Themes Galore - (Act I)

The first act of this play is chock-full of the many "big themes" that are constantly recurring in the work. Three of these major themes include death, revenge and family relationships - all of which are introduced in the expository first act. The most prominent theme is that of death, first introduced in the beginning when the new King talks about the late King Hamlet's death and then later brought forth in further detail when the Ghost describes exactly how it all went down. Throughout the first act leading up to the revelation of the murder, it was evident that Hamlet was struggling often with the recent death of his father. Another theme, introduced later in the Act, which goes hand-in-hand with that of death is the notion of revenge. The Ghost of the late King Hamlet convinces the young Hamlet - the protagonist - that he must avenge his slain father and take his revenge on his Uncle Claudius for doing the deed. This spurs on Hamlet's charade of madness in order to disguise his plotting to kill the new King. A third theme that was introduced in the first act of Hamlet was that of "Family Relationships." It is obvious in scenes II and III that there is much tension in both Hamlet's family and Polonius's family. Polonius is quite obviously a very nosy and controlling person, and both he and his son Laertes did their best to tell Ophelia (Polonius's daughter) to stay well away from Prince Hamlet. There is an obedient relationship coming from the submissive Ophelia, and a very controlling vibe coming from Polonius. Within the royal family, there are many spots of visible tension as well. Hamlet is obviously kindly inclined to his mother and respects her greatly. He uses the "formal pronouns" including "you" and "yours" when addressing her, as opposed to the harsh tone and informal manner of speaking that he directs at the King. Hamlet makes his dislike for his Step-Father/Uncle very clear, and there is not a very good relationship there. As well, after encountering the Ghost, Hamlet's attitude towards his family only becomes worse - his hatred for Claudius grows and he loses some respect for his somewhat incestuous mother. These three themes, death, revenge and family relationships, were all introduced in the first Act of the play, setting the stage for what looks to be a very interesting work of Shakespeare.



Final Word Count (Not Including this Footnote): 400 Words.