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Act I, Scene 2. The next morning, the new king of Denmark, Claudius, addresses his Council, accompanied by his new wife, Gertrude. Claudius—who is Prince Hamlet’s uncle—announces that even ...
Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, 45 Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Thou comest in such a questionable shape. That I will speak to thee. I’ll call thee “Hamlet,”. “King,” “Father,” “royal Dane.”.
A ghost resembling the recently-deceased King of Denmark stalks the ramparts of Elsinore, Denmark’s royal castle, over the course of several nights, setting all the castle’s guardsmen on edge. The terrified sentinels Marcellus, Francisco, and Barnardo convince a skeptical nobleman, Horatio, to watch along with them one night.
Analysis. That night, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus stand on the ramparts of Elsinore in the bitter cold, waiting for the ghost to appear. Sounds of Claudius and his courtiers feasting and drinking merrily echo from inside the castle, and Hamlet tells his friends that Claudius’s constant revelry is “soil [ing]” Denmark’s reputation ...
Analysis. Inside the walls of Elsinore, Claudius —the new king of Denmark—is holding court. With him are his new wife Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and the queen; Hamlet himself; Claudius’s councilor Polonius; Polonius’s children Laertes and Ophelia; and several members of court. Claudius delivers a long monologue in which he laments the ...
Analysis. As Laertes prepares to sail back to France, he bids goodbye to his sister, Ophelia, and warns her not to gamble her “honor” by falling in love with Hamlet —a broody man bound to the will of his country. Laertes condescendingly advises Ophelia to mind her reputation, keep her virginity intact, and stay far away from Hamlet and ...
Summary: Act IV, scene ii. Elsewhere in Elsinore, Hamlet has just finished disposing of Polonius’s body, commenting that the corpse has been “safely stowed” (IV.ii.1). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear and ask what he has done with the body. Hamlet refuses to give them a straight answer, instead saying, “The body is with the king, but ...
