Elias Gonzalez Wosk

Act I

What is "rotten in the state of Denmark," as Marcellus tells us? What do we learn
about the situation in Scene I? In Scene II?

Whats rotten in the state of Denmark is the corruption and the killing of the king, thing
that was a great act of murder for a great period of time in which the killer of the king
was his brother and the widow has now married the killer which is the new king.In
Scene I, Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo see the ghost of Hamlet's father, the dead
king that has been killed by Claudius the new king. In Scene II, Hamlet is talking to his
mother Gertrude, and his uncle Claudius. Hamlet's father is dead and within a very short
period of time, Claudius has married Hamlet's mother. Hamlet is sad and angered by
this. Gertrude and Claudius are worried about Hamlet's mental health. Finally Horatio
Marcellus and Bernardo tell Hamlet they saw his fathers ghost leading to Hamlet
staying up and seeing it for himself.

In what ways is Scene II a contrast to Scene I? What do we learn about

Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet in this scene?

Scene II contrasts a lot to Scene I since first we see a dark, scary place at the setting
giving the viewers chills and anxiety, meanwhile in the other scene everything is calm,
its warm and its day, and its a celebration of marriage giving the viewer a sense of
calmness and happiness, the first scene was black and white we might say and Scene
II was so colorful talking in a metaphorical way.

What is the function of the Polonius-Ophelia-Laertes family in this play? What

parallels exist between their situation and that of the ruling family?
I think the function of the Polonius- Ophelia family in this play is to enhance the
problems that are happening in the royal family. Some parallels that exist
between them and the ruling family are that both Polonius and Claudius have
trouble controlling their kids and that both Ophelia and Gertrude love Hamlet, but
dont know how to deal with him.

What does Hamlet learn from the Ghost's speech?

Hamlet learns a lot from the Ghosts speech, in it that the afterlife exists although its not
sure if the ghost of his father is a demon or someone stuck in purgatory. He also learns
that his father was killed by his brother, that her mother had an affair with Claudius
before the marriage and that he must revenge his father by killing his uncle, he shall not
take revenge by killing his mother and that he was very loved by his father. Finally

stating that Denmark was a prison and that he must listen to his fathers ghost and all of
Denmark for further clues.