Beginning Hamlet on Your Own
Having you read Act I on your own is not how I intended for us to begin our study of Hamlet.
Since you missed the benefit of having a preface to your reading of the play and of reading some of it
together in class, I want to provide with some brief comments about the play and a brief guide to Act I.
I am well aware of the numerous ancillary materials that are available to student readers, some of which
go so far as to read a text for you, which, if you think about it, is sort of like hiring someone to chew
your food for you. To be sure, reading Shakespeare’s work is difficult. But then, many things are
difficult, and if we always avoid difficulty, will we ever accomplish anything significant? Being astute
readers, you already understand my admonition: try reading Act I without using SparkNotes or Shmoop;
instead use this little guide and the high functioning brain with which you’ve been gifted.
Hamlet (both the play and the character), like Shakespeare himself, has reached mythic status.
Despite never having read the play or seen a production of it, many people have heard of Hamlet and
can recite the first line of his third soliloquy (definition: a speech by a character who is alone (or thinks
he is alone), speaking not to the audience—since a character would not be aware of an audience—but to
himself). The play is woven into the fabric of Western culture. You should know that you are about to
read what is arguably the greatest work of literature in English by, arguably, the greatest writer in
English. While that may sound hyperbolic, I assert it in the hope of heightening your attention to this
work.
Hamlet, as with most Shakespearean plays, is difficult to read. However, it is not, as many of
you think, written in Old English. In fact, it’s not even Middle English. By all accounts it is Modern
English. However, that is not to say that there are not some words or phrases that have become archaic
since 1600 when the play was likely written and first performed. While there are some words in the play
that we no longer use, there are not as many as students would like to think; in short, reading the play
will stretch your tool bag. But the play rewards the hard work of careful reading with a richness of
meaning that cannot be experienced by merely skimming or reading a plot summary. Aside from the
play’s challenging diction and verse form, the play is difficult because it presents us with a complex
character, one who is not a stock character or a type whose persona and role can be easily surmised.
Commensurate with the complexity of the character is the complexity of the play’s themes; in short, the
play addresses some of the essential issues of the human condition. Its greatness lies in Shakespeare's
keen attention to human condition and to the brilliance and delicacy of the language he employs to give
body and life to such ideas.
Some thoughts on reading Shakespearean plays:

Pay attention to stage directions. They are in italics and are found either toward the right margin
of the page, or they are sometimes located directly in the text. Paying attention to the stage
directions will allow you to more accurately imagine the action of the play.

Since the plays are often in poetic form (most often blank verse, but with occasional rhyming as
well), we cannot read them accurately if we read each line as a single unit of thought. Instead of
pausing at the end of each line, read from punctuation to punctuation. In other words, read the
actors’ lines like you would read sentences, pausing at commas, stopping at periods, etc. Don’t
stop or pause at then end of a line unless there is a punctuation mark prompting you to do so.

Read the footnotes. Many words or phrases may be unfamiliar to you; knowing this, the editor
has included footnotes to clarify particularly obscure words or passages. Take the time to read
them; otherwise some passages may not make sense.

It is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to skim a Shakespearean play, so be prepared to read
slowly and to struggle a bit to make meaning out of the lines. The plays will reward you for your
efforts with humor and wisdom that are not readily evident to those who read casually, or those
who think that SparkNotes will give them what they need to know. Ironically, those who are
quick to read SparkNotes summaries are often those who could most benefit from the play’s
wisdom. But I suppose I’m getting a bit preachy here.
Look at the dramatis personae (list of roles) on page 43 (go on--open the book; I’ll wait). Look
at who’s who. King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, has recently died. Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother and
Prince Hamlet’s uncle, is now the reigning King of Denmark, having recently married Gertrude,
Hamlet’s mother. Without having read a word of the play, one can easily see the great possibilities for
conflict in such a situation.
Some things to pay close attention to in Act I:

Note the abrupt shift in subject in Act I, Scene 1. The characters have been discussing the ghost,
but at line 70 Marcellus asks Horatio the reason for the increase in military presence in Elsinore
(the city, or kingdom, in Denmark in which most of the play takes place). Horatio’s response is
ostensibly to Marcellus, but it is also to the audience; his explanation beginning at line 79 serves
as a backdrop for the entire play.

Pay attention to the paradoxes in the King’s opening speech in Scene 2.

Pay attention to the puns in Hamlet’s first few lines (read the footnotes and think).

Read Hamlet’s soliloquy in Scene 2 carefully (lines 129 – 159)

In Scene 3, pay attention to the advice that Laertes gives his sister, the advice that Polonius gives
his son, and the advice that Polonius gives his daughter. Lots of advice.

Finally, the ghost in Scene 5 performs the flashback function of explaining what occurred prior
to the beginning of the play. Pay special attention to the ghost’s speech beginning in line 42; in
many ways it serves as the crux for the remainder of the play.