ACT I
BERNARDO
Who's there?
FRANCISCO
Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold yourself.
BERNARDO
Long live the king!
FRANCISCO
Bernardo?
BERNARDO
He.
FRANCISCO
You come most carefully upon your hour.
BERNARDO
BERNARDO
'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco.
FRANCISCO
BERNARDO
Have you had quiet guard?
FRANCISCO
Not a mouse stirring.
BERNARDO
Well, good night.
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,
The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
FRANCISCO
I think I hear them. Stand, ho! Who's there?
Enter HORATIO and MARCELLUS
HORATIO
Friends to this ground.
MARCELLUS
And liegemen to the Dane.
FRANCISCO
Give you good night.
MARCELLUS
O, farewell, honest soldier:
Who hath relieved you?
Who hath relieved you?
FRANCISCO
Bernardo has my place.
Give you good night.
Give you good night.
Exit
MARCELLUS
Holla! Bernardo!
BERNARDO
Say,
What, is Horatio there?
What, is Horatio there?
HORATIO
A piece of him.
BERNARDO
Welcome, Horatio: welcome, good Marcellus.
MARCELLUS
What, has this thing appear'd again to-night?
BERNARDO
I have seen nothing.
MARCELLUS
Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy,
And will not let belief take hold of him
Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us:
Therefore I have entreated him along
With us to watch the minutes of this night;
That if again this apparition come,
He may approve our eyes and speak to it.
And will not let belief take hold of him
Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us:
Therefore I have entreated him along
With us to watch the minutes of this night;
That if again this apparition come,
He may approve our eyes and speak to it.
HORATIO
Tush, tush, 'twill not appear.
BERNARDO
Sit down awhile;
And let us once again assail your ears,
That are so fortified against our story
What we have two nights seen.
And let us once again assail your ears,
That are so fortified against our story
What we have two nights seen.
HORATIO
Well, sit we down,
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.
And let us hear Bernardo speak of this.
BERNARDO
Last night of all,
When yond same star that's westward from the pole
Had made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one,--
When yond same star that's westward from the pole
Had made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one,--
MARCELLUS
Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again!
BERNARDO
In the same figure, like the king that's dead.
MARCELLUS
Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio.
BERNARDO
Looks it not like the king? mark it, Horatio.
HORATIO
Most like: it harrows me with fear and wonder.
BERNARDO
It would be spoke to.
MARCELLUS
Question it, Horatio.
HORATIO
What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buriedDenmark
Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak!
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried
Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak!
MARCELLUS
It is offended.
BERNARDO
See, it stalks away!
HORATIO
Stay! speak, speak! I charge thee, speak!
Exit Ghost
MARCELLUS
'Tis gone, and will not answer.
BERNARDO
How now, Horatio! you tremble and look pale:
Is not this something more than fantasy?
What think you on't?
Is not this something more than fantasy?
What think you on't?
HORATIO
Before my God, I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.
Without the sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.
MARCELLUS
Is it not like the king?
HORATIO
As thou art to thyself:
Such was the very armour he had on
When he the ambitious Norway combated;
So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
'Tis strange.
Such was the very armour he had on
When he the ambitious Norway combated;
So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice.
'Tis strange.
MARCELLUS
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
HORATIO
But in the gross and scope of my opinion,
This bodes some strange eruption to our state.
What makes this problem so complex is that it is never truly confirmed that the ghost really is the dead king. There is a lot of language like, he looks "like the kind that's dead." And the characters question rather than confirm, "Looks it not like the king?" and, "What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,Together with that fair and warlike form / In which the majesty of buried
This blog is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI love how the videos clarified the text. At first when reading the dialogue I did not understand the relationships between the characters in the dialogue until I watch the first video which really help me mentally visualize the setting and the emotions portrayed within the lines said. The link on the importance of the ghost really made me question whether the ghost was equally or more important that hamlet himself? The information used to support the excerpt of the play really shows how deep Shakespeare's plays are and how he can take the simplest theme and gives it's conflict some much substance.I also find it interesting when looking at the timing in which the ghost entered which was shortly after Horatio insisted that the ghost would not reappear
ReplyDeleteHmm. I found Shakespeare's use of "Holla!" interesting(early in the text). I wonder if that's what kinda introduced it in language at that time and brought it along a few hundred years later. Jackie pretty much hit the nail on the head with her comment. I'm definitely not one for Shakespeare, nor his use of language, but those videos clarified a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe visual aids used through the blog piece further increased my understanding of the text. I also enjoyed how the piece posed "big idea" questions to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe questions were used as a tool to refer to the main themes prevalent in this act of the play and ensure that you understand the main concepts, conflicts, etc. Comparing the act to something readers can identify with and recognize in our world today; reality television, also helps with decoding and interpreting Shakespeare's words in Hamlet and ensuring that main concepts are understood.
I am not very fond of Shakespeare, although I do admit the language is quiet persistent when it comes to drawing audiences. As Jacqueline explained, she did not fully understand at first, which I could relate to, and the videos helped me understand more towards the tone to really analyze the scene and setting. I definitely agree with Aldesha's choice of words of reality television being interpreted through Hamlet for further questions, ideas, and second guessing.
ReplyDeleteI love your comments and it really helps me to hear that you find the videos helpful. Which version of the scene did you think was better and why? Also, what did you think of the dilemma itself? Do you think the ghost is an effective tool to introduce this idea of reality vs. illusion?
ReplyDeleteI found the first video of Act 1 Scene 1 to be more helpful because it really introduced the tone of the play. The actors use of variation and tone in the scene also set the mood making me wonder if the mood was set intentionally because they had already sensed something would occur that is out of the ordinary.The ghost is an effective tool to introduce the idea of reality vs. illusion because to see the Horatio the brightest among them insist there is no such a thing as ghost while debating with the others it made me question if the interpretation of a ghost then is the same as the interpretation of a ghost in the modern world? Making me question if ghost even exist or if the illusion of a scary ghost was built of the play Hamlet itself?
DeleteI agree with the fact that we still use Shakespeare in modern times similarly to how How to Read Like a Professor discussed. I also wondered if Francisco's depression will also foreshadow the depression of the country.
ReplyDeleteBefore I even read Act 1 Scene 1 I read the Shakespeare chapter in "How to Read Like A Professor" and it helped me realized how shakespeare is the foundation for all modern literature. Without Shakespeare, popular novels from today wouldn't exist if it wasn't for his works. Since his words are so complex and his stage directions are oblivious to the reader I like how you included videos to help visual learners like me to better understand the text. I also think the ghost is an effective tool to help distinguish the idea of reality vs. illusion because Horatio did not believe the ghost was real which technically proves that he's a realist and doesn't favor in the supernatural whilst Marcellus portrays the ideology of illusion by trying to prove that the ghost is in fact real.
ReplyDeleteJulainey I love your analysis of Horatio and Marcellus! Very insightful!
ReplyDeleteReading the text I didn't really understand it due to the fact that Shakespeare's words are so complex and as Julainey said, he doesn't show stage directions. But the way you incorporated visuals to help us better understand the text and the way you analyzed it yourself made it clear to as of what was actually going down in the scene.
ReplyDeleteThis is Joel do not worry about the name lml
DeleteGot it! Now get your brother to comment. Also I want to hear more about your thoughts on the analysis not just the presentation. I like how you referred to other comments though!
DeleteI know that I'm super late with my comment, but this is so helpful. Now, I have a better understanding of their relationship towards each other, as well as their feelings toward the situation or the ghost itself, as Jackie said in her comment. "At the end of the day is the only true "reality" that everything is fake?" This is really an amazing question. It's true, everything in reality is fake. Plays are fake, those are actors/actress. So, if you're watching something fake about something fake, then nothing is real. That ties into reality television, mainly because in reality television, they can't just live their life as they normally would. They need drama and they need to give their watchers something to talk about, it just makes everything a bit more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThere are certain things that you cannot comprehend just by reading the shakespearian text but these video show you different interpretations of the play so you get multiple ideas of what it could be about. I admit that ive been M.I.A on this blog but i like it a lot!!!
ReplyDeleteHow do you understand Shakespearean dialect text? Context clues? Vocab Research?
ReplyDeleteHow did he go about making this version of English?
Okay, hi. So I can answer the whole understanding text. Basically what I've learned in AP English is that while you read the text, you're reading it in a director's point of view. So what you can do it pretend you are recreating the play. In the lines, you basically write their emotions for that particular moment. By the way, Ms. G, if you see this, it's Soly.
DeleteShakespearian language/writing is not that easy to understand. But, something I like to do is to analyze every single line. Shakespearean writing is really complex; almost every word has either a symbolistic or ironic meaning.
Deletei agree with Gari, i feel that by analyzing the text and breaking down the text, it will help u understand the text in a deeper sense, because shakespeares text is very confusing
DeleteMy family id very spiritual. This is why it was easy for me to understand what was happening withe the ghost. This ghost is a messenger. It does not speak or give any indication of anything. The message he brings is being symbolized through what he is wearing. He is wearing the armor or outfit from the war with Norway.Only an open minded character would realize this and get the WARNING.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Soraidy. The ghost is sending a message. I'm pretty superstitious and usually when ghost come up and out of the blue, they are trying to warn someone they love or send a message.
ReplyDeleteI know this is extremely late. I agree with Meybys and soriady when ghost appear its usually because they have a warning or a message for someone. Also from what I've learned about Shakespeare he is very detailed with everything he writes, which means that everything he writes in hamlet has meaning that's important to the text. I believe that the ghost is king Hamlet because of his clothing.
ReplyDeleteIts Penelope by the way
DeleteThe Shakespeare sets up at the start of the play is that the king (Hamlet) has died, and the throne has been taken by his brother (Claudius) and not his child (Hamlet Jr). Still grieving the old king, no one knows what to do, and the guards are suspicious.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare does have a unique way of writing his plays. His language challenges me but helps me interpret the characters and set their differences. The videos helped a lot as well. Horatio claims of not seeing the ghost and Marcellus does and believes of Horatio being indenial but how can he prove Horatio is indenial, every individual is different and Marcellus, gives me the idea of reality vs. fantasy . The tone in the video portrays darkness, an unpleasant arrival is coming. Interpreting Shakespeare language with my understanding of the world today helps as well to express the meaning of Hamlet itself and what Shakespeare is trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteThis really opens up the whole play for me, it shows Hamlets grievances towards his father, and sort of explains the method for everyones madness
ReplyDeleteI like the way that the play opened up with this scene first because it shows the mood the play is going to convey. I find it kind of funny that the play opened up with the ghost and ends with practically almost all of the characters dead. So I guess in a way Shakespeare was foreshadowing death being a main component in this play.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading act 1 scene 1 of Hamlet again I notice that Shakespeare used a literally element. When Horatio first saw the ghost he was terrified. Even though the ghost was right in front of him he did not want to believe it. I think that this is foreshadowing. That later on in Hamlet a character wont accept the truth.
ReplyDeletethe ghost appearing is clearly because he has a message or something to warn someone about. And i completely agree with Christina, all Shakespeare's did int his play was foreshadowing and its clear that he does this very well. Its so ironic how he started with Hamlet's fathers ghost and then this play ended with everyone dying by poison.
ReplyDelete