Hamlet
I, i
• Bernardo and Francisco are on
watch.
• Francisco relieves Bernardo
• Marcellus has asked Horatio
(Hamlet’s best friend) to come on
watch so that he might see the
“sight”
• Horatio sees the ghost and tries to
get the ghost to talk.
• Some think that the ghost looks
like the dead King Hamlet
• Horatio introduces the sub-plot of
Fortinbras of Norway.
• Wants revenge because
(dead)King Hamlet took land from
his dad.
• The ghost returns.
Horatio says:
“If thou art privy to thy country’s fate,
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
O, speak!”
I, i 146-146 (page 16)
• The cock crows to signify a new
day and the ghost leaves.
• Marcellus asks if he should stop
the ghost with his spear, but
before he can, the ghost is gone.
• Horatio has decided to tell Hamlet
about the ghost because he thinks
the ghost will speak to Hamlet.
I, ii
• Claudius (the new king of
Denmark) is addressing council
meeting.
Claudius announces the following:
1. His recent marriage to Gertrude
2. Prince Fortinbras assumes
Denmark is vulnerable now that
King Hamlet is dead and wants
the land his father lost to Denmark
back.
3. Claudius wrote a letter to
Fortinbras’ elderly, ailing uncle to
put a stop to the young man’s
military activities. Voltimand and
Cornelius are to deliver the letter.
• Laertes (Polonius’ son) requests
permission to return to France. He
returned to Denmark for Claudius’
coronation but now wants to
France. Claudius grants
permission.
• King and Queen are telling Hamlet
not to be so sad (about King
Hamlet’s death) and to get on with
his life
• Hamlet is upset by this.
• Claudius tells Hamlet that
everyone must die—natural way
of life.
• Claudius tells Hamlet it is stubborn
and unmanly to keep a hold of his
grief. He asks him to stay in
Denmark and not go back to school in
Wittenberg (school).
• Hamlet says he will obey.
Hamlet’s First Soliloquy: I, ii, 131-161
1. He is definitely angry at Gertrude for
marrying Claudius when King
Hamlet has only been dead 2
months.
2. He says that King Hamlet and
Gertrude were devoted to one
another.
3. He says it is not her fault because
women are weak.
“Frailty, thy name is woman.”
I, ii, 148 (page 30)
4. Hamlet thinks of the marriage as
incestuous and that nothing good
can come of it.
5. Hamlet has resolved to do nothing at
this time.
• Horatio and Marcellus enter and tell
Hamlet about the ghost.
• Hamlet is going to go on watch to
see for himself it the ghost is the
ghost of his father.
• Hamlet tells them not to tell
anyone about this.
• Hamlet suspects that something
is not right.
Act I, iii
• In this scene we are introduced to
Polonius’ family.
• Laertes is giving his sister,
Ophelia, a bit of advice about
Hamlet before he departs for
France.
• Laertes is telling Ophelia that
Hamlet’s interest in Ophelia
might not be long lasting and that
she should be weary of it.
• He also reminds her that Hamlet
is of a higher social class and
doesn’t make his own decisions.
• He is telling Ophelia to be chaste
Do not dishonor yourself by giving
away your virginity to someone
who is not serious about you.
• Because they are of different social
classes, Laertes thinks Hamlet is
just using Ophelia for sex.
• Ophelia says she will take his
advice to heart, but she also tells
him not to be a hypocrite because
he’s telling her not to do things
that he does while away at school.
• Laertes mistrusts Hamlet.
• It will come out later in the play,
but there is a rivalry between
Laertes and Hamlet.
• Polonius enters and gives Laertes
some fatherly advice about
returning to France:
• Choose friends wisely
• Be kind to everyone
• Don’t cause conflicts
• Be a good listener
• Wear the best outfits you have
because some people judge by
outward appearance.
• Don’t borrow or lend money
• Be true to yourself.
• Polonius to Laertes:
“Neither a borrower nor a lender
be;/ For loan oft loses both itself and
friend,/And borrowing dulls the
edge of husbandry.”
I, iii, 79-81
• Polonius to Laertes:
“This above all: to thine own self be
true,/And it must follow, as the
night the day,/Thou canst not then
be false to any man.”
I, iii, 82-84
• Polonius is angry with Ophelia
because he has heard that Ophelia
has been spending lots of private
time with Hamlet.
• Polonius doesn’t want Ophelia to
dishonor him in any way.
• Ophelia says that Hamlet has
declared his love to her.
• Polonius says that she should not
believe him and that his intentions
toward her are not honorable.
• Polonius forbids Ophelia to see
Hamlet.
• Ophelia reluctantly obeys.
I, iv
• Hamlet is on watch with Horatio
and Marcellus.
• Hamlet tells the others that
Claudius is up drinking and
partying which makes Denmark
look badly to other countries.
• The ghost appears but will not say
anything.
• Hamlet questions the origin of the
ghost: is the ghost sent from
heaven or hell.
• The ghost wants Hamlet to follow
him. He won’t speak to Hamlet
unless he follows him.
• Horatio doesn’t think this is a
good idea, but Hamlet goes
anyway.
I, iv, 99
Marcellus about the ghost.
“Something is rotten in the state of
Denmark.”
I, v
• The ghost tells Hamlet that he will
be ready for revenge after he hears
his story.
• He tells Hamlet that he is his
father’s ghost and that he is
destined for an afterlife in
purgatory until the sins of his life
are forgiven.
• The ghost tells Hamlet that he was
murdered.
• The people of Denmark think that
he died from a snake bite while he
was resting in the garden.
• The ghost says that he was
murdered by Claudius.
• “But know, thou noble youth,/The
serpent that did sting thy father’s
life/Now wears his crown.”
I, v, 43-45
Ghost to Hamlet
• Claudius killed King Hamlet by
pouring poison in his ear as he
slept in the garden.
• He died without confessing sins.
He died without forgiveness,
therefore he is a ghost.
• King Hamlet tells Hamlet not to
punish Gertrude. Heaven will do
that.
• Hamlet makes Marcellus and
Horatio swear to never speak of
what they saw.
• Hamlet devises a plan to pretend
he is insane so that Claudius won’t
suspect that Hamlet is a threat to
him.
• Horatio knows of this plan.