ipl-logo

How Does Shakespeare Create Tension In Act 1 Scene 5 Of Hamlet

669 Words3 Pages

Essay Hamlet Act I Scene 5

The play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare and inspired by the Danish tale of Saxo Grammaticus, deals with Prince Hamlet’s quest to take revenge for his father, King Hamlet, on his uncle Claudius, the presumed murderer who has taken his mother Gertrude as his wife. In the scene, the guards named Bernardo, Francisco and Marcellus and Horatio, Hamlet’s best friend, are confronted by the vision of King Hamlet’s ghost and decided to tell Prince Hamlet about it. In this essay, I will concentrate on how Shakespeare in act 1 scene 1 foreshadowed the rest of the play due to different elements marking the eerie atmosphere and words linked with senses showing the confusion of the characters and explaining …show more content…

Indeed Shakespeare uses a topsy-turvy style of writing by starting the play at night and finishing it in the morning, for example: “Bernardo Last night of all, (...) Marcellus and myself, The bell then beating one”. The time in the play is reversed which explains why the play is confusing and is doomed from the beginning. It demonstrates the eerie feel of the play because it represents the night and death. Francisco says he is "sick at heart" which prefigures the tension of the ensuing tragedy. Also, the readers anticipate the tragedy because of the appearance of the crows which creates a death like atmosphere. It forebodes the fact that all the characters will perish in a tragic end. The crows symbolize death. A gloomy and cold atmosphere is set from the start of the play such as said in line 7 “Tis bitter …show more content…

The first sense we discover is hearing, indeed in the Act 1 scene 1 Shakespeare makes many references to hearing because Claudius killed the king by putting poison in his ear.”And let us once again assail your ears”. This indicates Hamlet wanting to avenge his father’s death and giving implicit proof of the king’s death. The second sense found in Shakespeare’s text is that of sight. We can make a link with sight because someone witnessed the horrible King’s murder. Continuously, at the end of Act 1 Scene 1, the ghost repeats the word “speak” thus allowing us to think that the ghost wants to make the witness speak the truth about his murder. Shakespeare may have used a pun on the word senses telling us that the play doesn't make sense. Confusion and information on the story were made thanks to all these elements, it highlights big parts of Hamlet’s

Show More
Related
1850 Words | 8 Pages

Act 1, Scene 1: “Let us impart what we have seen tonight Unto young Hamlet, for, upon my life, This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him” (Crowther 16). I think this quote really sets up things for the next act, and the rest of the play. The ghost would not talk to them, so they decided to tell Hamlet about the ghost because they felt it would talk to him. This sets up Hamlet to discover the ghost who is his late father, and learn about his murder. Act 1, Scene 2: “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly” (Crowther 24).

Read More
291 Words | 2 Pages

Many playwrights begin with conveying introductions to captivate the audience with, suspens, depth, drama etc; this keeps the audience intrigued throughout the play using different styles of playwriting events, from beginning till end. In Hamlet scene 1 act 1, the play begins with a suspenseful dialogue exchanged between two characters, Francisco, gets startled by a sound as, Bernardo, then comes in. The two see a ghost figure much like the king who died, putting them in a fear, Bernardo, tries to communicate with the ghost, but doesn't reply, having a conversation about who might the ghost be, why it keeps appearing, and how to communicate with this ghost. In this play stageability was used as the dialogue, allowing the script to be written

Read More
321 Words | 2 Pages

Canto XXXIII was very sad and tragic. Some of the themes were revenge, betrayal, and food. Ruggieri, an archbishop was betrayed by Count Ugolino. Ugolino betrayed his country and was forced out. To get revenge, Ruggieri persuaded the Pisans to go against Ugolino and lead him to a trap.

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.” 2) The soliloquies that Hamlet provides over the sequence of the entire play allows us to distinguish what Hamlet was thinking about and display how he was losing his sanity.

Read More
829 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet 's encounter with the ghost makes him decide what his plan is and how his father wants him to avenge his death by killing king claudius. The audience nor the readers of the play really understand what is going on inside hamlets mind. He could have possibly already thought about how he was gonna deceive everyone so that he would be able to carry out his plan. The death of hamlet’s father was really hard on hamlet for he was the only one who actually cared and loved Villezcas 2 his father. Gertrude and everyone else did not care for the sudden death of hamlet 's father.

Read More
1071 Words | 5 Pages

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish. Hamlet’s grief is apparent to the audience, as he begins lamenting about the uselessness of life.

Read More
652 Words | 3 Pages

Emphasizing on this, Hamlet is saying that he'll have the players play something of what the Ghost claimed about pouring poison in his ear "like the murder of my father" and then he'll observe his reaction for any signs of suspicions. If Claudius does indeed react in an apprehensive manner then Hamlet will know that he can trust the Ghost's words, otherwise he'll stay hesitant of doing

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

Through the events of nefarious actions and deaths in Hamlet, Shakespeare argues how greedy human nature can lead to the tragedy of betrayals. To begin, in Act 1 of Hamlet, the audience is introduced to a ghost that reveals that

Read More
2024 Words | 9 Pages

In Hamlet, William Shakespeare creates a character that we both pity and appreciate who also is aware of his flaw, but is unable to overcome it because of his own uncertainty which results in his demise. The play begins with the siting of the Late King Hamlet of Denmark’s ghost to the night watchmen. They decide they should bring Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark to see it for himself. Hamlet has just returned to court and is stricken with grief because of the death of his father, astonishment and disgust at the soon after wedding of his Mother to his uncle, now the King of Denmark.

Read More
169 Words | 1 Pages

Act 1, Scene 1 introduced Marcellus and Bernardo who are guards for the Danish King who have encounter a ghost twice. They seek Horatio who believe they are hallucinating an there's no such thing as a ghost. He agrees to joined them on their guard duty so he can see the ghost for himself. When the clock strikes twelve the ghost appears and they all cannot believe how much it looks like their dead king Hamlet. Marcellus and Bernardo encourage Horatio to speak to the ghost,but the ghost disappears.

Read More
873 Words | 4 Pages

When Hamlet meets with the ghost King Hamlet in the opening scene, he realizes that his father is murdered by Claudius. From Act I scene 5, the ghost King Hamlet is asking Hamlet to seek for revenge, “So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear” (1.5.12). By knowing this, Hamlet starts the revenge for his father and sets the tone of the entire play where death, revenge, murder, and suicide become the symbols of the whole play, and leads to the deaths of almost all the characters, including Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet himself. Also, because of his father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage with Claudius, Hamlet has the idea of committing suicide. From Act I scene 2, "O, that this too sullied flesh would melt,Thaw, and resolve itself to dew" (1.2.133-134).

Read More
1084 Words | 5 Pages

The Ghost, or the former King of Denmark, is arguably the most important character in Shakespeare ’s play Hamlet. While he is not necessarily the most prominent, such as the Prince Hamlet, his presence creates the entire plot of the play: young Hamlet’s tragic downfall. There is no questioning the fact that without the King’s death, there would be no play. He is the source of all drama and anguish, tension and distrust; every character death and every dispute serve as a dramatic effect of the King’s mysterious death.

Read More
983 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet is one of the most memorable Shakespearean plays due to the focus on a young prince`s struggle with obeying the ghostly figure that we witness briefly on stage. The ghost is certainly an important figure in shaping the outcome of this revenge tragedy. Thus, we must ponder what is the ghost and how it can be interpreted in a plethora of ways. It is arguably seen as the spirit of Hamlet`s father, a figment of his imagination and being Shakespeare himself. Therefore, this essay will examine these potential answers to the question.

Read More
810 Words | 4 Pages

The ghost of Old Hamlet fuels “Hamlet” as gasoline fuels a car. The importance of the death of Old Hamlet appears evident, for it receives recognition in the first scene of “Hamlet.” The Ghost also appears in the first scene, but his actions remain limited throughout the play. Even though he owns a limited role, the Ghost makes a major impact on “Hamlet” through several ways. Furthermore, without the Ghost, no action would take place in the play.

Read More
1675 Words | 7 Pages

The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius.

Read More

More about How Does Shakespeare Create Tension In Act 1 Scene 5 Of Hamlet

Related Topics

Open Document