Hamlet Group

Question:


finalstudent
Student
College - Freshman

What is the mood at the opening of "Hamlet"?

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Posted by finalstudent on Friday January 26, 2007 at 11:27 AM and tagged with act 1, hamlet, mood, plot.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    In one word? Tense.

    In a few more words? Scared out of their minds. These are experienced guards who have seen battle. They know what to do with physical danger. However, a ghost has been appearing. This period was much more intensely Christian than modern times, and believed more intensely in ghosts and the supernatural in general. A ghost was both a serious threat and a sign that something was wrong.

    Greg

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/29207

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    Posted by gbeatty on Sunday February 25, 2007 at 9:09 AM

  2. reidalot
    reidalot Teacher
    College - Freshman

    The mood at the opening of Hamlet is one of suspicion set in place by the motif of watching. The Sentinels wait for the Ghost of King Hamlet to reappear and their worst suspicions will be realized - that foul play is indeed afoot. Shakespeare uses the opening scene to underscore the continuing suspicions of young Hamlet concerning his father's murder intertwined with the motif that nothing or no one will be able to go 'unwatched' in Hamlet's "prison-house" world. Hamlet watches Claudius and Gertrude, and Polonious has spies upon his son and is murdered watching Gertrude and Hamlet. Hamlet employs players to watch Claudius watching a play to uncover his guilt, and all seems to be put into motion because of the Ghost in the opening scene.

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    Posted by reidalot on Wednesday May 21, 2008 at 7:28 AM

  3. revolution
    revolution Teacher
    Doctorate

    It was very scary and frightening as the guards who are experience in war and danger had seen an ghost apparition and dark forces appearing in the castle.

    Ghost had long believed to be the agents of the afterlife and could have represented the Devil, which instill fear into people.

    The dead king's armor on the Ghosts tells us that a soldier could have rise up from the dead to complete a task that wasn't finished or an omen for a country to await their doom.

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    Posted by revolution on Monday July 20, 2009 at 7:31 AM