HAMLET READING JOURNAL

ACT 1:

 Act 1 sets us up in Denmark. The King (old Hamlet) has recently died and his wife (Gertrude) married another man only couple of months later after his death. Young Hamlet is devastated about the recent events. In this Act we can appreciate that the main scene is when Hamlet talks with the ghost. This scene is important because we can see a psychological change in Hamlet: "GHOST: (...) the serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown. HAMLET: O my prophetic soul! My uncle!” (P.30 line 39-41) In this part, the ghost tells Hamlet that the responsible for old Hamlets death are Claudius (the new king) and Gertrude. This makes Hamlet enter into a state of shock, which later on transforms into madness. We can appreciate that the author made use of a metaphor to refer to Claudius as a “serpent”, this makes us as readers comprehend how frustrated and angry the old Hamlet’s ghost is with the fact of Claudius being the king.

ACT 2:

 Act 2 tries to show us all the attempts from Gertrude and Claudius to know what is happening to Hamlet. In this case, they contact Rosencrantz and Guildesnstern (two of Hamlets closest friends) to talk with Hamlet and know what is going on in his mind: "QUEEN: Good gentlemen, he (Hamlet) hath much talkd of you, And sure I am, two men there is not living To whom he more adheres...” (P. 41 line 19-21) This quote here shows us that Gertrude does not have that much of a good relationship with her own son. This tells us a lot about Gertrude’s personality because you must have serious problems if you prefer others to talk to your kid instead of talking to him yourself.