ACT 1 HAMLET

In Act 1 of Hamlet, things I noticed the most as a reader were the ways the characters are introduced and portrayed. The three characters that stuck out the most to me as a reader are: King CLaudius, Queen Gertrud, and of course Hamlet. I believe that Shakespeare starts the play by showing you these characters true colors but in a way that you have to think about to understand. King Claudius for example, acts like he is truly concerned about Hamlet's well-being. However, when thinking about Claudius from the reader's point of view I feel as if he's trying to watch his own back instead. Seeing this character trait about King Claudius from the very beginning of the story shows that maybe he isn't as innocent as he claims to be. He has such a concern of Hamlet because he doesn't want to loose his throne, or possibly even be killed by Hamlet. Queen Gertrud confuses me as a reader. I'm not sure if she had anything to do with her late husband's death or if she really is a concerned mother. When I first read about Queen Gertrud speaking to Guildenstern and Rosencrantz I took it as she was sincerely worried for her son, Hamlet's safety since he's been acting strangely after his father's death. The second time through the reading I paid more attention to Gertrud's words. Gertrud says, "for the supply and profit of our hope" (page 48) and that gave me a different outlook on Gertrud as a mother. I believe that if she was truly concerned with Hamlet's sanity she would help him herself instead of hiring his friends to do the job. Another factor I thought about was the fact that she remarried her late husbands brother so quickly. Does this mean she knew she had to move on instead of being depressed or that she was a conspirator in Hamlet's fathers death? Hamlet is another character I read multiple ways. When Hamlet is first introduced into the play he is called crazy. I believed that Hamlet truly couldn't deal with the death of his father and it sent him off the deep end. I thought about how I would feel if i was put into the situation Hamlet faced and I think I'd of acted different then usual too, I feel like it's just normal. Then after Hamlet met the ghost I felt differently. I do believe he was having a hard time dealing with the death but after gaining information from the ghost I think he used it to benefit him. If Hamlet acts like he is crazy but is really completely sane he can easily deceive people. Overall, these three characters actions got me engaged in the play and I am looking forward to seeing what sides of them come out by the end of the play.