Foreshadowing In Hamlet
Paula Vasconcellos
Plot of Hamlet
To kill a king, to avenge a murder, to save a nation, a task put into one man's hands. Hamlet is a man with "too much reason" and not enough action. Sick with love and disgusted by the lust which slowly engulfs his kingdom. He is surrounded by greed and death within a threatened Denmark. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, plot is constructed through various internal conflicts and a tense mood formed by the use of historical setting, psychological characterization, and ominous foreshadowing. The battle between King Fortinbras and King Hamlet is an example presented in the play of historical setting, for it illustrates a past happening which is important for the fundemental understanding of the play. …show more content…
The play opens at a sentry post before the castle of Elsinore, Denmark, during legendary times. It is midnight and Francisco, a sentry, is at his post awaiting his relief. We are already led to wonder what he is frightened of, but we are soon told, "Horatio says tis but our fantasy, and well not let belief take hold of him thouching this draded sight, twice seen of us." (Act I , sc.I, lines 30-33) We are informed that for the past couple of nights two guards have repeatedly seen what is thought to be an apparition of the late King Hamlet of Denmark. Already a sense of mystery permeates the beginning of the plot with the mysterious appearance of the ghost, but as quickly as the ghost comes, it goes. We are left only with one question in our minds, why has the ghost returned from the dead? This question leads us to foreshadow that the ghost has returned to correct a wrong or if it be an evil ghost to cause chaos in Denmark. Another example that might lead us to conclude that something is not right in the state of Denmark is the line said by Marcellus(one of the guards who has seen the ghost), "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". This line alone leaves the reader with an uncomfortable feeling, wondering what could be wrong and if it is somehow connected to the ghost's return. Another important example of foreshadowing if found in Act I sc. III , when Polonius prohibits his
Plot of Hamlet
To kill a king, to avenge a murder, to save a nation, a task put into one man's hands. Hamlet is a man with "too much reason" and not enough action. Sick with love and disgusted by the lust which slowly engulfs his kingdom. He is surrounded by greed and death within a threatened Denmark. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, plot is constructed through various internal conflicts and a tense mood formed by the use of historical setting, psychological characterization, and ominous foreshadowing. The battle between King Fortinbras and King Hamlet is an example presented in the play of historical setting, for it illustrates a past happening which is important for the fundemental understanding of the play. …show more content…
The play opens at a sentry post before the castle of Elsinore, Denmark, during legendary times. It is midnight and Francisco, a sentry, is at his post awaiting his relief. We are already led to wonder what he is frightened of, but we are soon told, "Horatio says tis but our fantasy, and well not let belief take hold of him thouching this draded sight, twice seen of us." (Act I , sc.I, lines 30-33) We are informed that for the past couple of nights two guards have repeatedly seen what is thought to be an apparition of the late King Hamlet of Denmark. Already a sense of mystery permeates the beginning of the plot with the mysterious appearance of the ghost, but as quickly as the ghost comes, it goes. We are left only with one question in our minds, why has the ghost returned from the dead? This question leads us to foreshadow that the ghost has returned to correct a wrong or if it be an evil ghost to cause chaos in Denmark. Another example that might lead us to conclude that something is not right in the state of Denmark is the line said by Marcellus(one of the guards who has seen the ghost), "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". This line alone leaves the reader with an uncomfortable feeling, wondering what could be wrong and if it is somehow connected to the ghost's return. Another important example of foreshadowing if found in Act I sc. III , when Polonius prohibits his