The Hamlet Site: Act I Summary

Objective for this Page: To summarize act I and to encourage analysis of key passages.

In scene 1, the ghost of the late king, Hamlet's father, appears to Hamlet's friends during the night watch at the castle. [The opening of the movie is the state funeral for Hamlet's father, which Hamlet gets to attend.]

In scene 2 (play and movie), Claudius is the proud groom. He is also urgently trying to solidify his power as king (in the play) so that his cousin, Fortinbras, will not succeed in his desire to reclaim land lost to the previous king by his father, who was killed in the battle. [The movie shifts to Hamlet's study] Claudius and Gertrude try to cheer Hamlet out of his gloom, but he says it's grief. Gertrude convinces Hamlet to stay in Denmark and not go back to college, although Laertes, son of Polonius, the Chancellor {like a prime minister or chief of staff}, is allowed to return to his studies at the University of Paris.

Hamlet's Emotions in the First Soliloquy Presage Ill

typehand.gif (8738 bytes) Posting Option #18: Note in his first soliloquy (speech alone--when truest sentiments are spoken) in I, ii, 129- 159, that Hamlet already seems suicidal. Besides depression, what other emotions does Hamlet run through during this brief speech--and how do his reasons prepare him to hear his father's ghost in I, iv? (Reminder: Clicking on the "posting option" label opens the forum on Hamlet where you can leave your answer for others to see and comment on--and where you can see previous students' answers to these questions.

(Click here for a hint on re-opening a word processor.)

In scene 3, Laertes gives his sister some parting advice: Don't trust Hamlet's intentions because he isn't free to marry whomever he pleases. Polonius gives some courtly advice to his departing son, then echoes Laertes' sentiments to protect his daughter from getting hurt.

Living Like a Courtier

typehand.gif (8738 bytes) Posting Option #19: What is the gist of Polonius' advice to his son? Since Polonius is sort of the chief of the royal court, his advice is most relevant to getting along in that environment. To what extent does Hamlet seem to live by these same principles in order to plot against Claudius? That is, to what extent does Polonius' advice to his son, Laertes, foreshadow the way Hamlet and Claudius will contend with each other? (Also notice that Polonius's assumptions about intrigues and courtly plots allows Hamlet to trick Polonius into believing he is love-struck and to guess correctly that Polonius is eavesdropping on Hamlet's confrontation with Ophelia.)

In scenes 4 & 5, Hamlet gets his (divine?) mission from the ghost, after learning that Claudius poured poison in his father's ear while the old king napped in the garden. (This is the way the act gets staged later in Hamlet's slight revision of The Murder of Gonzago, which he calls "The Mouse Trap" to get Claudius to confirm his guilt.) Hamlet reveals to Horatio that he is going to seem crazy for a while, apparently in order to gather intelligence on Claudius and wait for his opportunity.

Are the Hamlets Evil or Just?

typehand.gif (8738 bytes) Posting Option #20: Would Hamlet have any reason to suspect that this ghost was not really his father but instead some devil trying to trick him into killing Claudius in order to ruin Hamlet? In the end does Hamlet wind up looking like an assassin or does he kill Claudius at a time when it looks like justice?