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Hamlet as a machiavellian prince
Character of Horatio in Hamlet
Character of Horatio in Hamlet
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Analysis of Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The play begins on the outer ramparts of Elsinore castle. It is late and Francisco, a guard, is on duty waiting for Bernardo to relieve him from his watch. Francisco is nervous because the previous two nights he and Bernardo have seen a figure who appears to be the ghost of the recently deceased king wandering around.
Bernardo approaches, accompanied by Horatio (Hamlet's only friend and confident). Even though Horatio dismisses the idea of a ghost, the guards start to retell the previous nights' encounters. As the guards begin, the ghost appears before them- much to Horatio's surprise.
The guards urge Horatio to speak with the ghost. Because Horatio is a student, they feel he should be able to communicate with the ghost, and their previous attempts to talk with it have failed. Horatio's attempts also fail. The scene ends with Horatio stating that he will go and inform his friend Hamlet of these incredible events.Text: Act I, Scene i
Act I, Scene ii:
This scene opens in contrast to the first scene. The first scene takes place on the dark, cold isolated ramparts; this scene begins in a brightly lit court, with the new king, Claudius, celebrating his recent wedding to his new wife, Gertrude.
Everyone in the court appears happy and joyful, except one character who is sitting off to the side. He is dressed in black, the colour of mourning, and does not like what he sees. The lone figure is Hamlet, the main character of the play. He is wearing black because it has been only two months since his father, Hamlet senior the ghost on the battlements, died and he still is mourning his father's death.
To further upset Hamlet, Claudius' new bride is Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet is upset because his mother married Claudius so soon after becoming a widow. To add to all the injustices Hamlet is feeling at this time, Claudius is also related to Hamlet. Hamlet's uncle is now his step-father and Gertrude's brother-in-law is now her husband.
Claudius conducts several pieces of business during the beginning of this scene. He first tries to take measures to prevent a war with Norway, then discusses Laertes' request to leave court and go back to school. Claudius agrees with Polonius, Laertes' father, that Laertes' plan of going back to school is a good one. He gives Laertes permission to go.
This familial scene brings Claudius' mind to Hamlet.
Inside the castle during the funeral, Claudius, the man who exemplifies evil, is focused on several times by the camera. The first picture of him is from a short distance, minimizing his presence. As the funeral proceeds, however, three closeups make him appear more evil for there is no sorrow in his face, only a scheming, hawklike look as he watches every movement of Gertrude and Hamlet. The closeups also bring him from a distant observer to one that is in control, having taken the place of King by ruline over his dead brother.
Claudius is smug at the onset of the play because he appears to have gotten away
Many characters in the play have confidence in Horatio because of his trustworthiness. Horatio is very trustworthy, and not only in the way that he can keep a secret if needed, but he is honorable and keeps his word, and is honest to himself, showing integrity. Here, Horatio shows this trait by revealing to Hamlet that Hamlet’s father’s ghost had appeared.
After talking with the ghost, Hamlet, comes back to Horatio and Marcellus and tries to explain to them never to let anyone know what has happened. Both are very scared but agree to the prince’s, but both are still looking to find out what happened between the ghost and him. Further on in the evening Hamlet takes Horatio to the side and explains to him that no matter how odd he acted that Horatio say nothing. (And therefore as a stranger-you most need help you Act1 sc5 line 187-202) He basically explained to Horatio that he was going to be acting much differently than normal, and he told him not to ask questions. This here proves he knew what he was going to have to do. It shows that he was willing to get his revenge by any way possible.
Horatio serves often as the voice of reason, for instance; he is skeptical of the watchman's testimony that a ghost appeared during their watch in the previous night. Marcellus says of the watchman's testimony, "Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy, / And will not let belief take hold of him" (1.1.23-4). Horatio believes the watchmen only when he witnesses the ghost and even then is still skeptical. He is also the voice of reason when he asks Hamlet to restrain himself from meeting the ghost. He is afraid that Hamlet will hurt himself or go mad (1.4.63-91), finally telling Hamlet, "Be ruled, you shall not go" (1.4.81). Hamlet often seeks verification of events from Horatio as well. Horatio agrees with Hamlet, in 1.4, that the night is cold (1.4.2), and verifies Hamlet's belief that the ghost is "wondrous strange" (1.4.164). Horatio does not exaggerate about the length of the stay of the ghost. In 1.2, Horatio tells Hamlet that the ghost stayed in his presence for possibly "a hundreth" (1.2.137), followed by Marcellus and Barnardo's utterance, "Longer, longer" (1.2...
Horatio's role in Hamlet is minor, however he serves two purposes central to the drama. Horatio provides the truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet and other characters gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize to no end, but it is his conversations with Horatio that ground the play in reality. Horatio believes Hamlet and thus we have permission to believe. He sees the Ghost and so we can believe that Hamlet has seen the Ghost. If Horatio were not there, Hamlet's sanity would truly be in doubt.
Hamlet starts with the King dead and Hamlet is already in a miserable mood. The first step that pushes him over the border into madness is his meeting with the ghost and even Horatio can see it as
When the encounter with the ghost occurs at the beginning of the play, Horatio’s original skepticism introduces doubt. When Horatio agrees that the spirit exists, the readers are allowed to believe that the ghost was not a figment of Hamlet’s imagination. At the first sighting of the ghost, Horatio, urging Hamlet to stay away from the ghost, says, “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord.../And there assume some other horrible form/Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason/ And draw you into madness? Think of it./The very place puts toys of desperation/Without more motive, into every brain” (III.ii.75). Horatio is foreshadowing Hamlet’s descent into madness. Here, Horatio is...
makes the metaphysics of the play dark. The ghost says nothing despite the valiant efforts on the parts of Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo. Suspense is created when the audience is ignorant as to the purpose of the ghost. Later in the play the ghost is utilized to allow Hamlet and the audience knowledge of the vile murder of the king by Claudius, the kings own brother. When the ghost finally speaks, he tells Hamlet,
...oes appear to be his father and Hamlet will of course listen to everything that Horatio has got to say therefore this adds to the waiting/suspense of what will happen next the Ghost will return.
What Horatio says is valid because he may have known the king better than the rest of the men there as he is friends with his son, Hamlet. The same clothes and facial expressions that the ghost displays is
... Claudius says that Laertes is trying to get back the kingdom of Denmark his dad lost to Hamlets’ dad. Also, he believes that Fortinbras will try to take advantage of this time where a power change occurred. At the end, since Claudius, Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet die, Fortinbras is chosen as the king. Fortinbras completes his promise that he will regain the land that his dad had lost.
Loyalty is a crucial quality to find in a good friend. Horatio’s loyalty allowed him to to understand what was going on in Hamlet’s mind and barely questioned the prince’s decisions. While everyone looked at Hamlet with confusion and believed his mental state was out of sorts, Horatio did not blink an eye towards Hamlet’s ludicrous language because he understood it was only an act. During the scene in which Hamlet wished to follow the ghost, Horatio was the only one who stopped him and warned him of all the possible bad outcomes if he followed. Horatio
In the act 1, sense 1, the appearance of ghost implicated that something would be happening in Denmark and created interest and caution to audience and Horatio. Ghost always represents horror and fear nowadays, and people think that ghost maybe has unfinished hope before death or revenge for somebody. In the Shakespeare world, ghost shows up in somewhere, where it’s not supposed to be. That means that there is someone else, especially in western culture. Horatio said, “has the ghost appeared again tonight” (1.1 21), and “it will not appear” (1.1 29). Horatio was educated, so he didn’t believe that. On the other hand, Bernardo and Marcellus believed the ghost was real and tried to prove it. Through the conversion and background between Horatio and officers, the plot creates the suspense and question to audience. Does the ghost really exist? Meanwhile, the audiences feel curious about the ghost.
A ghost appearing in the form of Hamlet's father makes several appearances during the play. It first appears to the watch men, Marcellus and Bernardo along with Heratio, at the guardsmen's post. The ghost does not speak to them. It is not until the appearance of hamlet that the ghost does speak.