1. Hamlet, Act I
By: Elizabeth Hong, Zabrina Calahatian, Aiden Woodside, Nicholas Doan, Kelly Collings, Savannah Kuchar, Keyonna Anderson

2. Character Introductions
(in order of appearance)

3. Barnardo
Barnardo is first introduced in the play as a night guard, or soldier, starting his shift at midnight.
Along with Marcellus, he has been seeing a ghost that resembles the late King of Denmark, or Old Hamlet.
He speaks about this apparition to Horatio, who is skeptic of his and Marcellus's claims and believes it is all in their head. 
Along with Marcellus and Horatio, he sees the ghost later on in the night and tries to talk to it.

4. Francisco Francisco is another guard/soldier at Elsinore Castle.
Barnardo is the soldier who takes over Franciso's night watch shift at midnight in the beginning of the play.
He does not see the ghost because his shift ends before the spirit appears

5. Horatio Hamlet's best friend from college A well-educated scholar
Much more reasonable in comparison to Hamlet's rash nature
Cares greatly for Hamlet and tries to keep him out of trouble

6. Marcellus He is a guard keeping watch outside the castle
He and Bernardo are the first to see the ghost around the castle
Marcellus is among the men who convince Hamlet to see the ghost of his father 
He is the guard who brings along Horatio, a skeptic, to prove that the ghost is real

7. King Claudius He is the brother of Dead King Hamlet
Claudius is now the husband of Hamlets mother –Gertrude
They rush the marriage right after the death of the king
Tries to encourage Hamlet not to dwell on the death and move on
Accused by Hamlet of killing his brother to receive the throne

8. Cornelius and Voltemand
Introduced during Act 1 Scene 2
The King sends these two individuals as Danish ambassadors
The King believes the King of Norway, uncle to Fortinbras, is bedridden and impotent
As the result, the King believes Fortinbras may be plotting to take back the lost lands from the previous wars behind his uncle’s back or without his attention due to the recent lost of Hamlet’s father, the previous Danish King.
The goal of these two ambassadors is to meet with the present King of Norway in order to deliver Claudius’ letter that tells the King of Norway to suppress possible conflict created by Fortinbras with Denmark

9. Laertes Son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia
Goes off to France after receiving permission from King Claudius and Polonius
Advises Ophelia to not fall for Hamlet's flirtations
Believes that Hamlet's duty and responsibilities will keep him from loving Ophelia properly

10. Polonius—comic relief
He is first introduced in scene 2
Father of Ophelia and Laertes
Supports his son more than his daughter
Gave son advice while putting restraints on daughter
Part of kings court

11. Hamlet The Prince of Denmark – Son of Queen Gertrude
Received word while in college his father passed away
Believes Claudius (his uncle) has something to do with the death of his father
His love interest is Ophelia – though she is told not to take interest
Feels like he has been cheated since he doesn’t receive the throne

12. Queen Gertrude 
Mother of Hamlet, wife of Claudius (her previous brother in law)
Marries brother in law very soon after husband's death
Hamlets anger is directed at Claudius but he does not trust his mother
The queen seems to want what is best for Hamlet

13. Ophelia She is introduced in scene 3
She is the sister of Laertes and the daughter of Polonius 
And she is Hamlet’s love interest, according to her
She is warned by both of her family members to not trust Hamlet’s affection

14. Ghost
Ghost is first introduced to the play by suddenly appearing in front of Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio.
The ghost is the spitting image of the dead king of Denmark – dressed in the clothes of when he went to battle.
Doesn’t really like to talk, unless you’re my son
For a ghost I spook pretty easily
 I’m stuck in purgatory until someone takes revenge on my murderer that unjustly killed me and wooed my wife.

15. Setting
Denmark
Takes place within the royal palace, called Elsinore Castle
Some areas within the castle include Polonius's rooms in Scene 3 and the battlements in Scene 4 and 5
Time period is never stated, but roughly around the medieval period

16. Scene 1 - Summary
Barnardo, a soldier, relieves Francisco, another soldier, of his watch duty at Elsinore Castle in Denamark at midnight.
Marcellus, another guard, and Horatio, Prince Hamlet's friend, meet up with Barnardo.
Barnardo and Marcellus tell Horatio about a ghost they have been seeing that resembles the deceased King Hamlet, but Horatio believes that it is purely their imagination.
The ghost appears, disappears, and reappears again in front of the three men, confirming the soldiers' claims. Horatio agrees that it does resemble Old Hamlet.
The men attempt to speak to the apparition and even try to provoke it to get it to talk, but the ghost remains silent and then disappears when the cock crows.
At the end of the scene, Horatio suggests they tell the young Prince Hamlet about the ghost. 

17. Scene 1 Study Questions
1. The soldiers speak of a ghost that walks around the castle grounds during the late hours of the night, thus creating suspense. 2. It is presumable that the apparition the soldiers have been seeing at night is the ghost of the recently deceased King Hamlet. 3. Because Horatio is both a scholar and skeptic of the ghost situation, he was asked to join the soldiers in the night watch. He then decides to tell Prince Hamlet about it. 4. The audience knows this ghost is not a hallucination because everyone, Barnardo, Francisco, and Horatio can see it clearly.

18. Scene 2 - Summary
Claudius says that it's time to move on from the late king's death, which is his explanation for marrying Gertrude
Cornelius and Voltemand are sent to give the King of Norway a message
King Claudius allows Laertes to leave to study in France
Hamlet is still grieving for the recent passing of his father and feels betrayed by how fast his mother moved on
Claudius asks Hamlet to stay in Denmark and to think of him as his father from now on
Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet about the ghost that resembled his father
Hamlet asks to tag along on their next shift to see for himself

19. Scene 2 Study Questions
5. The current King Claudius married his former sister-in-law and the late King Hamlet's wife, Gertrude. Fortinbras is also pressuring Claudius to give back the land his father lost to King Hamlet. 6. Despite his brother's recent passing, Claudius quickly marries Gertrude and celebrates their wedding during the mourning period for King Hamlet. 7. Claudius claims that he would do anything that Laertes asked for and immediately gives his blessing for Laertes to go to France after confirming that Polonius is on board. However, Claudius refuses to allow Hamlet to go to Wittenberg and urges him to stay in Denmark. 8. At the time that Hamlet takes place, Denmark elected the next king instead of going down the hereditary line of succession. Claudius was able to become king instead of Hamlet with Gertrude's support and Hamlet still stuck in a grieving period for his father. 9. As the son of the late king and nephew of the current king, Hamlet is standing apart from the others. Claudius and Gertrude question why Hamlet is so down, to which he replies that he's still grieving for his father.

20. Scene 2 Study Questions
10. Claudius wants Hamlet to stay in Denmark so he can keep an eye on him and so Hamlet cannot take his throne. 11. Hamlet wishes for death because everything in the world seems impure and despicable to him now that his father is dead and he sees how quickly his mother moved on, despite the love and care that his father provided for her. 12. The greatest offense to Hamlet is how quickly Gertrude moved on from King Hamlet and the fact that she remarried his uncle, which is incestuous and sinful in his eyes. 13. Hamlet describes Denmark as an unweeded garden, which emphasizes his view that the world around him is rotten and undesirable now. 14. Claudius is in Denmark in order to take over the position of king, while Laertes was temporarily in Denmark to attend his coronation before returning to France.

21. Scene 3- Summary Laertes is about to depart for France
Laertes warns his sister Ophelia about the nature of Hamlet's affection for her and potentially their foreseeable future 
Polonius comes to see his son Laertes off the second time and gives words of wisdom to both his son and daughter
Polonius also warns Ophelia about her love for Hamlet
Ophelia replies to her father saying she will obey and heed to his advice similar to Laertes'

22. Scene 3 Study Questions
15. They both warn Ophelia that Hamlet is at the prime of his youth and his prone to poor decisions and that he may no longer love Ophelia in the future due to his responsibilities as a member of the royal family. Yet, Laertes warns Ophelia that Hamlet's will may not be his own due to his royal obligations. However, Polonius warns Ophelia that Hamlet possess a larger tether than her, meaning that he has more room to behave and act, and he believes that Hamlet's vows are untrustworthy. 16. Polonius serves a comic device as he criticizes Laertes for not leaving for France sooner but proceeds to bless him the second time for his voyage and give a long winded speech about becoming a proper man for Laertes. Although he agrees with Laertes' sentiment about Hamlet's love for Ophelia, he instead states that Hamlet possess more room to do whatever he pleases while Laertes mentions that Hamlet is bound to his royal duties rather. Polonius may be acting out of fatherly protection when he hears his daughter Ophelia is getting more affectionate with Hamlet.

23. Scene 4- Summary
The Prince disapproves the kings tendency to drink because of wanting to preserve reputation.
The ghost arrives in front of the men
Hamlet recognizes the ghost to be his father
Hamlet attempts to communicate with the ghost
The ghost gestures at hamlet to follow him so he does, even though Horatio and Marcellus warn him not to

24. Scene 4 Study questions
17. He told Hamlet a secret about how he died which made him completely obsessed with seeking revenge. 18. He is referring to Hamlet following the ghost once beckoned and saying how there is something wrong with the situation.

25. Scene 5- Summary
This act is the first instance in the play where the ghost has a speaking role.
Within this act, this ghost reveals his identity to be that of Hamlet’s father, who is now in purgatory
He hints to Hamlet of the troubles of purgatory
The ghost of Hamlet’s father will remain in purgatory until his wrongful murder is avenged and Hamlet’s uncle is murdered.

26. Scene 5 Study questions
19. The ghost of Hamlet's father walks the Earth only at night, but during the day he is confined to purgatory 20. The ghost's confinement in purgatory suggests that since the King of Denmark now suffers in the afterlife, the country and other royals will suffer in the future as well 21. The ghost warns Hamlet not to punish the Queen himself, but rather to leave her to be punished in the afterlife. Because she was not the murderer, Hamlet should have no revenge against her and she should answer to God for any incestuous crimes she did commit 22. By saying "the time is out of joint," Hamlet is commenting on the bizarre circumstances surrounding him, such as the unnatural marriage between his mother and uncle. He also laments the fact that he is now responsible for fixing everything wrong around him

27. And... Scene

28. Citations http://hyperion2satyr.blogspot.com/2010/12/
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