The First Glance at Hamlet

Hamlet is yet another play written by the renown, William Shakespeare.  The play begins with the sighting of a ghostly figure resembling the recently deceased king. This story continues by introducing the people who will later become the main characters of the play. By the end of Act 1 Scene 2, Shakespeare has introduced Claudius, the new king, Gertrude, the queen, and of course, the prince of Denmark, Hamlet himself.
As I just stated, Hamlet’s father, also known as King Hamlet has recently passed away.  His now widowed mother, Gertrude, has remarried less than a month after her husband’s death. Not only has she been quick to betray her late husband by remarrying, but she also continues to insult his legacy by being pledged to the king’s own brother, Claudius.

My first impression of Hamlet was that of a man lost and in pain. Hamlet seems to be furious with the world and more importantly his family. As Hamlet morns his father’s death, his mother continues to celebrate her marriage to Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. His mother questions him for wearing such dark clothing, or as Shakespeare says a “knighted color” (1.2.70).  Hamlet responds by saying that it is customary to wear “suits of solemn black” (1.2.81) when in mourning. Saying that she too should be continuing to mourn the death of her husband. Shakespeare emphasizes this dark clothing to show Hamlet’s depression and sadness over his father’s death while his mother celebrates her marriage by wearing “inky cloth” (1.2.80). Gertrude has betrayed both the late king and Hamlet.  Hamlet is clearly suffering from his mother’s marriages and feels abandoned but he does not display this to his mother or the king. Once Hamlet is alone and his inner thoughts are revealed, we can finally see his true reaction to this unusual circumstance. Hamlet is in shock that his mother can so easily disregard his father’s death and their marriage. He wishes that she had never remarried, let alone married another member of their family. Although Hamlet is going through such great pain and suffering he does not express this frustration with his mother. He says that he must “hold [his] tongue” (1.2.164) to avoid any further heartache which may be revealed as the play progresses.