamlet: “The time is out of joint. O curse spite, That ever I was born to set it right!”
A loyal son: He once more reveals his intense love and loyalty to his father. He is horrified by the suffering the ghost endures and immediately vows to avenge his death. However, as we will see, a number of factors prevent Hamlet from simply or quickly avenging his father. Hamlet Exultant: It is not surprising, then, when Hamlet meets Horatio Marcellus he is in a strange and agitated mood. Hamlet is no doubt shaken and disturbed by the supernatural encounter he has experienced but he also seems exhilarated and excited by the meeting and the task it has given him. Up to now Hamlet has been in a state of mind where life seems pointless, now the Ghost’s visit has given him purpose. However, he also seems daunted by the mission. Anger and Rage: Hamlet vocalises again the anger he feels towards his mother (“a most pernicious woman”). He also expresses deep anger towards Claudius (“smiling damned villain”). The resentment he feels towards his uncle is given a concrete focus – he has a real reason to hate him now.
Horatio Hamlet’s loyal friend: Horatio once again shows his loyalty to Hamlet in this scene. He follows Hamlet to make sure that he is alright, and swears not to reveal what he has seen this night.
Consider . . . When the Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him, Hamlet reacts by saying, “O my prophetic soul!” Has Hanmlet always suspected that Claudius was somehow involved in his father’s death? Or is it just that he thought Claudius was simply a bad person, a suspicion that has now been confirmed?
