“HORATIO Friends to this ground
MARCELLUS And liegemen to the Dane”
On stage the lines would have been said straight after each other increasing the speed of the dialogue and creating a sense of anxiety.
The Ghost also plays a large part in making the first scene effective. The play starts with many hints about the Ghost which the audience would pick up as a forewarning of something strange going on. The characters describe the Ghost as a “dreaded sight” and an “apparition” to create a sense of there being something unknown and also add to the daunting atmosphere. Owing to the fact that Shakespeare doesn’t put in many stage directions the director of the play can choose to actually have a physical Ghost which the audience can see or one which is only visible to the characters on stage. The effectiveness of the Ghost in the first scene is shown in the introduction of it “What, has this thing appeared again tonight?” which immediately lets the audience know that there is something odd happening. The description of the Ghost as a “thing” shows the fact that that it is an unknown creature and also creates a suspenseful atmosphere. Also the word “again” suggests that the Ghost has been there before and therefore, begins to unfold the storyline.
In Elizabethan times the Ghost would have played an even more significant part in the play as England was going through religious changes at the time that Hamlet would have been performed. England had recently become Protestant and the idea of a Ghost is a Purgatory, Catholic idea. From a Catholic point of view the spirit of King Hamlet was in Purgatory which meant that he was in neither heaven or hell but wandering in reparation to make up for his foul sins. Catholics would not have believed the Ghost to be harmful or threatening whereas the Protestant belief is that purgatory does not exist and Ghosts are evil phantoms. Shakespeare uses this belief to manipulate his audience and this is reflected when Horatio states “this bodes some strange eruption to our state”. Many Elizabethan people would have been quite confused as they would not have known whether the spirit of King Hamlet was evil or not.
Shakespeare uncovers the tale of Hamlet and Denmark in a very efficient fashion, made original with his use of poetry which aids the lengthy speeches to flow along effectively. When Marcellus begins to interrogate Horatio and Bernardo about why it seems as though the state is preparing for war, Shakespeare keeps the mystery in the atmosphere thick by the use of questions such as “Why such impress shipwrights whose sore task/Does not divide the Sunday from the week?” and “What might be toward, that this sweaty haste/Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day?”. These questions are then used to inform the audience of past events, as Horatio begins to recite the tale of the battle between Fortinbras and King Hamlet. This is a very clever technique used by William Shakespeare as it is essential for an introductory scene to provide the audience with some background and history.
History as well as superstition, myths and legend play a massive role in making the opening scene effective and interesting. Horatio tells his companions that when Julius Caesar the emperor of Rome died, the “graves stood tenantless” and there were “dews of blood” and “disasters in the sun“ signifying that the natural world was in disarray after the fall of the Roman leader. The word “blood” creates a disturbing image in the audiences mind as a drop of dew is meant to be a pure and serene wonder of nature and describing it as being bloody is slightly distressing. Also, the description about “the sheeted dead/Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets” prepares the audience for horrific events as ghosts wandering the streets and creating strange noises can be seen as a indication of the natural world being in turmoil. Horatio’s speech then becomes more dramatic as he says “and prologue to the omen coming on” forewarning the audience that something terrible is going to happening. Another superstition is effectively used in this scene when Bernardo says “It was about to speak when the cock crew” suggesting that the Ghost left because ghosts only walk at night and the crowing of a cockerel symbolises dawn. This would have greatly troubled and had an impact on an Elizabethan audience as they were very superstitious and had the belief that if there was something wrong with the Court then there was something wrong with the country in general. This belief is strongly reflected in the rest of Hamlet too, as the dead King Hamlet is said to have been a very strong political leader and whilst he is on the throne Denmark was in good condition but when Claudius takes over Denmark becomes corrupted because Claudius is an evil politician.
The introduction of characters is essential to any play as the plot revolves around the characters. Traditionally, the first scene of a play would introduce significant characters but Shakespeare breaks away from this typical mould and only uses minor characters, and the protagonist Hamlet is only mentioned at the end of the scene. Nonetheless, Horatio does play an important part later on in the play. He is one of Hamlet’s best friends and is with Hamlet when he dies. Furthermore, he is also the character who informs Fortinbras of the story of Hamlet. Horatio is also quite a significant character in the first scene as he provides the audience with a lot of information and also, influences the audience’s opinion about the Ghost. Horatio is said to be a “scholar” which makes him very sceptical about the Ghost as he is educated and sensible. Therefore, when Horatio changes his mind about the Ghost and says “It harrows me with fear and wonder” the audience are influenced by his opinion and also grow a belief of the Ghost as Horatio is an educated man and yet as the word “wonder” implies, is petrified by the Ghost.
Moreover, William Shakespeare’s use of poetry is very effective in creating a vivid picture in the audience’s mind. There is a beautiful line at the end of the play in which Horatio says “But look the morn, in russet mantle clad,/Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill” which paints a beautiful picture in one’s mind one as it is describing the morning as a beautiful woman dressed in red, gold and green walking over a hill which inserts a romantic element into the scene and also makes the scene calmer and tranquil in preparation for the end of the scene and introduction of the royal family.
Overall, I think that the introductory scene of Hamlet is very effective because Shakespeare uses many different techniques to entice his audience and to make us believe in the play. I also think that the play would have made great theatre as there is are many dramatic events in the first scene and it introduces the storyline in an extremely stimulating manner. On the other hand, some people and in particular modern audiences would have some concerns about the effectiveness of the opening scene. In fact, many popular versions of Hamlet have left out the opening scene. Moreover, concentration is a characteristic that most of us today lack, which is why we find some of the more lengthy speeches in Hamlet, incredibly tedious. An Elizabethan audience would have needed some of the lengthy speeches, detailed descriptions and vivid language to create a clear image in their mind, as they wouldn’t have had scenery or lighting to aid their imagination. An audience of today find some of the language in Hamlet to difficult to comprehend as the play is written in poetry, and we are not used to listening to poetic dialogue. Also, in Elizabethan times, everyone went to the theatre and it was a very popular pastime equivalent to television, whereas we are not as accustomed to seeing things being performed on stage.