Hamlet Act 1 Analysis

Act 1 starts with a scene outside of the castle walls during midnight where two soldiers, Marcellus and Bernardo, explaining to their friend Horatio, how they saw King Hamlet’s ghost silently wandering at midnight. After the ghost again appears, Horatio discusses how Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, is rumored to plan to invade Denmark to try to reclaim the land his father lost in a duel. The guards then decide to warn Hamlet, the princce of Denmark, about the apparition. In the next scene, Claudius, the new King and the brother of the late King Hamlet, addresses his court, with Hamlet and Gertrude, Claudius’ new wife and the late kings ex-wife, at his side. He addresses his new marriage to Gertrude, glazing over the late King Hamlet’s death,

Everyone except for Hamlet leaves, and Hamlet gives his first soliloquy where he verbally attacks Gertrude and Claudius’ incestuous marriage and laments over his father’s death. Then, Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio go to tell Hamlet how they saw his father’s ghost. The next scene shows Laertes, Polonius’ son, saying farewell to his sister, Ophelia, and giving her relationship advice: Hamlet does not truly love you and is too busy to do so. Polonius then arrives to give Laertes advice before Laertes leaves, along with giving Ophelia further advice on her relationship with Hamlet. The next scene shows Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus trying to find the ghost at midnight. After the ghost draws Hamlet away to talk to him alone, it explains to Hamlet how his father was not bitten by a snake, but rather murdered by

He instructs him to do so surreptitiously and to gain inside information on Laertes' conduct. After Reynaldo is sent off, Ophelia explains how Hamlet’s behavior is starting to scare her, and informs Polonius that she followed his previous orders of not contacting Hamlet. Polonius then comes to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad, not because of grief, but rather because he is deeply in love with Ophelia. In the next scene, Claudius takes matters into his own hands and tasks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two scholars and friends of Hamlet, with finding out why Hamlet seems to have gone mad. Polonius then rushes in to inform Claudius of how Fortinbras’ uncle stopped Fortinbras’ planned invasion, and instead convinced him to invade Poland and merely request access to march through Denmark. Polonius then tells Claudius how he thinks the source of Hamlet’s madness is Ophelia’s rejection, and suggests that Ophelia talk with Hamlet one on one, while either Polonius or Claudius spies on them. Hamlet then walks in reading a book, and Polonius goes to talk to him, over-interpreting every word as Hamlet mocks and plays with him. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern walk in after Polonius leaves, to go chat with Hamlet. Hamlet soon figures out that they are sent by the King, and so Rosencrantz changes the topic to a group of actors that passed through. Hamlet then decides to request from the players a special