I would like to know what you think is the most interesting aspect of Act 1.
Considerations:
- Language
- Plot
- Dramatic devices
- Characterization
- Anything of considerable importance that you've noticed
This may be a good time to try some of the rhetorical devices I have given you.
This blog cannot exceed 500 words.
The due date has been extended to Wednesday March 28.
27 comments:
In Act 1 of Hamlet, the reader is introduced to Denmark in a state of disorder. To begin, the night guards of Denmark are faced with the ghost of the fallen king- dressed in armour- an ominous sign from the beginning. When we are introduced to Claudius, a manipulator and politician, as well as the brother of the late king, we learn he has married the Queen- an incestuous and devious act- yet another boding sign of evil. Hamlet is introduced in the centre of it all- a character so true to human nature in his mourning, his thoughts and his struggle to overcome a number of potentially life-devastating events. Yet, Hamlet is a character with a powerful combination of practical logic and wit conveyed through his behaviour towards Claudius and his ultimate willingness to aid his father’s revenge. Though the play was written hundreds of years ago, the development of the plot thus far is profoundly dynamic in its realistic complexity and use of parallelism, with scandals that would arouse even modern culture of today.
The plot that develops and surrounds Hamlet in Act 1 justifies his melancholy perspective and his clothed in black. The chaos that encompasses Hamlet without warning manifests an inverted misery that true human suffering would produce. Not only has Hamlet’s father, and the king of his country, passed away, his uncle is the murderer. His mother has married his uncle just two months after the death of her husband and creates suspicions as to whether she was an accessory to the crime. Furthermore, Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest of the time, is prohibited from speaking to or visiting Hamlet ever again, by her father, Polonius: “…I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth / Have you so slander any moment leisure / As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. / Look to’t, I charge you. Come your ways “ (Act 1. 3. 132-135). Consistent with the disorder in Hamlet’s life, he is visited by the spirit of his father, that happens to be trapped in purgatory. His father’s spirit desires revenge for his murder and out of a filial obligation to his father, Hamlet obeys. Upon the discovery that the murderer was the new king himself, Hamlet realizes what an incredible feat it would be to do as his father wishes.
In Act 1 of Hamlet, there is already evidence of triple parallelism between Hamlet and his father, Fortinbras and his father, and Laertes and Polonius. The father-son theme is prominent thus far in the obligation sons feel towards their fathers; the actions of the sons that are often brushed off as rebellious and foolish and the vengeance sons feel to the deaths of their fathers. Not unlike Hamlet, young Fortinbras has lost his father- but the murderer was King Hamlet. While Hamlet is challenged with ridding Denmark of Claudius, Fortinbras is concerned with killing young Hamlet: “Now sir, young Fortinbras, / Of unimproved mettle hot and full, / Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there / Sharked up a list of landless resolutes…” (Act 1. 1. 5-8). Laertes desires to leave Denmark and travel to France to enjoy himself with the blessing of Polonius. The similarity between the three sons is that they are all unproven and underestimated for both logic and strength.
It is reasonable to suppose that Hamlet’s state of mind is being severely tested at this time, where he finds himself entrapped by the innumerable sins against him. The plot, in just one Act, is manifested so intensely with such intricacy and diversity in the characters and schemes that the reader begins to think Hamlet will lose himself in the confusion around him.
The first act of William Shakespeare's epic play Hamlet, is rich with intriguing plot and brilliant characterization. The main themes found throughout the play can also be exposed early on in the play. Many of the most prevalent themes found are those of chaos and turmoil, revenge of death and duty to one's family and oneself.
It is just as hard to separate Shakespeare from tragedy, as it is to disassociate chaos and turmoil from Hamlet. The reader I able to recognize from the first beginning lines a sense of obscurity and a twisted sense of the natural order. The guard Francisco during the first few lines helps set the tone and beginning of chaos by saying, " You come most carefully upon your hour." (1. 1. 6 ) This is where later on the reader learns of how the entirety of Denmark is in a state of chaos because of the loss of their king. Death is also a reoccurring theme in Act 1. The play begins with death, as well as death imagery is used frequently. The Queen in scene ii, says to Young Hamlet " Thou know'st 'tis common: all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity." (1. 3. 72-73) The death of King Hamlet comes only after the death of the King of Norway; the reader can only make the assumption that death would be a reoccurring theme present throughout the play.
Another established theme found in the first act could be revenge, and revenge against death. Young Hamlet is asked by the ghost of his dead father is avenge his murder just as Young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, is called by his duty to his country to avenge his owns father's death. The ghost of Young Hamlets dead father directly demands that his son, " Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." (1. 5. 25) The characters throughout the play have parallel's in aspects of other characters as well. This helps to establish a foundation for which the reader can better understand the actions of the characters by understanding there past experiences and betrayals. If a feeling of revenge is present in certain characters then this might assist the reader in being sympathetic as to why a character acts in the manner in which they do.
Contained in the first act are numerous important facts to assist the reader in establishing solid background information as well as setting a desired tone for the rest of the play. I think that the most interesting aspect of Act 1, is found in the way in which Shakespeare writes his play and establishes relationships among characters and trifles between characters. He gives the reader insight into the characters emotions and morals while also creating an intrigue and intriguing plot line, engrossed with classic dramatic dynamics and basic triggers of tragedy. Shakespeare brilliantly traps the reader into another world, of tragedy, betray, madness, and revenge.
Language
From the tragic play Hamlet, the writer William Shakespeare reveals the character through the different way of speech. In the first act of the play, there are three main different types of languages used by the three different characters from the play. Firstly, Hamlet is a man of knowledge, who is able to show his true feelings through going around the words. What makes him a unique speaker is that he never speaks directly of his feelings, but he does manage to get the message crossed. Secondly, Claudius has to my another speaker in the play who is equally or even more brilliant then Hamlet. Not only he never shows his true emotion, he has the ability of persuading people. I believe this gift is not only a person can be born with it, but is perfected through lifetime experiences. Lastly, the ghost of king Hamlet is the only character who speaks his mind without hesitation. Therefore in act 1 of Hamlet, three different figures of language has been introduced. Hamlet and his in directive speech, Claudius’ and his persuasive speech and late king Hamlet’s honest form of speech are the three different figures of language.
Hamlet faces too much chaos in his life in a blitz. He is aware of the fact that he is under a watchful eye and know that he has to be very careful of what he says since any of them can be used against him. He is dealing with lots of disorder and confusion. The only time the audience gets to see to real Hamlet is during his soliloquies. He pours his heart out to the audience during his soliloquies. But this does not mean that Hamlet is an anti-social person who randomly shuts up in front of people. He knows what kind of words to use, depending on the time and place he is at. He is able to mock Claudius without the others, who are not as a deep of a scholar as Hamlet noticing. This is how smart Hamlet is. When he is asked to stay in Denmark by both his mother and Claudius, he answers, “I shall in all my best obey you, madam” (1.2.120). The single word “madam” is significant here, meaning Hamlet will obey to his mother, and his mother only, clearly showing disrespect for the new king. You may think at this point that Hamlet is a great speaker, but there is another person who is a little bit above him, with more experience with smart way of speaking - Claudius.
Claudius, the new king of Denmark is a splendid speaker. Not only he speaks with inner meaning, he also has his way of persuading people. He can play with his audiences’ emotions by only using his words. What more of a gift can a being askf for? Throughout the beginning fo the world act 1, scene 2, he is able to toy around with his listeners’ mood. In my humble opinion, one of the greatest gift a being can have is a talent of speech. To name a few people in history who has been truly gifted with their words are: the only real politic, Bismarck, the former chancellor of late Prussia, who was able to convey the neighbouring countries in favour of Prussia. Jacques Dalton, who was able to speak in a manner which did not offend both sides of the argument. And of course the infamous Adolf Hitler, who brainwashed his nation with his charismatic speeches. Claudius works in a similar way. He let’s his audience know that Hamlet is just an arrogant teenager. But, what is truly important is that he never says anything about Hamlet in direct form of speech. He never says anything directly to indicate the false of Hamlet, this is what makes Claudius shine.
Lastly, the ghost of king Hamlet is the only character who speaks with no hesitation. I believe this is because he does not have the luxury to waste time. He is in pain and his heart is burning with vengeful thoughts. He refuses to give hints or signs to his revenge. He tells is son, “But know, thou noble youth/The serpent that did sting thy father's life/ Now wears his crown.＂(1.5.38-40). King Hamlet enlights his son Hamlet, with the precise event of his murder caused by his own brother. This shows that king Hamlet does not waste anytime by going around the words like the other two characters.
Therefore, in act one of the tragic play Hamlet, Hamlet, Claudius, and King Hamlet are the three different characters with three different form of speech. Hamlet speaks in a manner of caution, Claudius speaks in a manner of manipulation, and king Hamlet speaks in a manner of truth and honesty. William Shakespeare reveals his characters to the audience by the way they speak to the audience. The form of speech represents a person in a large scale, and shows their inner and outer personality. Therefore, I believe that the language a person uses describes a lot about themselves as a human being.
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a true paragon, he sets the base for this play in act one. The language found throughout act one helps set the mood for the rest of the play to proceed. In act one of the play Shakespeare is able to use language to expose the feeling the characters are having, and shows the complexity of a character.
The feelings of the characters are exposed through the tone they speak in. In act one there is a feelings of sadness and fear in the state of Denmark. The fear in the state Denmark is shown right at the beginning with the dialogue between Barnardo and Francisco. “Francisco: You come most carefully upon your hour./Barnardo: 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco./Francisco: For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold,/And I am sick at heart.”(1.1.6-9) Francisco is happy his shift is over because he is watching over the castle in fear of invasion from young Fortinbras. Francisco also says he is sick at heart because he is tired of living in fear and knows he can not carry on like this. Claudius is able to use language to cover up his true evilness by saying “Though yet of Hamlet our dear Brother’s death”(1.2.1) This is Claudius showing false emotion.
Shakespeare shows complexity of a character through the language they use. A complex character uses more complex language, but a lower meaningless character will not. Marcellus does not use as complex language as Hamlet does, demonstrating the different types of characters. “Hamlet: my fate cries out,/And makes each petty artery in this body/As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.”(1.4.82-85) “Marcellus: Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him.”(1.4.88) This shows the complexity of Hamlet’s language which makes Shakespeare’s work a true masterpiece.
With different uses of language Shakespeare is able to make act one of Hamlet amazing and unforgettable, Shakespeare also is able to set a strong base for his play in this act. William Shakespeare is able to use language in the play to expose the feeling the characters are having, and shows the complexity of different character. I believe that Shakespeare a complex array of language to further enhance his already brilliant plays. Without complex language structure Shakespeare would not receive the credit he does today.
In Act 1 of Hamlet, Shakespeare creates a vibe of evilness that the audience, readers or any observers of the play should be aware of this vibe. Shakespeare creates this vibe by opening with suspicions of a ghost; the Queen marries her brother in law soon after the death of her husband and his brother, Claudius does not grand Hamlet his only wish.
Right away in Act 1, the reader is aware of the atmosphere occurring on stage. It is cold; and it is midnight. The reader should feel a sense of chaos because first of all it is pitch dark out and second of all midnight is a time of horror things to occur. To make matters worse for the time of night, the two guards of Denmark come face to face with the ghost of the King, who has just been murdered. “Peace, break thee off. Look where it comes again.” (Act 1.1.43). It is ironic how the ghost appears to be in full body armour, as if preparing for war. Shakespeare now introduces the character Claudius, who is the former Kings brother and now King of Denmark. He believed it was his obligation to come to the Queens rescue in her time of needs but to Hamlet it was a manipulative, conniving thing to do. Gertrude (the Queen) married Claudius, knocking Hamlet out of being the next crowned King of Denmark. Hamlet does not let his Uncle/ step dad get to him after embarrassing him in front of everybody, even though Claudius does not grant him his only desire of going back to school. Hamlets mother also does not want him to go to Wittenberg and Hamlet obeys his mother. “Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet. I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg” (Act 1. 2.118-119). “I shall in all my best obey you, madam” (Act 1. 2. 120).
Near the end of Act 1 Scene 2, Horatio informs Hamlet about the ghost that has been lurking around at midnight and that he believes it is his father. Hamlet needs to speak to the ghost because he is the only one who can connect with the ghost at such a level.
Through Act 1 of Hamlet the most interesting aspect has to be Shakespeare’s use of Dramatic Irony. Shakespeare creates ironic situations throughout his play to help the audience to perceive hidden messages that are unknown to the characters. Irony is seen during the play when Horatio confronts Hamlet about the Ghost and when Polonius is talking to Ophelia about her love for Hamlet. The most interesting aspect that helps lay the foundation of Hamlet to me comes in the form of Dramatic Irony, which is expressed, by Polonius and Horatio during the first Act of Hamlet.
Dramatic Irony is first introduced during the first Act of Hamlet and it allows you to begin to see the foundation that is laid in the first Act. Horatio finds himself face to face with the Ghost of King Hamlet and he must go tell Hamlet. When he gets to Hamlet and Hamlet asks why he is here he answers,” My Lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.”(1.2.176), this is ironic because we know more than Hamlet does at this point because we know why Horatio is really their. I find this to be interesting as Shakespeare irony gives us and insight into a hidden message which Hamlet does not know, which builds up dramatic tension and excitement for us as we anticipate Hamlet’s reaction to hearing about the ghost. This anticipation and excitement built up by Shakespeare’s Irony helps build the foundation of Hamlet in the first Act.
Shakespeare also creates Dramatic Irony when Polonius is talking to his Laertes and Ophelia. He is sending his son Laertes off to Paris for gambling, booze and sex while he talks to his daughter at home and tells her, “You do not understand yourself so clearly/ as it behoves my daughter and your honour.”(1.3.96-97) He is telling Ophelia that she may not go fooling around with Hamlet and ruin herself, while at the same time he has sent his son off to do these things to other women. Shakespeare’s Irony used hear is more of a comical irony, but is also allows you insight into the way woman were treated during that period. This Irony gives you a better understanding of the times when Hamlet took place; it helps you to understand the play, and is another example of how irony helps show the foundation that is laid in Act 1 of Hamlet.
The Dramatic Irony Shakespeare creates in Act 1 is what I believe to be as the most interesting part that lays the foundation for Hamlet. The dramatic Irony helps you to uncover hidden messages and truths that help you to understand the rest of Hamlet. These messages allow you to begin to see the foundation of Hamlet in Act 1 and allow you to understand the play as it continues along.
During Act I of Hamlet, the foundation is set for the rest of the play. The most interesting piece about the play is the use of characterization in the play. We can see it in how we are shown King Claudius, the politician, as he easily sweeps into the thrown, how he sounds like he is there to save the country, and how it needs him, and finally, how cocky the King can get. In the second scene in Hamlet, the new King’s politics can be seen so not as to dishearten his subjects. “With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage / In equal scale weighing delight and dole, / Taken to Wife” (1.2.12-14), what the King is doing here is taking position easily. At the time, a county with out a King is like a person without guidance, it cannot function. What Claudius did that was so brilliant was say he married the queen, to help Denmark, making no mention that he is now King. The result of this bringing everyone loves and respects him. The second thing Shakespeare does for us to describe Claudius is how he takes the crowd at the assembled court in Scene II of the first act. He does this simply by putting the crowd on a roller coaster of feelings. The King first starts off going in great joy about the marriage, bringing stability to the country. Then he brings fear into the crowd in mentioning that the son of the late King of Norway, young Fortinbras is gathering an army to attack Denmark with, “Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras, / Holding a weak supposal of our worth, / Or thinking by our late dear brother's death / Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, / Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, / He hath not fail'd to pester us with message, / Importing the surrender of those lands / Lost by his father, with all bonds of law.” (1.2.17-25), and Fortinbras wants revenge for his father. The third example is of he easily he thinks he can end this thing with Fortinbras by sending a letter to his uncle, who is sick, and he can go and arrest him. “To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, / Who, impotent and bed-rid, scarcely hears / Of this his nephew's purpose,--to suppress / His further gait herein; in that the levies.” (1.2. 28-33). This lines tell us, as well as the following lines, all Denmark needs is a simple letter to be rid of their problems, “For bearers of this greeting to old Norway; / Giving to you no further personal power / To business with the king, more than the scope / Of these delated articles allow.” (1.2.35-39). The characterization of Claudius, one of the most important characters in the play, is fundamental in keeping the play going. We see here in this one scene of his brilliance, how he has the political mind, and is just not another stupid villain that we are used to seeing. We can expect clever things from Claudius in the future, and it proves Hamlet has an interesting villain to complete with.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he allows his audience admission to one of his greatest plays ever written. Completing the first Act of Hamlet, Shakespeare has attacked us with deceiving, hidden and brilliant characters. Intertwined within the characters themselves, Shakespeare has planted parallelism all throughout Act 1. As Act 1 is a foundation to the rest of Hamlet, Shakespeare subliminally sets us up as well as setting the characters up for the rest of the tragedy. Through the complicated character compositions of Claudius, Queen Gertrude and Hamlet throughout Act 1 we can prepare ourselves for the rest of this timeless play.
Upon our introduction to Claudius we are acquainted with a leader, a man who painted white on blank canvases with his empty words, and like a puppet master he guided his audience’s emotions. Claudius’ actions and intentions left us to feel no remorse for him. Waiting only two months after the death of his brother to wed his ex-sister-in-law greatly exposed the character of Claudius. His deceitful mannerisms and cunningly thought out schemes, especially those against Hamlet revealed to us that Claudius was a hidden man, he was able to control his emotions in situations most people would allow their feelings to take over, this was immense evidence that Claudius knew exactly how he wanted to be perceived by others and knew what he had to do to please his audiences and what would keep the crown and title in his possession. Later on in the Act we are enlightened with the fact, that it was Claudius who committed fratricide by poisoning his own brother King Hamlet. Claudius is awarded with the crown, yet cannot did not plan on the responsibilities that he had acquired with the crown. He hosted alcohol filled parties, which bleed from night to the next day and his naivety about disarming the revengeful son of Norway with only a letter clearly spoke to us as his incompetence to take the king’s place. As Act 1 began, Claudius was assumed to be the villain of this play and by the end of Act 1 he solidified his position.
Queen Gertrude mother to young Hamlet, newly widowed and Claudius’ recently consummated better half. Queen Gertrude was made out to be a sweet, oblivious and fragile feminine figure in Hamlet’s life. Gertrude sat very comfortably on her pedestal as Denmark’s caring and innocent female authority figure. Yet, not everyone is allured by her soft spoken self. Hamlet questioned the character and the actions of the queen. “She married – O most wicked speed! To post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Act 1. 2. 156-157) The queen’s character was open to questioning, for one, she had married her recently deceased husband’s brother, secondly she married Claudius so quickly that “…The funeral bak’d meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.” (Act 1. 2 180-181) Questions about Gertrude’s relationship to Claudius prior to the marriage tainted the way her character was viewed.
Hamlet the young scholar characterized as a bright and vengeful yet brilliantly tactful youth. All throughout Act 1, Hamlet deemed himself as a wholesome, loyal character, who had held himself together even through the most torturing of situations. We watch as Hamlet emotionally strengthens himself through the confrontation of these circumstances, the death of his father, the marrying of his uncle to his mother, and being ostracized from his girlfriend Ophelia. With the pressure of worlds upon Hamlet he still was able to fulfill his filial obligations to his father.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet the plot is a very important part and is forever changing and making the reader ask the imperative question of why. Throughout the play if you aren’t asking why then you must ask yourself the question, why are you reading the play Hamlet? Many parts in the play need clarification or more information that comes later on in order to connect occurrences. Parts where the reader or audience should be asking why are when Hamlet’s mother tells Hamlet that death is common and he should stop mourning, when the ghost appears in armour to the castle, why is Hamlet taking the events of his life right now so well.
The Queen in Act one Scene two says to Hamlet, “Thou know’st ‘tis common: all that lives must die, / Passing through nature to eternity.” (1. 2. 72-73) The reader after reading this passage from the play must ask why after King Hamlet’s “accidental” death is she telling Hamlet that it is common? The Queen, who is Hamlet’s mother, should not be telling her son that he should move and that it should not bother him that much. She has the capability of not saying anything to Hamlet and let him be in his time of mourning, however, she was manipulated by Claudius and feels the need to say something.
In Act one the reader is also confronted by a ghost. The questions asked are common to all audiences and they are; Why is the ghost stalking the castle? Why is the ghost wearing armour? Why is Horatio appearing at midnight? In Elizabethan time society believed that ghosts only came back with a message. Another question at this point in time could be what is the message? However the ghost is wearing armour, “Together with that fair and warlike form” (1. 1. 50), and later on in the play the reader learns that King Hamlet is a master swordsman and has killed many people of noble status. “Such was the very armour he had on / When he the’ambitious Norway combated.” (1. 1. 63-64) Another question that arises from this is why is he wearing armour now? All these questions pose a problem to the reader and audience at this time in the play but also add to the complexity of the play later on. The reason why Horatio is there is to create a concrete state of mind that the ghost is in fact actually there. Horatio is a man who does not believe in ghosts because he is a man of wisdom and science. Horatio is a witty man who can see through all false conceptions. This is useful to the characters but also to the audience to tell whether or not the ghost is a friend or foe.
A very important question is why is Hamlet taking the events in his life so well? In Act one the reader or audience learns that Hamlet’s father is dead, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death” (1. 2. 1). His uncle took his place as king, “With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, / In equal scale weighing delight and dole,” (1. 2. 12-13) He was made to look like a fool in front of the community, “In filial obligation for some term/ to do obsequious sorrow. But to preserver / in obstinate condolement is a course / of impious stubbornness …” (1. 2. 91-93) Hamlet has lost his right to the crown and his mother has remarried within two months of his father’s death. Throughout act 1 Hamlet is riddled with bad news upon bad news. Hamlet is able to keep his anger inside himself and not lash out. This is due to the fact Hamlet is a brilliant man and is too good for the simple pleasure of physical abuse at this time in the play and must use his wit against those who are his foes.
In Hamlet the question most posed is why. Hamlet has gone through his father’s death, his mother remarrying and the loss of his right to the crown and yet he takes it without lashing out. The question why is relevant in everyone’s life and should be asked frequently to synthesize clarification in times of need; or to find the purpose in something important.
Elizabethan plays leave much to the imagination, with open theatres, sparse costumes, and a lack of sufficient props. It is the tension created in the words that sets the mood and transcends through the limitations of the set. Carefully controlled emotion and life experience is necessary to capture the essence of the characters in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The first act sets the foundation of the play through its heavy characterization and powerful dialogue. The steady progression of revelations of a character’s personality enables the audience to question and deduce how the story unfolds. Shakespeare uses both explicit and implicit characterization to better introduce and fully justify the characters that embody the play, such as Horatio, Claudius, and Hamlet.
Explicit characterization is shown when another character gives the audience insight on what a character is like. Horatio and Hamlet are first introduced to the audience in this manner. The scene begins with two sentinels, afraid of an ominous ghost that has appeared two nights in a row. In fear, they call upon Horatio to determine the ghost’s message. Horatio’s first line: “A piece of him” (1. 1. 22), and the line of Marcellus when the ghost appears: “Thou art a scholar, speak to it, Horatio.” (1.1.45), display a sense of Horatio’s character. He is a renaissance man, completely packaged with intelligence and wit. He has been acquired to talk to the ghost because he would have been able to detect its tricks, if any. The audience is instantly given a positive impression of Horatio, but this is not the case for the Young Hamlet. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark first appears in Scene 2 wearing black, as his rightful way of mourning the loss of his father. Claudius, the late King Hamlet’s brother; now King of Denmark, portrays Hamlet as a stubborn, weak, and disobedient child, “…But to persever/ In obstinate condolement is a course/ Of impious stubbornness, ‘tis unmanly grief,/ It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,/ A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,/ An understanding simple and unschool’d;” (1. 2. 92-97). Explicit characterization only presents a glimpse of an impression, and not the whole picture of a character. Amidst the cloak that Claudius covers him in, the audience is shown the latter. Hamlet’s incredible patience and wit is seen in his behavior and snappy comebacks towards Claudius. His strength of will and practical logic, puts him in a different plane of genius from Horatio.
Implicit characterization is defined by the audience’s assumptions of what the character is like through their actions, thoughts, words, and how they interact with the other characters. I presume Claudius’ true colours are shown through the speech he gave mourning his brother’s death… then his marriage to his brother’s wife, then making Fortinbras look like a young punk who cannot do any real damage, back to his valiant brother, in which he then attacks the assembled court’s consciousness about Hamlet. This fragment in Scene 2 paints a picture of Claudius being a political beast, able to manipulate a whole congregation of people’s thoughts to fit his desires, all the while being calm and collected in pressure. He is a devious politician, wherein he has to know every detail of his enemies, which are kept close. Implicit characterization also allows us to delve in deeper into the thoughts and actions of Hamlet. He is greatly affected by the innumerable life-devastating situations that start to occur all at the same time, but remains a sane man. He finds refuge in thinking, and shows his brilliance in the form of his plan for revenge. Horatio’s genuine concern for his friend, Hamlet, is captured in the way he acts lightly towards him and informs him of the truths he needs to know, “My lord, I think I saw him yesternight.” (1. 2. 190).
There are a lot of characters introduced in the first act that are essential to the development of the plot. They add to the density and depth of the renowned play, bringing in parallelism, filial obligation, death and disorder. Hamlet expresses true emotion, even in the very beginning of the play when he openly mourns his father's death and his mother's marriage. Shakespeare manages to capture the truth of human nature, the lessons learned and the consequences from it, which is why his works transcend through time.
The tragic play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is filled with a brilliant display of themes found in the very first act. The most profound of the themes that occur during Act 1 are that of disorder and sanity.
From the very opening of Act 1 there is the sense of disorder that is accumulated from the atmosphere of a pitch black night in which a ghost believed to be the late King of Denmark has appeared. Right away it is known that there is no king in Denmark, meaning that Denmark is vulnerable and can be easily targeted by other countries. Later it is found out that not only has the late king been replaced by his brother, Claudius but he was murdered by his brother: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown” (Act 1. 5. 39-40). Furthermore if this was not enough the Queen has married Claudius only a short time after King Hamlet’s death. The appearance of the ghost itself is sign of pure disorder, since for a ghost to be present in the first place means that something is definitely not right or as Marcellus puts it: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act 1. 5. 90). Also, within the appearance of the ghost lies the disorder brought on by its message that it gives to Hamlet which provokes him into creating more chaos and disorder as a response.
A theme to be constantly questioned throughout the play is that of sanity. Sanity first comes into question when Bernardo, Marcellus and Horatio are conversing of a ghost, which leads to questioning the validity of there seeing to be real or an illusion of the mind. Even Bernardo and Marcellus seem to question their sanity since they bring along Horatio to see if the ghost is real. This is further questioned upon Hamlet’s sighting of the ghost due to the fact that his own sanity is in question. Though Hamlet is a genius and supposedly sane to begin with, it is later questionable if he still is sane. After a bombardment of his father’s death, his uncle becoming the new king and his mother marrying Claudius he is already emotionally unbalanced, upon hearing what his apparent father’s ghost has to say he is sent into an even more enraged state which could all effect his mental state. He even creates a plan to act insane which may even bring him to actual insanity if he were to forget he was acting: “To put on an antic disposition …” (Act 1. 5.180). Claudius’ state of mind is also put into question when it is learned that he killed his own brother just for the power of being a King. The fact that he would go so far as to kill his own brother really asks how stable his mental self is.
By far these two themes are ones that will be constantly brought up throughout the play and within only the first act they seem to have already a lot of emphasis. The foundation of main themes has great emphasis within this one act and has diversely and intricately been shown through disorder and sanity.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the first act grasp’s the audience and give’s them a taste of what will eventually end as one of his greatest plays. We are given the impulse to believe in the reality of the Ghost as much as the characters do. I find the plot intriguing personally with the father/son motif, sense of obligation, and sense of mayhem in the first act.
There are two particular pairs of father/son story lines in Hamlet which include Hamlet/King Hamlet, and Polonius/Laertes. Polonius is very worried about his son Laertes behaviour in Paris and gives him words of wisdom, “The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail/And you are stay’d for. There, my blessing with the/And these few precepts in thy memory” (1.3.56-58). He treats Laertes very differently from Ophelia. It would seem that he had Laertes best interest in hand, but when it comes to Ophelia he is more concerned of the destruction she would cause and has Denmark’s best interests in hand. Hamlet is very loyal to his father. Even with the event of his fathers death, he holds true to King Hamlet and seeks answers for his fathers mysterious death. When he is told by the ghost of King Hamlet that it was Claudius that killed him, Hamlet will do anything in his power to avenge his father’s death.
Sense of obligation plays a large role when it comes to the audience’s judgment of the true nature of the characters. Polonius is bound by obligation of duty to the state of Denmark to keep Ophelia and Hamlet apart. He wants to be a good father to his daughter, but he’s knows that if Hamlet gets married to the princess of Norway it would be for the better good of the people of Denmark. Hamlet is bound by obligation to his father to avenge his death. It adds another layer to the fact when it was King Hamlets own brother who killed him, so Hamlet feels the obligation to “right” a wrongful act that happened to him and his father. He has an obligation to his father and to himself.
Never have I read a piece of work that had begun with such mayhem and turmoil. In only the first sense we are given the information that the King of Denmark is dead. This gives the audience a sense of mayhem since the country no longer has a leader. To follow such an event, the audience finds out that the Kings own brother married his ex sister in law and taken his place on the throne. The very first scene of the play features a ghost which creates mayhem and fear in the mind of the characters and audience members. When we come to realize the identity of this ghost, we realize the true seriousness of its presence, its purpose, and the situation Hamlet has just found himself in.
Overall, Act One has given me a good introduction to the play and I am interested in how this story and all its different story lines come together in the end. The suspense and pace of the play changes throughout which keeps the audience intrigues from beginning to end. Hamlet is a timeless play that incorporates tragedy, turmoil, madness and an obligation characters are bound by.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he allows the audience to take a glimpse of how one’s own genius and obligation can result in failure and tragedy. In Act I of the play we get to know the foundation of the much of the characters’ personality. It is here that the reader gets to know the characters and realize that their actions may foreshadow what may happen to them in the end of the play.
In Act I, Scene 1 of Hamlet, it starts off when guards come face to face with a ghost. They then come across Horatio, Hamlet’s good friend who when asked of his presence, merely responds by saying “A piece of him” (Act 1. 1. 21). This indicates how witty he can be even at the dead of night. When the guards tell Horatio that the ghost is going to appear at midnight, a time that is considered to be “the witching hour” or “the hour of death” Horatio responds by saying “Tush tush, ’twill not appear”(Act 1. 1. 33). At this moment, the reader recognizes Horatio’s logic and disbelief in ghosts. When he comes face to face with the ghost, he tries to speak with it while the guards stood their in horror. While facing the ghost, he comes to realize that the ghost looks like their King which foreshadows his death and the impending disorder to which will come. Amidst all this Horatio says: “What art thou that usurp’st this time of night, together with that fair and warlike form in which the majesty of buried Denmark did sometimes march? By heaven I charge thee speak” (Act1. 1. 49-52). Throughout Scene1, the reader also gets an idea of how others view Horatio. When the guards and an accompanying soldier by the name of Marcellus see the ghost, they are terrified and Marcellus asks Horatio” Thou art a scholar, speak to it Horatio” (Act 1. 1 .45). Here, it is noticed that the guards and Marcellus admire Horatio’s knowledge and that’s why they chose him to talk to the ghost.
By scene 2 of Act 1 the reader is now aware of the king’s death and Fortinbras, the King of Norway’s son is coming to attack Denmark for revenge for what happened to his father. With all of this happening the castle is now panic stricken and saddened that their king is dead. This situation is the perfect time for Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle to say “with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole, taken to wife”(Act 1. 2. 12-14). Here Claudius announces his hand in marriage to the Queen. This calms the people because of the fact that he has kept the status quo. In this scene, Claudius outlines his genius and his cunning by how well he is able to manipulate the people and how calm he stays during a time of need and desperation. Claudius then talks about Fortinbras plan of attacking Denmark when the king is dead. This once again worries the crowd but reassures them by saying “we have writ to Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras- who impotent and bedrid, scarcely hears of his nephews purpose” (Act 1. 1. 26-30). Here Claudius insults the current king of Norway, that being Fortinbras uncle and simply sees him as a decrepit old man. He also reassures the people that he has merely settled this issue with a letter and that everything will be okay. In Scene 2 the reader notices Claudius’ Political Expertise and his ability to take advantage of opportunities. He was able to single-handedly resolve a very serious issue by merely maintaining the stats quo and toying with people’s emotions.
Hamlet, the main character in the play is not introduced until Scene 2. Like Horatio, hamlet displays his knowledge throughout Act 1. However, the most defining characteristic noticed in Hamlet is the way he is bound by obligation. In scene 5, the ghost that appeared in Scene 1 returned to talk to Hamlet and urges him to listen to his story about how he died and who killed him. Upon hearing this, hamlet says “Speak, I am bound to hear” (Act 1. 5. 6). Here, the reader understands that Hamlet is bound by his duty and obligation to hear what the ghost has to say. After he learns that the ghost is actually his father’s spirit, doomed to spend eternity in purgatory, the ghost demands that he exacts revenge on the one who killed him. Hamlet responds by saying “Haste me know’t, that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge”. Here it is understood that Hamlet is willing to do anything to avenge his father’s killer and once he finds out that it was Claudius, he is now willing to set aside everything to kill his uncle and avenge his father.
In Act 1 of Hamlet we not only get to know the characters but we get to know the depth of the characters’ actions. This will be important for the rest of the play because these actions will piece together the tragedy that’s soon to come.
In act 1 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the mood of the setting was well presented to the reader as the first step of plot should be. The plot was well presented because it made readers put themselves in the characters’ position. The introduction of the play set the mood for disorder and fear, as well as corruption.
In the first seen Barnardo and Francisco are found with fear and pain as they guard the castle. “Francisco: For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart” (1.1.8-9). Francisco feels relief because he feels disorder shined upon Denmark. He is also worried he feels that at such disorder that it would only get worse before it gets better. Later on reader finds that there has been a ghost appearing to the guards of the castle, and that there is a suspicion of it being the ghost of the king. “Marcellus: Is it not like the king? / Horatio: As thou art to thyself: Such was the very armour he had on When he the ambitious Norway combated; So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle, He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
'Tis strange” (1.1.70-76). With that suspicion in mind, the guards are even more scared, because the news of Denmark losing her king could spark anarchy by citizens and war by Norway and Poland.
Finally, Characters were excellently displayed in the introduction. I feel that William Shakespeare has done a great job presenting his characters, because he gives enough information to figure out the characters, but at the same time, he presents it in a way just enough to doubt and misguide you. Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, fools others by showing fake grief to his brother, yet takes his sister in law’s hand for marriage as he slowly crowns himself king. “King: Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death
The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe…Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen… Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd” (1.2.1-4,7,14). As a reader, it is expected to be confused. Having to lose a dear husband and getting married in hasty speed is completely unusual. Viewing this from a different perspective, Claudius has always been the brother of the king, therefore a rich man with no responsibilities. Additional to that, Claudius continues to party and fool around. Also it is found at the end of the act that the ghost, King Hamlet, was killed by his own brother, Claudius. “Ghost: The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown” (1.5.39-40). Accepting Claudius as king would trigger the sign of corruption, since Claudius is irresponsible, greedy and a murderer.
In conclusion, the plot of act 1 plays a very important role in the play, because it sets the mood for setting and recognizes the characters positions and personalities.
Characterization
It is often stated that a person’s true being is unveiled through the way they correspond to their lives. In other words, a person’s actions ought be the key to identifying what attitudes they sincerely represent. In Act 1 the foundation of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is found and provides a glimpse into the method in which characters will be developed throughout the remainder of the play. Characterization is used as a technique to unmask authenticity and challenge the conventional approach to human response. Moreover, this form of characterization is evident in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the power-stricken impositions of Claudius and his attempts to gain complete dominance over Denmark as well as in the moderate yet astute nature of Hamlet in prolonging the human reflex reaction expected by the audience.
Act 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet introduces a central theme of structural disorder in Denmark. An underlying sense of inevitable calamity is “contracted in one brow of woe” (1.2.4) over the kingdom due to the recent death of King Hamlet. Consequently, citizens yearn for an alternate form of guidance and Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, proposes himself as the solution. Clearly, Claudius’ skill of timing is portrayed in his act of debuting his assets when perfectly necessary. In hastily becoming betrothed to Gertrude, King Hamlet’s previous Queen, Claudius wins over the accordance of the public as he rescues her from mourning. To take advantage of his victorious act, Claudius strategically manipulates the public’s views. By taking them on a wavering journey through present events, Claudius expresses his cunning nature in showing apparent precise and omniscient observations to the public. From discussing the sorrowful “mirth in funeral” (1.2.12) to “Fortinbras’/ weak supposal of [Denmark’s] worth” (1.2.17-18) Claudius’ well-rounded speech gains the trust of the public. Furthermore, Claudius illustrates a character of control through his lack of worry towards unstable situations. When Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son, shows a great defiance unto Claudius and his conducts as Hamlet “... shall in all [his] best obey [Gertrude]” (1.2.120) Claudius is calm and collective in response, as he was to all Hamlet’s prior impudent remarks. This action initiates the audience to wonder Claudius’ suspicious behaviour, not typical to the reaction of most people. Subsequent to evaluating the circumstance, it is yet another tactic to maintain a stable and powerful figure to the public. This recurring reaction generating in the audience’s mind as a result of Claudius’ abnormal actions, depicts disassociating characteristics. This provokes the audience to survey Claudius as an offbeat and possibly untrustworthy character, as he is not understood.
Likewise, this disclosure of characterization endures through Hamlet. His opening reactions to Claudius’ attempts to influence the public expose Hamlet’s vision of Claudius “but no more like [Hamlet’s] father/ Than [Hamlet] to Hercules.” (1.2.152-153). These assessments are mirrored by Hamlet’s remarks in returning Claudius’ bold and erratic statements. When Claudius forbids Hamlet from “going back to school in Wittenberg,/ [As] It is most retrograde to our desire” (1.2.113-114) and claims that Hamlet owns “A heart unfortified, a mind impatient” (1.2.96) Hamlet’s ensuing emotions are completely appropriate to the audience. This exemplifies one way in which Hamlet is a relatable character through his actions, as he experiences fathomable personal sentiments. Thus, when Hamlet is bound to appear respectful to Claudius to avoid committing treason, the audience sympathizes with him. Hamlet is bound my circumstance nevertheless he is still able to reveal his true self. Hamlet’s smart and crafty response to Claudius, bidding “... my lord, I am too much in the sun” (1.2.66) emits his ability to think situations through. The line is brimmed with a valid answer to Claudius but among it contains an interior of disproval. Hamlet’s sluggish reactions are merely acts of caution. The audience is affirmed of Hamlet’s knowledge of his filial obligation to avenge King Hamlet when Hamlet pronounces “That ever [he] was born to set it right” (1.5.197) settling the uneasy prediction that Hamlet may not become active to this notion. There is a lingering sense that Hamlet will follow through.
In analyzing and continuing to track these patterns of characterization, the audience will be able to assemble added accuracy to these introductory perspectives. Equally important, the audience will be able to realize the significance of the effect that this technique of proving through action and lightening the reliance on claims, has on the play. It is evident that Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows this type of characterization in Act 1 through Claudius’ ruthless aspirations and the anticipation of Hamlet’s actions of filial obligation. In another aspect, it is questionable whether these two characters will become consumed by their actions or whether these actions will resolve into illogical or invalid confessions of the soul.
The Foundation of Hamlet laid in Act One- Characterization
Unquestionably, it is to William Shakespeare’s credit that one of the greatest playwrights in time, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, is bestowed upon society. Hamlet Prince of Denmark is, in fact, of great significance to society as Shakespeare reveals through the characters of his play, observable and realistic traits that may be seen in people of today. This induces Hamlet Prince of Denmark to be such a dynamic play. Thus, characterization greatly contributes to the significance of the play. In Act 1, the foundation of Hamlet, characterization is readily visible. Thus, characterization is evident within the characters: Hamlet, Claudius and Queen Gertrude.
Firstly, the characterization of Hamlet is crucial to grasp the transcending meaning and an overall basic understanding of the play itself. With this in mind, Shakespeare divulges great traits within Hamlet. The reader can view Hamlet as a man of unconventional wisdom upon comparing this to other men of his age. It is evident that Hamlet has personally encountered more complex dilemmas and therefore has gained more life experience. With this in mind, Hamlet says to Horatio, “Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral bak’d meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables” (1.2.180-181). Meaning that, Hamlet endured the experience of his father dying and his mother re-marrying shortly after. For this reason, Hamlet is considered a strong and intelligent man to endure such dismaying events.
Secondly, through the characterization of Claudius, he is beheld as a treacherous and manipulative villain. Thus, his atrocious actions, such as murdering the king, his brother and fleeting to marriage with the queen, his sister in law, reveals his evil intentions and cold nature as murdering his brother is already a great sin within itself. Furthermore, through his speech and action, Claudius is exposed as a cunning, manipulative and deceitful king. To emphasize, Claudius says, “Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, Th’imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we as ‘twere with a defeated joy, With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage” (1.2.8-12). This exemplifies Claudius’ manipulating and deceiving nature as he indirectly informs the people of the throne room that he is now king of Denmark. Likewise, Shakespeare also illustrates Claudius’ evil nature through the imagery of King Hamlet’s murder. As literature is rooted upon the Bible, we see a similarity of between King Hamlet’s murder under the orchard in the garden to the story of Adam and Eve. As the king’s murder takes place in a garden, you come to the realization that the event of Adam and Eve being tempted, eating the apple and the ultimate beginning of sin which relates to death, also takes place in a garden. As the initial evil in the biblical story was the snake and metaphorically poisoned their minds, the ghost indicates that he was literally poisoned to death. The ghost of King Hamlet says, “With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour the leperous distilment, whose effect Holds such an enmity with blood of man” (1.5.62-65). This relates back to the biblical story as Adam and Eve who were metaphorically poisoned by hearing the devils speech. King Hamlet says he was poisoned through his ears as well. Therefore, this imagery implies Claudius as the snake in the story and if not comparing him, refers to him as the devil.
Finally, the characterization of Queen Gertrude is also shown throughout Act 1. In Act 1, Queen Gertrude is portrayed as a character that is easily manipulated. Hamlet says, “By what it fed on; and yet within a month-Let me not think on’t-Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.145-146).Hamlet refers to the Queen, his mother, as a weak and easily manipulated character. That is, implying the queen as emotionally weak because she married so quickly that she probably was only thinking with her heart and not her mind or out of lustfulness. For instance, she did not stop to think of what Hamlet’s thoughts and feelings would be upon this situation nor considering the fact that she was marrying her dead husband’s brother.
In conclusion, characters such as Hamlet, Claudius and Queen Gertrude are highly crucial to the plot. Thus, the characterization of these characters is needed to understand their actions upon the continuity of the play and for understanding the play itself. For instance, the reader will need to base Hamlet’s perplexing and mysterious scheming by what they already know about him, that is his characterization that is shown in Act 1- the foundation of the play.
Shakespeare has laid out the substructure of the play in Act 1 of Hamlet. He presents the personality of each character and the relationships these characters share. Shakespeare also implies certain events to come. The main foreshadow which is presented has to deal with the murder of the Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark. Prince Hamlet finds out who had murdered his father and this triggers him to live how he will for the rest his life, in revenge.
Horatio is sent out in Act 1 where the guards are unusually tense awaiting the arrival of the Ghost they had seen for the past two nights. This is where we are introduced to Horatio for the first time who unlike the two guards is brave and what you would call a renaissance man; intelligent in all areas, witty, and manly. When the Ghost appears Horatio confronts it only to find the Ghost will not respond to him “Let us impart what we have seen tonight unto young Hamlet; for upon my life this spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.” (1.1.175) they feel that this Ghost may be young Hamlets father, and in the days of this play it had been a superstition that a Ghost who has come back from the dead was there to deliver a message; this is an implied foreshadow which the audience would infer while watching this play, and become are suspenseful to who this Ghost really is. We understand at this point the King of Denmark is dead and now are curious to see how the order of Denmark will be restored. We assume this restorer of order will be no other then young Hamlet.
This is where we are introduced to Claudius living as any good brother would, Married to his dead brother’s wife and King of Denmark. Inside the castle the new King now speaks about how much the death of his brother has truly ‘effected’ him “Through yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death the memory be green, and that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe” (1.2.1) what Claudius had done to his brother was not right and he knows this, this is why he tries to convince everyone that he did this out of kindness. Young Hamlet is sad because of his mother’s remarriage and does not like the way Claudius treats him. There is a sense of insincerity in the character of the new King but he has everyone trusting he is a good man and a good leader too. Horatio tells young Hamlet of the Ghost’s appearance and tells him to join them at the gun platform. While outside the castle the darkest time of the night had arrived accompanied by the Ghost which had said to bear resemblance to young Hamlets father. Young Hamlet confirmed this resemblance; The Ghost still has not spoken a word so young Hamlet decides he will follow him. Both young Hamlet and the Ghost leave together at the end of this scene.
Young Hamlet follows The Ghost until he speaks. The Ghost stops to talk and it is then confirmed that the Ghost is young Hamlets Father. He tells young Hamlet when he hears how he died he will want revenge, so he continues telling a tale of how he was murdered by his brother Claudius by a poison he dropped in his ear. He has now married his wife and taken the land of Denmark. This is the message we had been waiting to hear from the Ghost since it had arrived and young Hamlet now needs to avenge his father’s death “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.25) Hamlet then makes a promise and a plan. He will act with an antic disposition; he will do this until he is able to say what he needs to without being accused of treason and he will reveal to everyone his fathers murderer. He has Horatio and Marcellus swear to secrecy that they will never tell anyone of his plan and he is ready to get revenge.
Young Hamlet leaves Act 1 confident in his decision and has made a plan without procrastination. It is now time for him to carry this out but as we all know the conclusion of a tragedy entails a death and downfall of the main character. We are now left off with young Hamlets pledge to set the universe straight saying “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right.” (1.5.195) this is his oath, that he will restore the order to Denmark and avenge his father’s death, but if he will succeed we will soon find out.
Taking a look at William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet it is apparent that many characters are introduced throughout. Two of the most interesting characters that are introduced are the main character Hamlet and his evil stepfather Claudius. It is apparent even when Shakespeare is laying the foundations of the play that these two characters will be at the centre of nearly all of the conflict in the play which makes them the most interesting subject of all. It is evident that through Hamlet’s actions that he is in fact a very cautious and brilliant young man and that his uncle/stepfather Claudius is also very cautious but a master mind in terms of how he deals with politics.
Beginning with Hamlet it is apparent in scene 2 of act 1 just how smart this man really is. You can see early on that Hamlet has a very dry sense of humor as he insults his new stepfather under his breath in response to Claudius referring to Hamlet as his son, “ A little more then kin, and less than kind” (1.2.65). As the conversation between Hamlet and Claudius continues he insults Claudius very discreetly and it almost seems too smart as in when Claudius informs Hamlet he is not going to be allowed to return to university, because Claudius wants to keep a close eye on Hamlet, Hamlet agrees with the statement very quickly as his mother also approves of Claudius’ decision, “I shall in all my best obey you, madam” (1.2.120), only because his mother believes that this was best for Hamlet because of all he has been through. Perhaps the most questionable yet cunning part of Hamlet’s actions during act 1 is his decision to act insane while he begins to formulate a plan, “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on” (1.5.179-180), that will allow him to exact revenge upon his uncle, who, which Hamlet had just recently found out, was Hamlet’s father’s murderer. Through these actions it is apparent that the characterization of Hamlet was one of the most interesting to observe in his development as a character and as one of the most interesting and complex characters ever devised.
When observing the second of the two most interesting characters in Hamlet you can clearly see just what type of man Claudius is. He is adept in the skill of rhetoric and is able to control the mood of his audience just by using current events as platforms to get what he wants. Also Claudius is very skilled in being able to maintain a very cool head even in times in which he is being insulted publicly by his nephew and new stepson Hamlet. In response to Hamlet’s statement which involved Hamlet obeying only the wishes of his mother Claudius responded with, “Why, ‘tis a loving and fair reply” (1.2.122), which clearly shows that even though Hamlet had just insulted Claudius he simply responds in a clear and concise manner. Claudius expressed his respect for Hamlet’s reply stating he should listen to his mother and just shrugged of the insult with out a second thought. This fact alone shows how impressive Claudius is both politically and personally speaking and some would say that Claudius is somewhat of a “political shark”.
It is clear that through the specific examples given above that the relationship that Claudius and Hamlet share is very deep and is the most interesting aspect of the play Hamlet as you just wonder how these two men are not at each others throats and how they both keep such a cool head even during the roughest of times. I simply can not wait to see how this story develops as the play progresses.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the basis of the play is organised in the first act. Shakespeare introduces various critical events in an overwhelming plot line. I find that the plot that is set up is the most interesting part of act one. The plot is the most interesting aspect of act one because of the ghost, Hamlet and Claudius' conflict, and the basis of Hamlet's plans.
The ghost in act one is a very interesting aspect of the plot. Ghosts are ill omens in Elizabethan times. The ghost is “in the same figure like the King that's dead” (1, 1, 44), meaning the ghost bears a striking resemblance to King Hamlet. To Elizabethans the ghost is a symbol of a dead king that has come back from purgatory. Furthermore, the ghost is wearing “the very armor he had on when he th'ambitious Norway combated” (1, 1, 63-64). The armor that is worn by the ghost signifies a battle that must take place. The fact that the ghost of the king come back from purgatory wearing his battle armor is crucial in the development of the plot. This is indicative of a struggle that must ensue because of the injustice of the dead King's restless soul. The ghost is also critical in the plot because it is important in sparking the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that “the serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown” (1, 5, 39-40). This indicates that Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and now the King of Denmark, killed King Hamlet. It is now Hamlet's futile obligation to exact his revenge against Claudius.
Hamlet and Claudius' conflict is one of the aspects of Hamlet that I find most appealing. As previously discussed, King Hamlet's ghost acts as a foundation for the conflict that can ensue between Hamlet and Claudius. Hamlet is bound “to revenge when thou shalt hear” (1, 5, 7) about the manner in which his father died. Hamlet must exact his revenge upon Claudius because of this murder. Conflict between Hamlet and Claudius is also evident in scene two. There is a major emotional impact upon Hamlet when “within a month, ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes, she married- O most wicked speed!” (1, 2, 153-156). This refers to Hamlet's mother marrying Claudius shortly after King Hamlet died. She did not even have enough time to finish mourning and she has married King Hamlet's brother. It becomes apparent that Claudius is trying to obtain the throne through Gertrude. The conflict between Hamlet and Claudius is an interesting aspect to the plot because it builds dramatic tension between the characters. Hamlet must develop a plan to deal with the evil that is occurring.
Hamlet's character, in the sense of his plans in his war against Claudius, is interesting in act one of Hamlet. In typical Elizabethan tragedies, the tragic hero almost immediately seeks revenge. In the case of Hamlet “all thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (1, 5, 102-103). Hamlet refers to the planning the he must do in order to properly exact his revenge. This also reveals some of Hamlet's character, he is a thinking man; one who does not act spontaneously on emotion. Hamlet decides “to put an antic disposition on” (1, 5, 180) and try to convince all of Denmark that he is crazy. This antic disposition is an anomaly in the traditional Elizabethan plays, and adds to the potential in the plot. It is this unknown and unpredictable play that adds to the success of Hamlet.
I believe that the most interesting aspect of act one in Hamlet is the plot, specifically the ghost, Hamlet and Claudius' conflict, and the basis of Hamlet's plans. With the plot that Shakespeare develops in act one, the is great potential for the rest of the play, as well the unknown that keeps the audience transfixed.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes characterization as a commentary on society, revealing the unchanging relationships of men with themselves and one another through parallelism and character development.
In the first act of the play, the characters’ thoughts and intentions are unveiled not only to develop the plot of the story but for the audience to identify themselves as well. Act 1 of Hamlet depicts Fortinbras as the vengeful son of King Fortinbras, who is out to do no good and take revenge of his father’s death. “He hath not fail’d to pester us with message. Importing the surrender of those lands. Lost by his father, with all bonds of law” (Act1. 2. 20). This portrayal of Fortinbras as a wrathful, immature, and radical boy creates a pararellism of society’s unchanging definition of youth from the Elizabethean time until today.
The development of Hamlet in the play is seen in his attempt to take revenge for his father. In act one, Shakespeare portrays hamlet as a “thinking man”, rationalizing things in a logical manner. Hamlet’s rationality is evident in his ways to take revenge, contemplating his words before putting them into verbs. “My tables. Meet it is I set it down. That one may smile, and smile and be a villain—At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark” (Act1. 5. 105). Hamlet’s image as a “thinking man” symbolizes man’s nature to contemplate on deeds before transforming them into actions.
Shakespeare uses his unique characterization by incorporating confusion of self-nature for the audience, allowing a sense of realism, to relate to his characters and recognize the dilemmas that occur today in our society. The play’s characters are portrayed, with all human strengths and flaws, but it is humanity that makes them distinctive from everyone else.
Characterization
With in the first act of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest play Hamlet, the foundation of for the rest of the play is laid by the brilliance of characterization Shakespeare uses. Shakespeare uses each character introduced in the first act to a certain significance that begins to lay out the play.
The first two characters we are introduced to are, two gaurds Barnardo and Francisco. Right from the beginning Shakespeare has these two characters come on stage that seem to be afraid of something “who goes there?”(1.1.2). The audience is put on edge right away, Shakespeare uses these two very minor characters to set up the mood of the play and have the audience know that there is something wrong; something is not right in Denmark. These two characters begin to lay out the play. As the play progresses we are introduced to another character named Horatio. Horatio is a very intelligent scholar who is very good friends with the protagonist, Hamlet. Horatio comes on stage and his very first line is “A piece of him” (1.1.22) this is a comical line that relaxes the audience and shows us Horatios character as a comical, and intelligent character. Shakespeare is brilliance is shown as he writes this play. Shakespeare uses the characters to control the audience. With in a couple of lines the audience is on edge and sucked into the play and with in a line the play becomes comical, and the tension is broken. This is seen with many other characters through out the first Act. Horatio is an important character because he begins to builds up the plot of the play. Shakespeare uses Horatios personality and character, intelligence and respect to reveal to the audience “all is not well in Denmark”. In the beginning scene a ghost appears to the characters, and Horatio is the only one that is able to talk to the ghost,, although the ghost does not reply to Horatio “’Tis gone and will not answer.” (1.1.55) the audience is able to understand that the ghost has come back, to complete unfinished business, or to leave a message, or to play a trick on the city. Once again Shakespeare has the audience on the edge of their seats again.
As the play unfolds, the new King of Denmark, Claudius is introduced to the audience. Once again Shakespeare uses Claudius’ political knowledge (characterization), to lay out the foundation of the play and to control the audiences reaction. Claudius is a very important character in the play, he is Hamlets uncle and has just married his the queen (Hamlets mother). Shakespeare uses Claudius’ character as a political beast to lay out the foundation of the play. This is seen in Claudius’ speech in front of all the respectable men in Denmark, it begins with a moment of silence and grief for the king of hamlet “though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death” (1.2.1). As the audience is mourning and still upset he raises there hopes by sharing the great news that “in equal scale weighing delight and dole; Taken to wife.” (1.2.14). He has just married the queen, the audience begins to cheer up now that the queen is happy again, and he had gained popularity and respect for what he has done. Shakespeare uses Claudius’ character to reinsure the audience that everything is ok. The main conflict in the play begins to unfold during the first act between Hamlet and Claudius. King Claudius tells Hamlet he’s not able to go back to university “ For your intent In going back to school in Wittenberg, It is most retrograde to our desire;” (1.2.113-115). Claudius is shown as a very intelligent man, he decides to keep Hamlet close to him to keep an eye on him and this is the beginning of the conflict between Claudius and Hamlet.
Another Character introduced in the first act that Shakespeare uses to lay out the plot for the play is the protagonist Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son. Hamlet is introduced with Claudius, our first impression of Hamlets character is revealed to us through a conversation he has with his remarks to his uncle “A little more than kin and less than kind” (1.2.65). Hamlet attempts to show the audience Claudius for him true self, it is noticed right away that there is tension and dislike toward Claudius from Hamlet. Unfortunately Hamlet is unable to say anything back to Claudius in the fear of the consequence of treason and must act towards him with respect. However Hamlet is able to express himself in the aside he has after Claudius leaves. “But no more like my father; Than I to Hercules.” (1.2.152-153). Hamlets shows that Claudius is nothing like his father, he is as close to Hamlets father as Hamlet is to Hercules. Hamlet is also still struggling with the loss of his father, and his anger towards Claudius for stealing his fathers spot so quickly “Why, she would hang on him as if increase of appetite had growth by what it fed on; - and yet within a month…” (1.2.143-145). Shakespeare uses Hamlets character to show the conflict and the depth of the problems this man must rage against to fulfill his filial obligation to his father.
In Conclusion with in the first act of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses characterization to lay out the play. He reveals the conflicts, the un-easiness in Denmark and the false security through out the play. So the play is set up, Shakespeare leaves the audience on the edge of their seats to see what is to happen in the next act.
Dramatic devices
In this play Hamlet William Shakespeare uses many dramatic devises especially in Act one. One of the dramatic devises Shakespeare uses is having yourself think “Why?” throughout Act one and none of your questions will be answered right away. What William Shakespeare does is set you up for the next scene or next act which makes it so intense and nerve racking. Another dramatic devise that William Shakespeare incorporates into Act one is the way he has Hamlet be so human, so life like that his characters knowledge is more far advanced than anyone else in this play. William Shakespeare uses dramatic devices because it allows you to think and wonder what will happen next and how it will happen. It’s pure brilliance how William Shakespeare has you hanging at every scene and wanting more.
Even at the begging of he play Shakespeare has you questioning the characters and the acts that they do. It’s pure misery right from the begging. At the very start of the play on the first line there’s dramatic tension and you can feel it. The first thing that is questioned in Act one is; why is Francisco sick at heart from what? “For this relief much thanks. ’Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart.”(1.1.8-9). Even at the end of act one it is still not known why Francisco is sick at heart and who caused this, we might never find out why. While Marcellus, Bernardo, Horatio and Francisco are talking back and fourth about this ghost and how it appears at midnight it then appears that night as well. Now Shakespeare has everyone wonder, “Who is this ghost”, “why is it visiting the castle at midnight”, “and what could be so wrong?” Ghost’s only come back with messages; Shakespeare has you thinking “What message could it be needing to say?” So he has you think long and hard and try to put all the puzzles of the pieces together. Moving on at the end of scene one in act one William Shakespeare has you asking yourself “Why isn’t Hamlet king?” It’s brilliant how he incorporates this into Hamlet because he has you thinking this and then right at the beginning of scene two he brings you to the king, who is Hamlets uncle, and now all the pieces start to unfold. This is the kind of dramatic devices William Shakespeare uses and he makes it so you are hanging off of the edge of your seat with the feelings of fear, concern, and anxiety.
In Act one Shakespeare introduces Hamlet which is King Hamlet’s son and what is pure brilliance for William Shakespeare to do is have Hamlets first words are, “A little more kind, and a little less than king.”(1.2.66) Hamlets basically saying to the King which is his step dad now that he doesn’t like him. Shakespeare has Hamlet’s character to act so human that its more like he’s not apart of the play acting like characters that are clueless. Here everyone has moved on from his father’s death but Hamlet is still wearing black and mourning. Hamlet has feelings, true feelings and no one should tell him when to stop mourning. William Shakespeare makes Hamlet a character that’s so dramatic because he’s a character that is too smart for his own good. Hamlet’s plan for revenge is so fascinating with prolonging that it boggles your mind because there will be so many things that could go wrong, like fighting time, maybe his insanity takes control over him and Shakespeare has you already know at the end of Act one that Hamlet is going to die. Hamlet is a dramatic device because he’s a ticking time bomb that has you waiting for every second of every moment. In Act one William Shakespeare introduces dramatic devices in the thinking and into the characters. In just Act I so much has already been covered that you just can’t wait until what Act II will bring you.
True to dramatic form, the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is purely introductory as proven by the establishment of the revenge and a psychological plot, Act 1 of establishes the foundation of the play.
In the fourth scene of Act 1, Horatio speaks to Hamlet of the Ghost he has seen earlier in Act 1, a ghost who is introduced as a character who is assumed to be the recently deceased King of Denmark. When the Ghost finally speaks, in scene 5, it tells Hamlet that he is his father and that he was murdered by the new King, King Claudius. The Ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his death and bound to a filial bond, Hamlet obliges, which is the start of the revenge plot in the play. Hamlet decides to commit to seeking revenge “…smiling damned villain! / My table. Meet it is I set it down/…So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word. / It is ‘Adieu... remember me.’/ I have sworn’t.” (Act 1. 5. 106-112). From its structural positioning, at the beginning and end of the first act, one can see that revenge will be the main plot line in the play.
After Hamlet’s father’s death, Hamlet falls into a state of depression and shows signs of an inner struggle even before the revenge plot are introduced. Hamlet is hit with his father’s death, his mother’s quick marriage to his uncle and the loss of the throne which makes Hamlet have a bleak outlook on life. Hamlet curses his religion for preventing him from committing suicide because his life is so miserable. “…O God!/ How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Act 1. 2. 132-134). Hamlet speaks of a world in which all aspects of life are empty and meaningless.
The first act of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is successful in introducing the play and it’s multitude of plots.
As the reader is exposed to Act 1 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, they are introduced to two guards who encounter the ghost of the murdered King. The only problem is, is that the reader does not know who or how the King was murdered. Horatio, the best friend of the fallen King does not believe in ghosts but is soon caught off guard when the ghost reveals himself.
Throughout Act 1, the reader discovers that Hamlet wears black very religiously. This metaphorically sends out the message that Hamlet is mourning over not only the death of his father, the King, but the takeover of Denmark by Claudius, his uncle. His mother, Queen Gertrude marries Claudius, which adds to the irony of Hamlet's struggle to cope with the problems he already has. Hamlet wishes to go back to school, but Claudius refuses to let him go, and restricts him from leaving Denmark.
The conflict between Hamlet and Claudius' rivalry, or conflict rather, builds a climax for the reader. This allows them to see that Claudius may actually be the villain in this play, and that tragedy will be displayed. Hamlet also feels distraught by the fact that he was not named King after his father's passing, and that his uncle Claudius, no King of Denmark took over and got into a marriage with his mother.
The confrontation of Hamlet and the ghost of his fallen father is a very interesting scene because the King asks him to avenge is death. Hamlet is also told about how his father was killed, which makes it easy to dislike Claudius. The anger inside of Hamlet can be felt inside of the reader when they understand the true identity and intent of Claudius.
Act one of William Shakespeare's Hamlet lays the groundwork for the rest of the play. Most importantly, it allows for the reader or audience to begin raising questions as to why all the events of act one happen. The observer is given the metaphorical puzzle pieces and must use the information given to them to try and piece the puzzle that is act one.
The very beginning of act one is drenched in mystery and question. The very characters themselves become pieces of the puzzle. The play even begins with the questioning of a ghost, "Looks 'a not like the King? Mark it Horatio" (Act 1, sc.1. 46). The questioning of the supposed apparition to the likeness to that of the recently deceased King Hamlet already begets a slew of questions. This is only further fueled by its unwillingness to speak with either Horatio or Marcellus, and its appearance for the third time (where three is recognized as a number of power, therefore 3=power=King). Furthermore, Horatio implies that the Ghost may have a message that must be delivered, "In what particular thought to work I know not, but in the gross and scope of my opinion, This bodes some strange eruption to our state."(Act.1 sc1. 70-73). Horatio eluding to how there may be hidden messages and confusion lays the groundwork for even more questions to be raised, not only about the ghost itself, but what message it may have.
Much of act one is dedicated to finding the legitimacy of where the characters are in their lives; Much of this is directed at Claudius, whom had just taken the throne. The celebration at the beginning of act two sheds some light on how Claudius had been able to take the throne, "With mirth in funereal and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole, taken to wife." (Act1, sc.2. 12-13) Claudius implies that since he has married the queen, he is therefore the rightful king, which is a complete question of legitimacy. Continuing, the marriage had occurred so quickly that an unbiased observer could call to question how "real" the marriage actually is, as opposed to how it is just a political ploy to keep the status quo.
In conclusion, the first act of Hamlet is the basis from which all questions about Hamlet (the man) stem from. The first act lays the groundwork for all the situations that occur later in the play, as well as the corresponding character development. It is therefore that act one is, for lack of better words, a long question from which many answers stem from.
The foundation of Hamlet is laid in Act one because of the characterization, which allows us to perceive the depth and theme of the play which is the battle between good and evil and thus sets the stage for the plot. Shakespeare’s characters, Hamlet represents good, and Claudius represents evil; are opposites in the scheme and balance of the universe, they have vivid human qualities and they become allegories for the importance of finding a balance within yourself and the consequences of not doing so.
Claudius is symbolic of the evil in mankind, “O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!” (1.5.106) a man so consumed by evil, he can only survive through it. His cunning and intelligence make him all the more sinister, “You cannot speak of reason to the Dane/ And lose your voice” (1.2.44-45) or so he manipulates and deceives people into thinking. Claudius can easily control a crowd and play with their emotions; he is aware that people are “fools of nature/ So horridly to shake our disposition” (1.4.55-56) and is the kind of man that would be able to quote Scripture to justify evil. He tells Hamlet that continuing to grieve for his fathers death is “a will most incorrect to heaven” (1.2.95), because dieing is a natural thing. As if that wasn’t malicious enough, he questions Hamlet’s manhood, “Tis unmanly grief”(1.2.94), and implies that his father would be ashamed of him. Claudius’ downfall will come from his arrogance he “Shall … take corruption/ From that particular fault. The dram of evil/ Doth all the noble substance often dout/ To his own scandal” (35-38). Although he sees Hamlet as a potential threat, he underestimates the valor of his ability. He is also arrogant for being unsatisfied with his former luxurious life, for him it wasn’t good enough, the only thing worthy of him was the crown. It does not belong to him “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown” (1.4.39-40), and it will literally, sit upon his conscience; guilty thoughts devouring him from inside. The crown which he wears as he sits on the thrown will remain the same size; where as with the passing of time he will “assume some other horrible form” (1.4.72) as he is engulfed by his act of murder, and slowly shrunk into a lowly man. Claudius is pure evil, he brings “blasts from hell/… intents wicked” (1.4.41-42) and it can be proven by the manner in which he murdered King Hamlet. The former king was “By a brother’s hand…Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin…O horrible! O horrible! most horrible!” (1.5.74,76,80), the most horrible part about it being he denied his brother the opportunity for confession (which he would have had in a fair death). This leads one to believe that Claudius’s intents surpass that of just murder, but that he wanted his brother to be “Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,/ And for the day confin’d to fast in fires” (1.4.10-11) so as to cause him suffering even in the afterlife. That kind of level of hate is unhealthy and can destroy a man to a point of no return, because it will erode his soul. So much will he be worn down by “his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.4.25) that he will soon be too small for his crown and it will encompass him. He will become trapped by the unaltered large crown surrounding him on all sides, representing what he has done and the confinement of his conscience. He won’t be able to climb out but instead forced to live a withered life because he himself as become “hearsed in death” (1.4.47) unable to escape and morbidly nurtured from it; what he has maliciously worked so hard to attain (and in that coarse destructed his soul) will be the only thing that protects him. If the crown is removed, which is both his confine and his shield, he will be unprotected and tiny as he is, will be blown away by the wind. Removing the crown which now traps him would be to also symbolically remove his conscience. The only way for a person to be alleviated of their conscience would be to come to terms with what has been done, which for Claudius would be disastrous; the murder of your own brother is too much for a man to handle let alone own up to. Claudius can never come to terms with what he’s done because it would destroy him and he would die, so instead his arrogance must continue to sustain him. He must continue to willingly live in the evil he has created, “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,/ With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts-/ O wicked wit, and gifts that have the power/ So to seduce” (1.5.42-45), and keep deluding himself with his own superiority. In Act one of the play we can already see his conscience start to surface by the need he feels to keep Hamlet close by. He refused Hamlets wish to back to university because it was “retrograde to our desire” (1.2.114), what he has done is constantly on his mind and thus he feels more comfortable keeping his enemies near by so he can have control over the situation.
Hamlet is a good, loving and caring man “Sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet” (1.2.87) who had innocence. But what happens when you take someone who is pure of heart, and are nourished by the very nature of good, and trust them into a new world, full of hate, evil and conspiracy? The person is suffocated of course. Just like a tree cannot grow in clay, neither can Hamlet grow amongst all the animosity that surrounds him. He is intelligent enough however, to realize that “I must hold my tongue” (1.2.159), or else he’ll be arrested for treason. The only thing he has left or can possibly look forward to is death and the freedom to return to the source of goodness. Hamlet doesn’t fear the ghost because, “Why, what should be the fear?/ I do not set my life at a pin’s fee,/ And for my soul, what can it do to that,/ Being a thing immortal as itself?” (1.4.64-67) he values his sprit more than the body. Hamlet transcends his flesh; Shakesphere has managed to give his character what none others have; a soul. Hamlet loves Ophelia “My lord, he hath importun’d me with love/ In honorable fashion.” (1.3.110-111), because she is innocent, pure and loyal; she keeps him sane. Ophelia is Hamlet’s grip on reality in his world of chaos were everything else has been corrupted. When he’s with her it’s a form of tapping into his former innocence that he had before he was trust into the harsh reality of evil. The extent of Hamlet’s suffering and inner turmoil makes him life-like. Not only does Hamlet have a soul, but one that is righteous so that it overflows and reflects in his personality. Hamlet is so righteous that he isn’t able to kill himself, in spite the tremendous amount of pain he feels because he knows it would be cowardly and wrong to take his own life. Also he knows that God has “fix’d/ His cannon’ gainst self-slaughter” (1.2.131) and does not want to damn his soul to an eternity of suffering. Alas Hamlet’s righteousness is also his tragic flaw (as seen as of Act one), his inability to remain passive when faced with an injustice, will lead to his eminent fall. Righteousness is integrated into his being and he knows so, “O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right.” (1.5.196-197). Hamlet knows that even if he wanted to remain indifferent (to the injustice the ghost as reveled to him) he would not be able to because it would go against his character. He was “born” to set it right; his soul and personality of righteousness were given to him at birth. And in that so being, it is rendered far more logical to attempt to fight against time before fighting against the very essence that sustains him. You have to accept who you are; this reminds the audience of the inevitable truth that you can’t escape yourself. Hamlet experiencing such a thing makes him real and human and the fact that he is aware of that condition makes him an emotional genius. He is compelled to restore the balance of justice by avenging his father’s death.
Shakespeare’s characterization of Hamlet and Claudius is so true to humanity they become allegories about the human condition. There is a wise phrase, “To learn about God read the biblical, to know man read Shakespeare” and it is true because Shakespeare’s characters embody what it means to be human. The ability to relate to the characters is essential in tragedy in order for it to affect the reader (pathos) and in that sense writers are able to pass on important lessons that “we did think it writ down in our duty/ To let you know of it” (1.2.222-223) through the characters. Hamlet and Claudius face a constant struggle within themselves to survive in “themselves”. After all a big part of life is about constantly trying to become better, and fighting off temptation. Hamlet is constantly surrounded by evil “I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come/ Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,/ Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes” (1.2.256-258) and he needs to continuously fight temptation to not become apart of it. If you just allow yourself to be taken by circumstance, then you become the situation around you and since everything is the same, the surrounding environment collapses in on you. That is why you must be different like a pillar, holding up the structure of society, the reasons why things can keep moving forward. If we didn’t have those few people that stand out, nothing would be able to progress there’d be nothing to build on, because everything would be stagnate, because people have all just become the environment around them. By fighting against time for what is right Hamlet strikes many emotions within us, but most of all he becomes a hero because he took on injustice despite knowing the inevitable death he would face (treason). It is important to take note that your actions become you, and that is why he refused to be a bystander, he feels too much righteous anger at the fact that Claudius has everything he has through corruption. Shakespeare is writing about the 21st, yes our century. How many times has a political leader gotten their power through corruption? Frankly, too many to count. But what’s worse about it is that people know “By their oppress’d and fear- surprised eyes” (1.2.203) and sit by unwilling to stand up for justice, because of the fear to be displaced from their own comfort. Hamlet is no fool, he knows that his best option is to act crazy because just like you wouldn’t take an insane person crazy today, neither would the people back in his time. However, Hamlet has to be very careful, because like was mentioned before your actions become you and there’s only so much you can pretend until you’ve convinced even yourself, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good.” (1.2.158) if he doesn’t remember and hold fast to who he truly is. Tragically “This must be so” (1.2.106) because we need to be shocked by Hamlet’s death; no one should have to die fighting for what’s right, in that manner it entices people to open their mind to the things that are going on around them and take action. We have a responsibility to stand up against injustice. There is a fine line between good and evil and the Hamlet struggles to keep the balance, at times flirting with the line, because of all that’s been done to him. Most people avoid evil because they are afraid of their own weakness and therefore being consumed by it “Giving to you no further personal power” (1.2.36) over your actions. The valor in Hamlet’s self sacrifice is that he marched straight forward into evil in order to challenge it, “I’ll speak to it though hell itself should gape/ And bid me hold my peace” (1.2.245-246) casting aside all fear because he knew something was more important. No one was willing to stand up for justice “To reason most absurd” (1.2.103), not even the kings wife, because sadly “best safety lies in fear” (1.3.43). No one else would question what “Seems,” (1.2.76). Claudius on the other hand is the man who gave away his soul, because of his gluttony for power he allows himself to be consumed by evil. How often people today deny reality and attempt to rationalize evil acts because of their arrogance, take Hitler for example or even terrorists. They attempt to justify the unjust. They breed paranoia and give a cause to their sins, but underneath it all, that need to rationalize to keep living in it, is because of the underlying wrong in their actions, and it is merely an attempt to elude that. But of coarse no one wants to accept their wrong, because that would mean coming to terms with your actions. The hardest person to face is yourself, because we know the complete depth, level of willingness and magnitude of our actions weighed. Claudius is an example what happens when someone allows human flaw to take over (his was arrogance). At the same time you still have to beware of his cunning “For they are actions that a man might play” to manipulate you. He represents the evil that is constantly prowling around preying on humanity and if people aren’t rooted in themselves it will “vanish’d from our sight” (1.2.220) our morals. That’s why by allowing an injustice to continue by blending in you merely become the situation around you and thus a part of the evil itself. “That it should come to this!” (1.2.137) is what you have to look out for, to “Give it an understanding but no tongue” (1.2.250) is to aid injustice by allowing it to go on. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. Beware of the cunning of evil, set things right, don’t let injustice continue, you will at least win the battle within yourself. It’s better to fight a system, then to try and conform your morals, lie to yourself, deny your believes and tear your self apart by not doing anything sitting back and not being true to yourself. There is always going to be a raging battle between good and evil which side are you on? Or are you just a pawn? Maybe you won’t be able to win the external battle going on, but internally you can win the war.
Like I stated elsewhere:
Feedback, both positive and negative, is important. I will copy and paste lines from your weekly writings so that you can see what I truly enjoyed about your work.
They are not in any particular order of brilliance ... in case you're wondering, they are in chronological order as per their post date.
Please do not assume that there is a direct correlation between the length of quotes and the grade.
Here are the quotes that I've pulled from your writing this week:
Robyn E said...
* Though the play was written hundreds of years ago, the development of the plot thus far is profoundly dynamic in its realistic complexity and use of parallelism, with scandals that would arouse even modern culture of today.
Jackie L said...
* Shakespeare brilliantly traps the reader into another world, of tragedy, betray, madness, and revenge.
Jenny E said...
* Therefore in act 1 of Hamlet, three different figures of language has been introduced. Hamlet and his in directive speech, Claudius’ and his persuasive speech and late king Hamlet’s honest form of speech are the three different figures of language.
Taylor S said...
* William Shakespeare is able to use language in the play to expose the feeling the characters are having, and shows the complexity of different character.
Cory K said...
* I find this to be interesting as Shakespeare irony gives us and insight into a hidden message which Hamlet does not know, which builds up dramatic tension and excitement for us as we anticipate Hamlet’s reaction to hearing about the ghost.
Alex R said...
* The most interesting piece about the play is the use of characterization in the play. We can see it in how we are shown King Claudius, the politician, as he easily sweeps into the thrown, how he sounds like he is there to save the country, and how it needs him, and finally, how cocky the King can get.
* We see here in this one scene of his brilliance, how he has the political mind, and is just not another stupid villain that we are used to seeing. We can expect clever things from Claudius in the future, and it proves Hamlet has an interesting villain to complete with.
Stephanie N said...
* Claudius is awarded with the crown, yet cannot did not plan on the responsibilities that he had acquired with the crown.
Ryan L said...
* Throughout the play if you aren’t asking why then you must ask yourself the question, why are you reading the play Hamlet? Many parts in the play need clarification or more information that comes later on in order to connect occurrences. Parts where the reader or audience should be asking why are when Hamlet’s mother tells Hamlet that death is common and he should stop mourning, when the ghost appears in armour to the castle, why is Hamlet taking the events of his life right now so well.
Jenica A said...
* Elizabethan plays leave much to the imagination, with open theatres, sparse costumes, and a lack of sufficient props. It is the tension created in the words that sets the mood and transcends through the limitations of the set.
* This fragment in Scene 2 paints a picture of Claudius being a political beast, able to manipulate a whole congregation of people’s thoughts to fit his desires, all the while being calm and collected in pressure. He is a devious politician, wherein he has to know every detail of his enemies, which are kept close.
* Implicit characterization also allows us to delve in deeper into the thoughts and actions of Hamlet.
* He is greatly affected by the innumerable life-devastating situations that start to occur all at the same time, but remains a sane man. He finds refuge in thinking, and shows his brilliance in the form of his plan for revenge.
* Shakespeare manages to capture the truth of human nature, the lessons learned and the consequences from it, which is why his works transcend through time.
Brittany L said...
* The appearance of the ghost itself is sign of pure disorder, since for a ghost to be present in the first place means that something is definitely not right or as Marcellus puts it: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act 1. 5. 90).
* Also, within the appearance of the ghost lies the disorder brought on by its message that it gives to Hamlet which provokes him into creating more chaos and disorder as a response.
Samantha C said...
* He treats Laertes very differently from Ophelia. It would seem that he had Laertes best interest in hand, but when it comes to Ophelia he is more concerned of the destruction she would cause and has Denmark’s best interests in hand.
* Never have I read a piece of work that had begun with such mayhem and turmoil.
James Y said...
* In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he allows the audience to take a glimpse of how one’s own genius and obligation can result in failure and tragedy.
Linh H said...
* An underlying sense of inevitable calamity is “contracted in one brow of woe” (1.2.4) over the kingdom due to the recent death of King Hamlet. Consequently, citizens yearn for an alternate form of guidance and Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, proposes himself as the solution.
Angela S said...
* As the initial evil in the biblical story was the snake and metaphorically poisoned their minds, the ghost indicates that he was literally poisoned to death.
Zack D said...
* Young Hamlet leaves Act 1 confident in his decision and has made a plan without procrastination. It is now time for him to carry this out but as we all know the conclusion of a tragedy entails a death and downfall of the main character. We are now left off with young Hamlets pledge to set the universe straight saying “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right.” (1.5.195) this is his oath, that he will restore the order to Denmark and avenge his father’s death, but if he will succeed we will soon find out.
David S said...
* It is evident that through Hamlet’s actions that he is in fact a very cautious and brilliant young man and that his uncle/stepfather Claudius is also very cautious but a master mind in terms of how he deals with politics.
Adrian V said...
* The ghost is also critical in the plot because it is important in sparking the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius.
* This also reveals some of Hamlet's character, he is a thinking man; one who does not act spontaneously on emotion.
Fady A said...
* In Conclusion with in the first act of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses characterization to lay out the play. He reveals the conflicts, the un-easiness in Denmark and the false security through out the play. So the play is set up, Shakespeare leaves the audience on the edge of their seats to see what is to happen in the next act.
Caley M said...
* Shakespeare has Hamlet’s character to act so human that its more like he’s not apart of the play acting like characters that are clueless.
* William Shakespeare makes Hamlet a character that’s so dramatic because he’s a character that is too smart for his own good.
* Hamlet’s plan for revenge is so fascinating with prolonging that it boggles your mind because there will be so many things that could go wrong, like fighting time, maybe his insanity takes control over him and Shakespeare has you already know at the end of Act one that Hamlet is going to die.
Katie S said...
* Hamlet speaks of a world in which all aspects of life are empty and meaningless.
Chris F said...
* It is therefore that act one is, for lack of better words, a long question from which many answers stem from.
Paula I said...
* they have vivid human qualities and they become allegories for the importance of finding a balance within yourself and the consequences of not doing so.
* He is also arrogant for being unsatisfied with his former luxurious life, for him it wasn’t good enough, the only thing worthy of him was the crown. It does not belong to him “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown” (1.4.39-40), and it will literally, sit upon his conscience; guilty thoughts devouring him from inside.
* The only way for a person to be alleviated of their conscience would be to come to terms with what has been done, which for Claudius would be disastrous; the murder of your own brother is too much for a man to handle let alone own up to. Claudius can never come to terms with what he’s done because it would destroy him and he would die, so instead his arrogance must continue to sustain him.
* Hamlet doesn’t fear the ghost because, “Why, what should be the fear?/ I do not set my life at a pin’s fee,/ And for my soul, what can it do to that,/ Being a thing immortal as itself?” (1.4.64-67) he values his sprit more than the body. Hamlet transcends his flesh; Shakesphere has managed to give his character what none others have; a soul.
* Not only does Hamlet have a soul, but one that is righteous so that it overflows and reflects in his personality. Hamlet is so righteous that he isn’t able to kill himself, in spite the tremendous amount of pain he feels because he knows it would be cowardly and wrong to take his own life.
* Alas Hamlet’s righteousness is also his tragic flaw (as seen as of Act one), his inability to remain passive when faced with an injustice, will lead to his eminent fall. Righteousness is integrated into his being and he knows so, “O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right.” (1.5.196-197).
* You have to accept who you are; this reminds the audience of the inevitable truth that you can’t escape yourself.
* Hamlet experiencing such a thing makes him real and human and the fact that he is aware of that condition makes him an emotional genius.
* The ability to relate to the characters is essential in tragedy in order for it to affect the reader (pathos)
* If you just allow yourself to be taken by circumstance, then you become the situation around you and since everything is the same, the surrounding environment collapses in on you. That is why you must be different like a pillar, holding up the structure of society, the reasons why things can keep moving forward. If we didn’t have those few people that stand out, nothing would be able to progress there’d be nothing to build on, because everything would be stagnate, because people have all just become the environment around them. By fighting against time for what is right Hamlet strikes many emotions within us, but most of all he becomes a hero because he took on injustice despite knowing the inevitable death he would face (treason). It is important to take note that your actions become you, and that is why he refused to be a bystander, he feels too much righteous anger at the fact that Claudius has everything he has through corruption. Shakespeare is writing about the 21st, yes our century. How many times has a political leader gotten their power through corruption? Frankly, too many to count. But what’s worse about it is that people know “By their oppress’d and fear- surprised eyes” (1.2.203) and sit by unwilling to stand up for justice, because of the fear to be displaced from their own comfort. Hamlet is no fool, he knows that his best option is to act crazy because just like you wouldn’t take an insane person crazy today, neither would the people back in his time. However, Hamlet has to be very careful, because like was mentioned before your actions become you and there’s only so much you can pretend until you’ve convinced even yourself, “It is not, nor it cannot come to good.” (1.2.158) if he doesn’t remember and hold fast to who he truly is. Tragically “This must be so” (1.2.106) because we need to be shocked by Hamlet’s death; no one should have to die fighting for what’s right, in that manner it entices people to open their mind to the things that are going on around them and take action. We have a responsibility to stand up against injustice. There is a fine line between good and evil and the Hamlet struggles to keep the balance, at times flirting with the line, because of all that’s been done to him. Most people avoid evil because they are afraid of their own weakness and therefore being consumed by it “Giving to you no further personal power” (1.2.36) over your actions. The valor in Hamlet’s self sacrifice is that he marched straight forward into evil in order to challenge it, “I’ll speak to it though hell itself should gape/ And bid me hold my peace” (1.2.245-246) casting aside all fear because he knew something was more important. No one was willing to stand up for justice “To reason most absurd” (1.2.103), not even the kings wife, because sadly “best safety lies in fear” (1.3.43). No one else would question what “Seems,” (1.2.76). Claudius on the other hand is the man who gave away his soul, because of his gluttony for power he allows himself to be consumed by evil. How often people today deny reality and attempt to rationalize evil acts because of their arrogance, take Hitler for example or even terrorists. They attempt to justify the unjust. They breed paranoia and give a cause to their sins, but underneath it all, that need to rationalize to keep living in it, is because of the underlying wrong in their actions, and it is merely an attempt to elude that. But of coarse no one wants to accept their wrong, because that would mean coming to terms with your actions. The hardest person to face is yourself, because we know the complete depth, level of willingness and magnitude of our actions weighed. Claudius is an example what happens when someone allows human flaw to take over (his was arrogance). At the same time you still have to beware of his cunning “For they are actions that a man might play” to manipulate you. He represents the evil that is constantly prowling around preying on humanity and if people aren’t rooted in themselves it will “vanish’d from our sight” (1.2.220) our morals. That’s why by allowing an injustice to continue by blending in you merely become the situation around you and thus a part of the evil itself. “That it should come to this!” (1.2.137) is what you have to look out for, to “Give it an understanding but no tongue” (1.2.250) is to aid injustice by allowing it to go on. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. Beware of the cunning of evil, set things right, don’t let injustice continue, you will at least win the battle within yourself. It’s better to fight a system, then to try and conform your morals, lie to yourself, deny your believes and tear your self apart by not doing anything sitting back and not being true to yourself. There is always going to be a raging battle between good and evil which side are you on? Or are you just a pawn? Maybe you won’t be able to win the external battle going on, but internally you can win the war.
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