“Tis now struck twelve.” And “Tis bitter cold.”
Also, Shakespeare would usually have his characters walking around with props like candles and torches in order to emphasize the night and darkness.
In addition to scene one being set in the dark, the characters, Barnardo, Francisco, Horatio and Marcellus all show similar emotions like anxiety, wariness and nerves. All this is mainly because at that time, war was a constant threat and an attack on the castle was inevitable. The characters unleash their emotions on the ghost. Some are very curious and attempt communication with it.
“What art thou that unsurp’st this time of night…?” and others like Marcellus express their anger towards the apparition.
“Shall I strike at it with my partisan?”
The iambic pentameter used in scene one keeps the rhythm and pace generally constant and swift. Additionally, the shared lines help to show the characters interrupting one another and agreeing.
“Friends to this ground…”and “Legimen to the Dane.” This episode shows Horatio identifying himself to Francisco as a “friend to the ground” or basically, a servant to the castle and then Marcellus agreeing with Horatio by expressing their respect for the monarch.
The character’s attitude towards the ghost was mainly due to the way ghosts were regarded by Elizabethans. They were believed by most to be bad omens or the devil in disguise. So, the character’s panicking reactions were quite understandable. At the beginning of the scene Horatio refers to the ghost as “thing” and “it”. This vague terminology shows Horatio’s ambiguous response to what they had previously seen and that he believes it not to be human and definitely not to be the King!
“…Our last king, whose image even but now appear’d to us…”
At the end of the scene when the cock crows and night changes to day, the general mood of the characters is more relaxed and relieved but are still quite curious as to why the ghost suddenly disappeared as soon as the cock crew. In their minds that was proof that the ghost was actually evil and the cock crowing was a warning of day when evil spirits could not come out. Back then light was thought of as good and darkness bad, hence the phrases “black magic” and “dark ages”.
Due to this superstitious conclusion, Horatio is now very reluctant to inform his good friend Hamlet about the apparitions of his dead father but feels he must because Hamlet would be the only person with any chance of some how communicating with the ghost.
“Let us impart what we have seen tonight unto young Hamlet; for upon my life this spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it as needful in our loves, fitting our duty?” This anticipates future plot developments for all the audience and such praise and loyalty for the monarchy would have pleased James 1st.
The use of long and complex sentences gives the audience a very good insight into the plot, for example, when Horatio mentions Fortinbras whose father was defeated in battle and who wants to avenge his father’s defeat, and why the characters don’t know the reason for them being on their best guard every night.
“Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows, why this same strict and most observant watch so nightly toils the subject of the land…”
The ghost also helps to reveal the plot as it gets the characters thinking about the war and how Hamlet will react to them seeing his dead father.
Over all, I believe that Shakespeare was successful in using techniques like iambic pentameter, complex sentences and use of setting the first scene in the dark to establish mood and plot of the play.
