ACT I, 1: A GHOST STORY
The story is set in Denmark at the castle of the king. Two soldiers named Marcellus and Barnardo are assigned to stand guard at night. But for the last two nights they have seen what they believe is a ghost. A young lord, an aristocrat named Horatio, tells one of the guards that the soldier just thinks that he sees a ghost; but, in reality, it is nothing more than his own “fantasy” or imagination (line 21). In response, the guard asks Horatio to come and see the ghost for himself.
Horatio is an aristocrat, whereas the guards are commoners. The guards know that they might be laughed at if they told everyone that they had seen a ghost. But the word of an aristocrat would be accepted as fact. The reader should note that this is not the only instance in this play where Shakespeare suggests distinctions and prejudices among the social classes of England (which Denmark symbolizes). So, as the guard Marcellus tells Barnardo, Horatio “may approve our eyes and speak to it” (27). The word approve here means that Horatio will serve as a witness to prove what they have seen. In addition, because Horatio is also a university scholar, he knows Latin. As the language of the Catholic Church, Latin was a language of mystery and the supernatural. Commoners were often awed by it and afraid of it (students may recall Geoffrey Chaucer’s Pardoner in The Canterbury Tales: the Pardoner would use Latin phrases to intimidate and scare the peasants as he attempted to swindle them out of their money). Therefore, many commoners would associate Latin with the afterlife and the supernatural. In addition, priests, who were fluent in Latin, would use Latin prayers and chants to exorcise (to get rid of or eliminate) evil spirits or ghost. During the Middle Ages (which is the time period of this story), universities were run by priests of the Catholic Church; and the primary goal of nearly every student was to become a priest. Horatio would thus have both the religious training and the knowledge of Latin as a result of his study at the university.
As the reader will discover later, Horatio also represents the voice of reason in this play. He is not someone to accept readily the superstitions and fears of most people. He is not someone who will allow his emotions to take control over his ability to think rationally.
The ghost appears for the third time before the two guards, and on this occasion Horatio is their witness. The ghost is wearing military armor, including a helmet. But its beaver (the visor, the metal piece that covers the eyes) is up so that Horatio and the others can see its face. The ghost looks exactly like old King Hamlet (the father of young Prince Hamlet). The old king had been dead for only a few months, and his brother Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle) is the new king of Denmark. The reader should note that that not all European nations used primogeniture (in which the oldest son inherits the title) to determine their next king. Horatio attempts to talk to the ghost, but it walks away without paying him any attention.
Horatio is visibly shaken and upset by the vision of the ghost. Barnardo tells him, “You tremble and look pale” (51). The reasonable Horatio has seen something that certainly stretches the boundaries of reason.
A few critics have attempted to dismiss the appearance of the ghost in this play as not being a real ghost and suggest that the character of Prince Hamlet is mad and just imagines it. These critics are wrong. Not only do the guards see the ghost (as Hamlet will see it later), but the skeptical and rational Horatio sees it as well. Horatio not only proves or verifies the existence of the ghost to the people of Denmark. He also verifies it for the audience and for the reader. Shakespeare uses the ghost both literally and symbolically in this play. Shakespeare does not intend the ghost to be merely the product of Prince Hamlet’s imagination. If Shakespeare had intended that, he would not have written this scene wherein Horatio and the guards witness its appearance.
ACT I, 1: THE STATE OF THE STATE
Horatio does not know why the ghost is appearing, but he suggests that the appearance of it “bodes some strange eruption to our state” (68). Horatio’s words indicate a concept common in early literature that the state of the state reflects the state of the king. If the state or condition of the king is good and healthy and well, then the state (or condition) of the state (or nation) is also good and healthy and well. But if there is something wrong or unhealthy or evil with the king, then there is also something wrong with the entire kingdom or nation. This concept appears in the oldest of myths, including the ancient myth of the Fisher King.
Indeed, Horatio’s guess is quite correct. Their old King Hamlet has been murdered, and the murderer now sits upon the throne. But, of course, neither Horatio nor the audience knows this at this point in the play.
The conversation seems to change direction when Marcellus asks Horatio why so many changes have lately been occurring in their kingdom (or state).
Marcellus lists several of these changes:
(73)
Horatio explains that a possible war with Norway may occur. The old King Hamlet had made a bargain with the old king of Norway, Fortinbras, that the loser of their battle should forfeit or give up a large piece of property to the winner. The old Fortinbras lost the battle, and King Hamlet thus won a large piece of land that previously belonged to Norway.
But old King Fortinbras died and his brother became the new king of Norway. King Fortinbras also has a son, who is also named Fortinbras. The careful reader should note the similarities and parallels between Denmark and Norway. Both of the older kings have died, both have brothers who have become new kings, and both of the old kings have left sons who have the same name as their fathers. The young Fortinbras is a foil to Hamlet.
The reader should note the similarities and, especially, the differences between the two.
Young Fortinbras is angry that his father was defeated by Denmark and that Norway has lost their property. So, without the permission of his uncle, the new king, Fortinbras has hired his own (mercenary) army to attack Denmark and get their lost property back. Young Fortinbras wants revenge.
Barnardo then brings the conversation back to the original topic: the trouble in the state. He comments that the appearance of the ghost is an omen, a supernatural warning, about the threat of war (lines 106.2 to 106.4).
Horatio agrees and tells the guards that such omens also occurred when Julius Caesar was assassinated:
4. an eclipse of the moon occurred (“the moist star” – 106.13)
Such omens are listed in Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, and Shakespeare
repeats that idea in his own tragedy, Julius Caesar. But the comparison that Horatio makes is more appropriate than he realizes. Not only do omens appear in both stories to announce war, but the supernatural occurrences also indicate the assassination of a king in both stories.
The ghost appears a second time but still refuses to speak to Horatio or the others. When the cock or rooster begins to crow, the ghost then disappears. Horatio comments that a ghost cannot appear in the daytime but must return to its grave (lines 135-36). Since the ghost will not talk to him, Horatio decides to tell Prince Hamlet about it (line 151). Horatio believes that the ghost will speak to his own son.