Act 1
During Act 1, there are a set of circumstances that allow for the progression for conflicts and this allows the reader to obtain an understanding as to what is going on and why. The play begins in Denmark with two guardsmen who are on duty protecting the castle and they discuss earlier events involving the sighting of a ghost that resembles the deceased King Hamlet. The guards that keep watch outside of the castle witness Hamlet’s father and acknowledge that his presence foreshadows Denmark’s impeding doom and they discuss how Norway is preparing for battle against Denmark in order to gain their land back and to avenge King Fortinbras’s death. After King Hamlet dies, his brother Claudius takes the throne and marries his wife Gertrude …show more content…
King Claudius instructs Hamlet’s schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out what is causing Hamlet’s madness. Gertrude thinks that his madness is because of her recent marriage and King Hamlet’s death, but nevertheless they send them to go spy on him. After Hamlet begins to act crazy, he barges into Ophelia’s room looking disheveled and stares at her in a crazed manner while not letting go of her arm. Ophelia reports the incident to her father and Polonius goes on to tell Claudius that he believes that Hamlet’s madness is cause by Ophelia’s rejection of Hamlet. Hamlet makes several speeches regarding the greatness of man and explains to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he can control his madness but they do not comprehend any of what he is saying because they are not smart enough to understand. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also inform him that the actors are coming into town and Hamlet devises a plan to catch the conscience of the king and figure out whether the intentions of the ghost are evil or not because he does not want to kill Claudius if he is …show more content…
Hamlet is excited that the players are here and requests them to play the Murder of Gonzago and asks the players to memorize some extra lines. Those lines portray how his father, King Hamlet actually dies and he asks Horatio, his friend to observe King Claudius’s reaction during that scene to see if he is guilty or innocent. Claudius and Polonius listen in on a conversation that Hamlet has with Ophelia in which Hamlet is hostile and requests her to go to a nunnery so she does not give birth to any sinners because that is the last thing that the world needs. Hamlet suspects that Ophelia is spying on him and treats her poorly and because of that Claudius does not believe that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia and deduces that his relationship with her is not the cause of his madness. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England out of fear for himself and the kingdom. The King agrees to allow Polonius to listen in on Gertrude and Hamlet’s conversation to hopefully learn more from Hamlet. The play Hamlet has set up is preformed and, when the murder of his father occurs, the King angrily storms out of the play which upholds the ghost’s claim that Claudius is guilty and murdered him in a gruesome an unnatural way. Hamlet pretends not to know that the play offended Claudius and follows his mother’s request to
During Act 1, there are a set of circumstances that allow for the progression for conflicts and this allows the reader to obtain an understanding as to what is going on and why. The play begins in Denmark with two guardsmen who are on duty protecting the castle and they discuss earlier events involving the sighting of a ghost that resembles the deceased King Hamlet. The guards that keep watch outside of the castle witness Hamlet’s father and acknowledge that his presence foreshadows Denmark’s impeding doom and they discuss how Norway is preparing for battle against Denmark in order to gain their land back and to avenge King Fortinbras’s death. After King Hamlet dies, his brother Claudius takes the throne and marries his wife Gertrude …show more content…
King Claudius instructs Hamlet’s schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out what is causing Hamlet’s madness. Gertrude thinks that his madness is because of her recent marriage and King Hamlet’s death, but nevertheless they send them to go spy on him. After Hamlet begins to act crazy, he barges into Ophelia’s room looking disheveled and stares at her in a crazed manner while not letting go of her arm. Ophelia reports the incident to her father and Polonius goes on to tell Claudius that he believes that Hamlet’s madness is cause by Ophelia’s rejection of Hamlet. Hamlet makes several speeches regarding the greatness of man and explains to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he can control his madness but they do not comprehend any of what he is saying because they are not smart enough to understand. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also inform him that the actors are coming into town and Hamlet devises a plan to catch the conscience of the king and figure out whether the intentions of the ghost are evil or not because he does not want to kill Claudius if he is …show more content…
Hamlet is excited that the players are here and requests them to play the Murder of Gonzago and asks the players to memorize some extra lines. Those lines portray how his father, King Hamlet actually dies and he asks Horatio, his friend to observe King Claudius’s reaction during that scene to see if he is guilty or innocent. Claudius and Polonius listen in on a conversation that Hamlet has with Ophelia in which Hamlet is hostile and requests her to go to a nunnery so she does not give birth to any sinners because that is the last thing that the world needs. Hamlet suspects that Ophelia is spying on him and treats her poorly and because of that Claudius does not believe that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia and deduces that his relationship with her is not the cause of his madness. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England out of fear for himself and the kingdom. The King agrees to allow Polonius to listen in on Gertrude and Hamlet’s conversation to hopefully learn more from Hamlet. The play Hamlet has set up is preformed and, when the murder of his father occurs, the King angrily storms out of the play which upholds the ghost’s claim that Claudius is guilty and murdered him in a gruesome an unnatural way. Hamlet pretends not to know that the play offended Claudius and follows his mother’s request to