Hamlet | Act I, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Barnardo, Francisco, and Marcellus: sentinels
Horatio: Hamlet’s close friend and confidante
Ghost: of Hamlet’s father, the former King of Denmark
Summary
Just after the striking of twelve, Francisco is relieved of his watch by Barnardo and Marcellus, who have entreated Horatio to stand with them this night to witness the reappearance of the dead king’s apparition. The Ghost appears and disappears twice but does not speak to the four, who decide to tell Hamlet in the morning. They note that a Ghost often portends grave events, and believe the...
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- Hamlet: Introduction
- William Shakespeare Biography
- Reading Shakespeare
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- Act I, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 5 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
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- Act IV, Scene 6 Summary and Analysis
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- Hamlet's Delay
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- The Character of Ophelia: Why Does She Go Mad?
- To Thine Own Self Be True: An Analysis
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- Minor Characters and the Number Three
- To See or Not to See: Fortinbras in Two Film Productions of Hamlet
- Hamlet and Macbeth: A Comparison
- The Theme of Pretense in Shakespeare's Hamlet
- Analysis of Act Five of Shakespeare's Hamlet
- Character Analysis of Horatio
- Comment on Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" Soliloquy
- Staging for Shakespeare's Hamlet: Act II, Scene ii, Lines 85-221
- The Nature of Hamlet's Character
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- Marcellus, Horatio, Hamlet, and the Ghost by Henry Fuseli
- Hamlet and Ophelia in New Theatre production (1934)
- The Ghost, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus
- Hamlet and Claudius in New Theatre production (1934)
- Horatio, Hamlet, and the Gravedigger in film adaptation (1948)
- Hamlet and Laertes in New Theatre production (1951)
- Illustration: Ghost of Hamlet's Father
- Illustration: Polonius
- Illustration: Ophelia in Act III, Scene i
- Illustration: Ophelia
- Illustration: Hamlet instructs the Players before the performance
- Illustration: Claudius kneels in prayer
- Illustration: Hamlet thrusts his sword through the curtain
- Illustration: The Ghost
- Illustration: Gertrude and Hamlet
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- Illustration: Ophelia goes mad
- Illustration: Hamlet's letter to Horatio
- Illustration: Ophelia's flower garlands
- Illustration: The Clown throws skulls out of the grave
- Illustration: Hamlet holding Yorick's skull
- Illustration: Laertes leaps into the grave
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- Illustration: Claudius in the final scene
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