1. What is “rotten in the state of Denmark” as Mercellus tells us? What do we learn about the situation in Scene I? Scene II?
This means that the current political state of Denmark is a little bit fishy and not quite good. We learn that Horatio believes a war is coming to Denmark from Norway. We then learn that Hamlet is unhappy with the state of the country.
2. In what ways is Scene II a contrast to Scene I? What do we learn about Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet in this scene?
Scene I talks more about political backstory and briefly introduces a couple characters while Scene II introduces more characters and focuses on their backstories rather than the state of the country. We learn that Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle, who married his
This means that the current political state of Denmark is a little bit fishy and not quite good. We learn that Horatio believes a war is coming to Denmark from Norway. We then learn that Hamlet is unhappy with the state of the country.
2. In what ways is Scene II a contrast to Scene I? What do we learn about Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet in this scene?
Scene I talks more about political backstory and briefly introduces a couple characters while Scene II introduces more characters and focuses on their backstories rather than the state of the country. We learn that Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle, who married his