Act 1 Scene 1 Questions

1) How is interest created in the opening scene?

Hamlet begins with several men who are guarding the castle, and they are speaking about the ghost of the late king who has appeared in full armour. He is obviously there as a warning, which foreshadows to something tragic to come later in the play. 

2) What information are we given to help us understand the situation?

The king is wearing armour from the battle against Fortinbras, fortinbras was killed, and all of his land was given to the king of Denmark, Fortinbras son is now seeking revenge and he has built an army of misfits to which the Denmark people fear will attack. They are preparing for war in order to fight against them, and it is possible that the ghost of the king is a warning that it is soon to come. 

3) What happens at the end of the scene to create suspense and keep up the reader’s interest?


The ghost will not talk to the men, especially after they approach it with violence. They chose to reach to Hamlet to see if the ghost will talk to him so they can get some answers, seeing how it is father. This is the first mention of Hamlet in the play. 

4) What is the mood of the scene?

The men are afraid, they do not know what to think about the appearance of the ghost, and they are concerned that something bad is going to happened based on the warning. Although they are slightly afraid they are also confused, the ghost will not talk and all they want to do is find some answers. 

5) Why are the sentries apprehensive (there are two reasons)?

They do not know the reason for the ghost's appearance, they are sure that it stands for some kind of warning and they would like to find out what that is so they know what to prepare for. They are also unsure that this is actually the king, they attack the ghost because it is their job to protect the kingdom, and they do not want to be fooled. 
6) What reasons are suggested by Horatio for the appearance of the late King’s ghost?


They believe that he is possibly thier to warn them about a war to come with Fortinbra, because of the army that he is training. It is also suggested with an allusion to Julius Ceasur that it is a warning that something is going to happen to Hamlet based on the ghosts that appeared before the murder of Ceasur.