“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy” ( Hamlet , I.v.184-185)
(Here’s my quick and dirty notes from Act I… These are just to help you remember the main points)
I.i
Horatio, a scholar and friend of Hamlet’s is asked to talk to the ghost…
It doesn’t work.
I.ii
The new king, Claudius, is Hamlet’s dad’s brother…translation: Hamlet’s Uncle is now his Step-Father…yikes! This was pretty common at the time, as it was expected that relatives take care of each other…by marrying Gertrude, Claudius is taking her under his wing…
Hamlet is still in mourning for his dad’s death (ln. 1-2)
Enter Fortinbras–> An enemy of the kingdom (17+). Hamlet’s dad once beat Fortinbras’ dad in a war, which allows them to take over some of his land and also demand tribute.
Since the king’s death, Fortinbras has been raising a ruckus over getting his land back…
A possible explanation for the marriage is that it was done to help stabilize the kingdom so they would ‘appear’ to be strong again (18+). Without a king, the kingdom looks ripe for the picking…
Laertes heads for France to go back to school. His dad, Polonius, is in close with the king (47-50) and was there for the coronation.
Claudius declares that Hamlet is now heir to the throne if he kicks off (111). A nice gesture, but it seems Hamlet was originally in line before him to become king…?
Hamlet asks to go back to school like Laertes, but is begged to stay in Denmark (115-118).
Horatio tells Hamlet of the ghost… (201+) Hamlet is interested (to say the least) and decides to watch with them in hopes that the ghost will appear again (257-8).
I.iii
Laertes is leaving for France. We get a great speech from Polonius full of advice… (I.iii.59+)
Polonius also heaps the advice on Ophelia. It comes out in both of these that Polonius is not fond of Hamlet, and he advizes Ophelia to stay away from him. Ophelia says ok.
I.iv
Hamlet is on the watch with his friends…
Claudius has a party at the same time…a strange contrast between the two.
The ghost appears and we have Horatio questioning the ghost’s motives (79+).
I.v
The ghost describes why he is roaming as a spirit and gives the ‘real’ story of his death. ‘Murder, most foul…’ (64+)
