DRJ #1: Hamlet Act I

DRJ#1: Hamlet, Act I

            These characters don’t remind me of anyone in particular but they do have some traits of people I know. Horatio reminds me of a wing man, that person who will always have their friends back and helps their friends. Their situation in the first scene sort of reminded me of my childhood when my friends and I would scare each other with haunted stories and really think we saw a ghost. Later on when I read about how the Ghost came to be I automatically thought of the Disney movie “The Lion King.” I remember someone mentioning “The Lion King” being based off of Hamlet before I knew about Hamlet. Now I see how they are similar because a brother kills their own brother to be the King.

            As I had said before, the character Horatio is like a “wing man.” I say this because he honestly reminds of those supporting characters, that one friend who will always be there but keep the major character from falling. I do not know too much about Horatio, yet I feel he has an important role. He even tried to talk to the ghost, showing a little bit of bravery and swears to not tell what the Ghost revealed to Hamlet. He is sort of like a foil to show the importance of the major character. I noticed how he is always concerned about Hamlet’s safety and lets him know what important things are going on. He is definitely not a tragic hero because he is not a main character and he from what the audience knows he has not experienced anything tragic that the audience would feel for him. Technically Horatio is not a foil at all because he does not contrast the main character he only supports Hamlet.

            In Act I, the theme is revenge versus forgiveness. There are great examples of revenge in Act I. One example of revenge is Fortinbras’ son wanting to take back the land that his father lost to Old King Hamlet. This shows how rivalry and war is never forgotten and revenge is common. Another example is Hamlet wanting to take revenge for his father when finding out his uncle Claudius killed his father. The ghost asks him to take revenge for his sake. The ghost says, “So art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear,” Line 8, Act I, Scene V. Claudius had even taken Old Hamlet’s wife away. Hamlet was already upset with everything that had happened and it was more than enough reason for him to take revenge because he didn’t want to sit there and do nothing, he was ready to take on his uncle.