Hire's Hamlet Log 1:1

Act 1, scene 1

Summary: Basically, we get that Old King Hamlet (of Denmark) is dead for some reason. His ghost is wandering around at 1 am every night and freaking out the 4 guards. We also learn that the king of Norway (Fortinbras) dared old King Hamlet to fight him for some land. Old Ham killed him and therefore won the land and now Fortinbras’s hot-headed son (also Fortinbras) is going to try and take back his land. Everyone agrees that that this ghost is probably an omen for something bad to come.


Horatio: If thou art privy to thy country’s fate
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
O, speak!
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of the earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death,
Speak of it.

I think that this line is important because it is foreshadowing some impending doom on Denmark and/or its people. Horatio is such a freaked out character and he’s pleading with the ghost to tell them what he wants. He is hinting at the fact that the reason the king is a ghost is because he wants to tell someone something: “uphoarded in thy life.” (because that’s usually one of the reasons why ghosts walk the earth. The fact that the ghost is just about to say something and then the cock crows leaves the audience wondering and wanting more. Why won’t the ghost just talk to them? Is he waiting to talk to his son, Hamlet? Also…I’ll connect this to a snipit of dialogue later on in Act 1:2, lines 240ish…and on. The ghost king wore his facemask helmet thing up…so that his face was clearly visible to these men. He was more sad looking than angry…despite his warlike garb. Hamlet says “my father’s spirit – in arms! All is not well” the dash suggests an emphasis on the armor and that his costume is even more disturbing than the fact that the dead king is even wandering the earth. An interesting observation. Seems normal to Hamlet that his dad has come back…but unnatural to dress for war? Then he says “I doubt some foul play” Which really means that he doubts that there wasn’t any foul play…but it’s all because of the armor…more than just the ghost.


Horatio stands out to me. He is an interesting and pivotal character…he sticks around till the end of the play. (the bitter end…) He is the one who is most scared of the ghost (pale white, trembling). And he’s the one who knows the most about the political aspects of the state (tells the story of Old King Hamlet and Fortinbras. The other three are employed by the king/the state and they bring Horatio along because he has a friendship with Hamlet. (They went to school together…Whittenberg). Compare Horatio’s speech with these men to when he speaks freely with Hamlet…later in scene 2. Hmmmmmmm.