HAMLET ACT I
1. Summary of act 1
In the Elsinore castle of Denmark, an officer named Bernardo came to
relieve his fellow watchman Francisco. Shortly, Bernardo joins with
another watchman Marcellus and Horatio, a friend of Prince Hamlet.
Marcellus and Bernardo urged Horatio to stand with them to see a
ghost that appeared two nights ago in front of them. The spirit
appeared again, and Horatio acknowledges its resemblance to the dead
King Hamlet. Horatio declares that the apparition of the ghost might
foretell a lousy omen to Denmark. The ghost reappeared for a second
time, Horatio tried to communicate with him though, he remained in
silence, and when the cock crows at the hint of dawns immediately
disappeared. They believed that maybe if they brought his beloved son
Hamlet, the ghost would speak to him.
2. Describe the following character:
Hamlet, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King
Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet is
melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle’s scheming
and disgust for his mother’s sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful
young man who has studied at the University of Wittenberg, Hamlet
is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and
impulsive acts.
King Claudius; He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to
Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained
the throne of Denmark by murdering his brother with poison and then
marrying the late king's widow.
Queen Gertrude: is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her
relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her
marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king
(young Hamlet's father, King Hamlet).
Polonius: He is chief counsellor of the play's villain, Claudius, and the
father of Laertes and Ophelia
Leartes: Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia.
In the final scene, he kills Hamlet with a poisoned sword to avenge
the deaths of his father and sister, for which he blamed Hamlet. While
dying of the same poison, he implicates King Claudius.
