DRJ - Hamlet Act 1

DRJ - Hamlet, Act 1

In the first act of the play all of the characters remind me of people that I Know! It is surprising to me that characters created in the mind of a play write could reflect very pointed character types through the annals of time. As Solomon said in the Bible, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Hamlet is a typical angsty teenager that reacts to the terrible circumstances that come his way in a short period of time.

Claudius is a man that is more concerned with his own lust for power and prestige that his country. He speaks eloquently and likely won over Gertrude and convinced her to marry him so soon because of this. He is not a likeable character in any way. It is obvious that he intentionally caused the conflict in the story.

The theme that most impressed upon me in this first act was the platform before the castle where the ghost of King Hamlet was seen in two scenes. The imagery of the dark, middle of the night in Scene 1 and then the opening of Scene where Hamlet enters and says, “The air bites shrewdly, it is very cold”. It sets the tone for the frightening experience of seeing the ghost. He is first seen by Bernardo and Marcellus in Scene 1 and then by Hamlet in Scene 4. You can sense the chill of the ghostly figure get drawn into the scene.

Why do you think the ghost came each night about midnight?