Hamlet Act 1 Scene 1 Critical Analysis

As I described briefly in the opening to my presentation, there are myriad things in Act 5 of Hamlet of literary import: Hamlet’s interaction with the gravediggers, Yorick’s mini-scene, and the scuffle between Hamlet and Laertes over Ophelia’s grave, to name a few from Act 5, Scene 1. However important these aspects are, they all have somewhat obvious significance to the rest of the play as a whole: The gravedigger and Yorick can be attributed to Hamlet’s questioning of death and human worth, while the Ophelia scene brings into question the power and significance of romantic and brotherly love, from the perspective of the play. However, the presence of Fortinbras in the ending of Hamlet has been something that has thrown me off since I first read the play in high school; so, for my presentation, I began with one main question: Why end Hamlet with a character as small as Fortinbras? I think after discussing with the class, and after my own critical analysis beforehand, I believe I know why Fortinbras …show more content…
Why even include Fortinbras? Why not just end the play, as some directors have done, with the Hamlet/Laertes fight scene? Ultimately, the dissonance of the play hides Fortinbras from the front of an observer’s mind until quite late in the play. I believe that Fortinbras as a subconscious reminder of “imminent doom” is an intriguing idea. Perhaps in the back of my mind I had already acknowledged this importance of Fortinbras, and my brain just wanted to express its knowings in words. Or, perhaps, I was confused by his presence, and needed a discussion to even further develop my perception of Fortinbras as a character. In either case, Fortinbras is an intriguing aspect of Hamlet that can often take a back-seat to the rest of the action in Act 5. I hope the universe is happy that Fortinbras, King of Norway, has had his moment of fame here at