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To what extent has Shakespeare used act one to establish thematic development
in regards to role definition?
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy dealing with many themes like love, revenge,
family honor as well as political issues
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The play is missing a prologue, and so it draws
the reader directly into the world of Prince Hamlet
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In the first act the new
king, Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother and Prince Hamlet’s uncle who married
King Hamlet’s wife, Gertrude, is introduced
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Scene one of act one establishes the mood of the kingdom after the death of King
Hamlet, and by establishing the mood gives a taste of what the new ruler,
Claudius, seems like to the nation
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i
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The line belongs to Barnardo, who is the king’s guard
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It suggests that the kingdom under Claudius’s
rule is in such a condition that even the guards are anxious
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Expressions like “sick at heart”(1
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8) in
scene one and “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”(1
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90) can be seen
as other indicators of the state of the country under Claudius’s influence, thus
affecting the way the reader perceives Claudius
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He gives the impression of being a not so powerful leader, almost afraid of
his own nation
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ii
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He also uses a lot of
contrasting ideas that do not go well together, a fact that adds to his image of
being unsure and not having much influence
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The reader gets an impression of Claudius being a weak leader
cautious and unsure of his position as a leader, and by the end of act one this
impression is even deepened

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