1. Hamlet Act 1 Scene 1 :Dramatic Purposes

2. 1. Gives the setting and mood
Denmark 600 A.D
Royal castle: Elsinore
Between midnight and 1:00 A.M.
Mood of fear, uncertainty, tension
Short choppy lines, questions
Francisco is “sick at heart” (l.8).

3. 2. Gives background information
Elder Hamlet dead

4. He had fought old Fortinbras and won
Old Hamlet took lands from Norway
Prince
Hamlet did not become king; his uncle Claudius did.

5. Young Fortinbras of
Norway gathers together an army:
potential threat!

6. 3. Introduces Characters

7. Horatio, a scholar, skeptical about events
His belief in knowledge and rational thought
are shaken!

8. The Ghost:
Troubled, angry
Stalks about
Conscience-ridden
War-like
Question:
What is the ghost?
A demon?

9. 4. Introduces Themes: Revenge:
Fortinbras seeks to revenge his father’s
death and reclaim territory

10. b) Duty

11. c) Appearances:
“Who’s there?”
Who are we really dealing with?

12. d) Corruption of The world Disease imagery Francisco “sick at heart”
A rotten world