Hamlet Act I, Scene II Plot Summary

The scene starts off with Claudius, the king of Denmark, Gertrude, the former wife of Hamlet's father and queen, Hamlet and some other noble men at the castle. The King decides to make a public appearance after months of mourning over the late King Hamlet. He gives his speech to let the people know that he is still there and that he is now the one in power. The King then goes on to say that he has married his sister-in-law (the King's wife) for the sake of the state even though the King passed away not even a month ago.

The King says how Prince Fortinbras of Norway, who is the nephew of the King of Norway, is currently planning an attack against Denmark because he feels that they are now at a disadvantage because of the King's death. Unlike the previous King who would go to battle, Claudius decides to write a letter to the King of Norway to inform him of his nephew's plans and tells Cornelius and Voltemand to deliver it. He adds on that they are to deliver the letter and only that (he seems to be very possessive of his power). By notifying the bedridden King, he will most likely call the attack off. Claudius then turns to Laertes, who wishes to go back to France and although reluctantly, Claudius agrees.

At this point, Hamlet speaks for the first time in the play. Claudius questions why he is still so gloomy and Gertrude, Hamlet's mother also steps in and tells him to stop wearing black clothes and basically to get over it. Hamlet argues back that she doesn't understand how truly sad and upset he is but Claudius tries to reason with him saying that mourning too much is unnatural and that all of it must come to an end eventually. Claudius adds on at the end that Hamlet should think of him as his new father (which creates suspicion about the King's death because Claudius is already trying to replace the King).

According to the text, Hamlet was planning on going back to Wittenberg but Gertrude and Claudius convince him to stay. Everyone exits and Hamlet is left alone. He goes on to express how extremely upset he is about his uncle marrying his mother so soon after his father's death (he's saying that his mother is being unfaithful and shows his disgust towards his mother's behaviour) and says how he wouldn't care whether he just melted away or not. Hamlet then says how it is a sin to take away his own life because it is just as bad as taking away someone else's life.

Towards the end of the scene, Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo join Hamlet and Hamlet is especially happy to see his friend Horatio but asks what brings him in from Wittenberg. Horatio tries to be sympathetic by saying that he came for Hamlet's father's funeral but Hamlet realizes that he came to Elsinore for his mother's wedding. He says that the leftovers from the funeral were perfect for the wedding (once again, he expresses how upset he is over the quick wedding) and that it was the worst day he has ever lived.

Horatio mentions to Hamlet that he saw a ghost at the castle and that it resembled his father and this sparks Hamlet's interest. After listening to the full story, and after asking numerous questions, Hamlet says that he will stand guard with them that night to see if the ghost appears again. After the other two exit, Hamlet speaks alone once again and states confidently that he suspects foul play and that any bad behaviour will be revealed in time, no matter how hard people try to hide it.

*** I think this scene contains a lot of important information that will act as a base for the rest of the story. As I already mentioned, this is where Hamlet begins suspecting Claudius of bad deeds, which to me, is the most important piece of information in this particular scene. As we read on in the play, we will see how this suspicion progresses and whether Hamlet is on the right track. When I listened to the play being read, I also had suspicions about Hamlet's uncle's behaviour because he doesn't seem to be mourning at all, even though he claims he has been mourning. At the very end when Horatio is explaining what the ghost looked like (pale, sad and fully armed), this made me even more suspicious because it seems as though the King's spirit is unable to leave the castle for some reason and that reason may be because he was murdered. Horatio also mentions how the ghost stayed for a while and looked as if he wanted to speak but couldn't. If anything, the King was trying to explain how he died or was trying to warn them of something and possibly someone.

Question: Is there a possibility that Claudius and Gertrude planned the King's death together in order to gain power?