Hamlet+1.1

4. Horatio says, "Before my God, I might not this believe / Without the sensible and true avouch / Of mine own eyes" (1.1.66-68). This line really portrays Horatio's disbelief in the ghost. Prior to seeing the ghost with his own eyes, he thought that the other guards were fantasizing the ghost. Now that Horatio has experienced the ghost himself, he finally realizes he was wrong.

When Marcellus asks Horatio if he should "strike it with my partisan," Horatio replies "Do, if it will not stand" (1.1.153-154). Horatio tells Marcellus to strike the ghost with his partisan if the ghost comes any closer. For a man who is considered a man of bravery, Horatio acts a lot like the other guards in this scene. He seems to be brave at first, but the truth is, he is not a man of no fears. The ghost definitely scares Horatio in some sort of way.

5. I really liked the character of Horatio because he reminded me a little bit of myself. I liked the fact that he didn't believe what anyone told him, he thought for himself. However, when the other guards Barnardo and Marcellus tell Horatio of the ghost they have seen two consecutive nights, he tells them they are fantasizing everything. Horatio seems like an intelligent man, Marcellus tells him that he is a scholar. Like me, Horatio is not afraid to tell everyone how he truly feels. However, I do not think he expresses it in a sarcastic way like I do.

9. If I were directing //Hamlet// I would definitely say that the stage would be quiet, but not silent. I think I would make the quietness like a scary quiet. It would also be very cold, characters would be able to see their breath every time they spoke. The lighting on stage would not be directly on the characters, but the lighting would come from behind the characters. Not only is this to give it a scary feel, but also because the characters are a little jumpy, so they would not want to be directly in the light.