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= Q2. F = shoote 339 now = Q1/Q2. F = are 340 also = Q2. F = alwayes 343 while = Q2. F = whiles

SCENE-BY-SCENE ANALYSIS
ACT 1 SCENE 1
    Lines 1–14: The play begins with a question, as the guards Barnardo and Francisco swap shifts and Barnardo asks “Who’s there?,” evoking the themes of identity, uncertainty and existence which indicate that this is a reflective play, often with more emphasis on thought and speech than on action. The information that it is midnight reinforces setting, with ideas of night and darkness and the associated themes of secrecy/deception. It also introduces the concept of “balance” between two opposites: the play begins at the point between one day and another, a literal representation of this “balance” between key themes and motifs such as day/night, words/actions, physical/spiritual and appearance/reality.
    Lines 15–117: Marcellus brings Horatio to witness an “apparition” that he and the sentinels have previously seen, as Horatio thinks they have imagined the whole thing. Barnardo begins to describe a previous encounter when the ghost appears. Commenting on its resemblance to the late king, they urge it to speak, but the ghost leaves in silence. Shaken, Horatio says that he would not believe it “Without the sensible and true avouch” of his “own eyes,” a statement that raises the theme of sight/perception. He adds that the appearance of the ghost “bodes some strange eruption to our state,” establishing that the play functions on a national/public level, often in tension with the individual/personal. Marcellus asks why Denmark appears to be preparing for war. Horatio explains that the late king conquered lands belonging to Norway and that the young Norwegian prince, Fortinbras, is preparing to take them back.
    Lines 118–168: The ghost reappears and, as Horatio attempts to make it speak, a cock crows. Horatio instructs Marcellus to “Stop it” and Marcellus strikes at the ghost, which leaves again. Horatio suggeststhat they tell Prince Hamlet what they have seen, as, if it really is the ghost of his father, it will speak to him.
ACT 1 SCENE 2
    Lines 1–128: King Claudius (whose name is never mentioned in the dialogue) makes a speech to court, expressing his grief at the death of his brother and announcing that he has married his brother’s widow, Queen Gertrude: “With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, / In equal scale weighing delight and dole,” again suggesting balance between opposites. The speech is formal and ceremonious, as Claudius emphasizes his new role as king, but it seems awkward as well: it is difficult to reconcile his apparent grief with his happiness at his marriage. Claudius also announces that Fortinbras is demanding the “surrender” of the captured Norwegian lands, and he sends two ambassadors to inform the king of Norway, Fortinbras’ elderly uncle, of his nephew’s actions. Laertes asks for permission to return to his studies in France now that he has shown his duty in attending Claudius’ coronation. Claudius agrees, provided Laertes has Polonius’ permission, which is given. Three sets of father/son relationships have now been established, emphasizing the importance of this particular family dynamic to the play. Claudius turns to Hamlet, addressing him as “my son,” and asks him why “the clouds still hang” on him, to which Hamlet replies that he is “too much i’th’sun.” This pun on “son/sun” establishes the wordplay that is a key feature of this play, particularly in Hamlet’s speeches. Language/words are focused on and explored throughout in terms of the complexities of “meaning,” and also as an opposition to action. Gertrude asks Hamlet to stop wearing mourning for his father, but Hamlet responds that his grief goes much deeper than “the trappings and the suits of woe,” reinforcing the theme of appearance and reality and the motif of clothing. He argues that there is a difference between what