Hamlet

act 1 scence 1

what is the atmosphere or mood in this opening scene? 

provide several reasons why the characters in this opening scene are so edgy?

why is it important that haratio see the ghost?

what do both marcellus and horatio suspect is the reason for the ghosts appearance?

according to this scence, what is the political situation in denmark?

what impression do we get of harotio from this first scene?

in this scene how does shakespeare try to grab the interest of his audiance?

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Last updated by Aslan
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Please submit each of your questions separately. I'll do the first one here:

Elizabethans loved to be thrilled by ghosts and the afterlife. They believed in the literal concepts of Heaven, Hell, God, and the Devil. The mood and tone in the first scene is cold (it's also freezing outside), ominous (they expect a ghost) and filled with foreboding (nothing good can come from a ghost lurking about, especially the ghost of the dead king.)