Shakespeare's Hamlet, Essential Revision Notes
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Table of Contents
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 26
The Impossibility of Certainty 29
The Nation as a Diseased Body 31
Incest and Incestuous Desire 32
Problem/Deliberation/Resolution 35
The protagonist is a person of status 38
The play’s events must be important and serious 38
The tragic hero has a fatal flaw 38
Religion: The Great Chain of Being 41
General Vision and Viewpoint 47
Shakespeare’s outlook on life 47
(i) Revenge and justice are finely balanced themes in the play, Hamlet. 51
Hamlet
Summary Act One
Scene One
Hamlet opens with the interaction of two guards of Elsinore Castle, Barnardo and Francisco. Barnardo has come to relieve Francisco of his duties and the pair have a brief discussion about the weather. Horatio and Marcellus arri...