'Hamlet' Act 1 Summary, Scene by Scene
The Characters, Setting, Plot, and Tone of Shakespeare's Masterpiece
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By
Lee Jamieson
Updated January 28, 2020
This Act 1 summary of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" sets the stage with
the characters, setting, plot, and tone of this five-act tragedy. The
play opens on the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in Denmark during
a changing of the guard. The old king, Hamlet's father, has died.
The king's brother Claudius has replaced him, stealing Hamlet's
rightful place on the throne. He has already married Hamlet's
mother.
The previous two nights, the guards had seen a silent ghost
resembling Hamlet's dead father. They ask Hamlet's friend
Horatio to watch on the third night, and he sees the ghost.
Horatio convinces Hamlet to watch the next night. Hamlet
confronts his father's ghost, who tells him that Claudius murdered
him. The dreary tone and harsh setting contrasting with the
revelry within the castle foretell of the tragedy that is to come.
Act 1, Scene 1 Summary
On a bleak, frigid night, the guards Francisco and Bernardo tell
Horatio, a friend of Hamlet, about the ghost they had seen that
resembles Hamlet's father. They convince Horatio to join them
and attempt to talk with the ghost if it reappears. Horatio scoffs at
the talk of a ghost but agrees to wait. As they begin describing
what they saw, the ghost appears.
Horatio can't get it to speak but promises to tell Hamlet about the
specter. The darkness and cold, coupled with the apparition, set a
dire tone of calamity and dread for the remainder of the play.
Act 1, Scene 2
The scene opens in contrast to the previous one, as King Claudius
celebrates his recent wedding to Gertrude in a bright, joyous
castle room surrounded by courtiers. A brooding Hamlet sits
outside the action. It is two months since his father's death and
his widow has already married his brother.
The king discusses a possible war and agrees to let Laertes, son of
the king's lord chamberlain (Polonius), leave the court and return
to school. Recognizing that Hamlet is upset, he tries to make
amends, urging Hamlet to abandon mourning and stay
in Denmark instead of returning to school. Hamlet agrees to stay.
Everyone but Hamlet leaves. He delivers a soliloquy expressing
his anger, depression, and disgust for what he considers incest
between the new king and his mother. The guards and Horatio
enter and tell Hamlet about the ghost. He agrees to join them that
night to watch for another appearance.
When Claudius scolds Hamlet for his continued mourning,
referring to his "stubbornness" and "unmanly grief," Shakespeare
sets him up as an antagonist to Hamlet, who is unmoved by the
king's words. The king's criticism of Hamlet ("A heart unfortified,
a mind impatient, An understanding simple and unschooled...")
implies that he believes Hamlet is unprepared to be king and is
attempting to justify his usurpation of the throne.
Act 1, Scene 3
Laertes says goodbye to his sister, Ophelia, whom we learn has
been seeing Hamlet. He warns her that Hamlet, still in line to be
king, will always put the kingdom before her.
Polonius enters and lectures his son on how to conduct himself at
school, advising him to treat his friends well, listen more than
talk, dress well but not too well, avoid lending money, and "to
thine own self be true." Then he, too, warns Ophelia about
Hamlet. She promises not to see him.
Polonius' advice to Laertes seems rote, relying on aphorisms
regarding appearances rather than offering honest advice to a son.
With Ophelia, he is more concerned that she bring honor and
wealth to the family than about her own desires. Ophelia, as an
obedient daughter of the time, agrees to spurn Hamlet. Polonius'
treatment of his children continues a theme of generational
conflict.
Act 1, Scene 4
That night, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus, one of the guards
who had seen the ghost, wait outside on another cold night. The
miserable weather is juxtaposed again with revelry from the
castle, which Hamlet criticizes as excessive and damaging to
Danes' reputation for drunkenness.
The ghost appears and beckons Hamlet. Marcellus and Horatio
try to prevent him from following, agreeing with Hamlet that it
might bring "airs from heaven or blasts from hell." Hamlet breaks
free and follows the ghost. His accomplices follow him.
This scene contrasts Hamlet's father, the good king, with Claudius
as a drunken reveler and adulterer, and plays on the conflict
between image and reality. Claudius appears more suspicious and
foreboding than a ghost.
Act 1, Scene 5
The ghost tells Hamlet that he is Hamlet's father and was
murdered by Claudius, who put poison in the napping king's ear.
The ghost asks Hamlet to revenge his "most foul, strange, and
unnatural murder," and Hamlet agrees without hesitation.
The ghost also tells Hamlet that his mother was adulterous with
Claudius before the old king died. He makes Hamlet promise that
he won't seek revenge on his mother but let her be judged by God.
As dawn breaks, the ghost leaves.
Hamlet swears he will do what the ghost asks and avenge his
father's murder. Horatio and Marcellus find him, and Hamlet asks
them to swear not to reveal anything of the ghost. When they
hesitate, the ghost calls from below, demanding they swear. They
do. Hamlet warns them that he will pretend to be crazy until he
can exact vengeance.
The old king's murder creates sympathy for the ghost rather than
fear or revulsion, and his mother's adultery tips the scales against
her. Hamlet has no choice but to kill the new king, establishing a
conflict between his sense of honor and his Christian faith.
Key Takeaways
Act 1 establishes these plot points:
The new king, Hamlet's uncle, murdered Hamlet's father.
His father's ghost appears to him to describe the murder and
charge Hamlet with seeking revenge.
Hamlet's mother committed adultery with Claudius before
her husband's death and married Claudius with "unseemly"
haste.
The ghost says Hamlet should let God punish his mother.
Hamlet will pretend to be crazy while he exacts vengeance.
Act 1 establishes these tones and themes:
A sense of dread and tragedy is almost palpable.
A conflict between honor and morality is established.
Another conflict between appearance and reality.
The antagonism between Claudius and Hamlet is part of a
generational conflict reflected in Polonius and his children.
Sources
"Hamlet." Hudson Shakespeare Company.
"Hamlet Synopsis." Shakespeare at Winedale. The University of Texas
at Austin, College of Liberal Arts.
Stockton, Carla Lynn. "Summary and Analysis Act I: Scene
1." Cliffs Notes, 13 Aug. 2019.
