Act 1, scene 1 of Hamlet starts off fast and immediately pulls the reader into the unstable state of Denmark and castle Elsinore: Norway is amassing a sizable army, king Old Hamlet has recently died and his brother married the queen to take the throne, and there are suggestions of guards encountering a ghost on duty. The purpose of this scene is to introduce as much backstory as possible, and catch the interest of the audience - and Shakespeare pulls off this combination perfectly. Hamlet instills the uneasy tone of the play using the paranoia of the guards. The guards' anxiety shows in lines like "Who's there?", "..stand and unfold yourself", and "You come most carefully upon your hour". If the brave soldiers who guard the castle are jumpy, then there is something to be worried about. The high point in scene I is undoubtly the point where the ghost of Old Hamlet reveals itself to the guards "..look, where it comes again!", "In the same figure like the king that's dead.". The ghost simply appears and does not respond to attempts of communication from the guards - and then vanishes. This creates a great deal of mystery surrounding deceased Old Hamlet and the castle Elsinore. I personally found the first line the most intriguing "Who's there?". I may be looking too deep into the line - but it could be argued that Shakespeare chose this as the first line to set an underlying theme. I am somewhat familiar with the play, and the question of "Who's there?" seems to become very prevalent for the duration of Hamlet. Hamlet is a story where everybody seems to be unsure about everybody else. Shakespeare's Hamlet is filled with lies, secret rooms, hidden spies, and one-way glass doors.
- Tyler Scott
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