Hamlet Is The Longest Of Shakespeare s Plays Written...

Hamlet is the longest of Shakespeare’s plays written during the Elizabethan era in which the title character seeks revenge on his fathers’ death by Claudius. Consisting of 5 Acts, the first act contains 5 scenes. The first scene of Act 1 (the opening scene) illustrates an atmosphere full of fear and ghosts. Bernardo and Francisco both appear to be on edge. When Bernardo asks, â€Å" Who’s there?† Francisco responds, â€Å"Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.† The scene is immediately set and widespread throughout the entire play, a play filled with uneasiness of what is an illusion and what is actually true. When the ghost appears, Marcellus urges Bernardo and Horatio to be quiet, making sure the ghost is really there. In this first scene,†¦show more content†¦The play takes place within the walls of Elsinore Castle, which Hamlet later describes as a prison; this is for the entirety of the play. In scene 2, Claudius is aggressive and it becomes clear that he will be Hamlet’s chief rival. Claudius is quick to show dominance over young Hamlet, and Hamlet appears passive to this. Gertrude, (King Claudius’ wife) and Claudius want Hamlet to forget about his dead father, but Hamlet says his appearance, even in his all black clothing doesn’t reflect the amount of grief he feels. Claudius’ character is very clear in which he is calculating (he uses his words carefully.) He refers to Gertrude as ‘our sometime sister, now our Queen, the imperial jointress to this warlike state’, even though Gertrude was the wife of Hamlets father and Claudius’ very own brother. He addresses Hamlet and calls him ‘cousin Hamlet and my son’. Claudius is well aware of his decisions, his descriptive names for his family prove so, and he is also aware of what others may think of him and his actions. He accuses Hamlet of ‘impious stubbornne ss’ suggests that Hamlet is not good enough to be a King. This is a way of Claudius to excuse his behavior to take over his dead brother’s throne, a throne that belongs to Hamlet. To reinforce Claudius’ power over Hamlet, he calls him ‘my cousin and my son’. Hamlet views the relationship between his mother Gertrude and uncle