Hamlet+1.4-1.5

5. I find it amusing how Horatio was seen as the brave guard when the ghost first started appearing in scene one. However, when the ghost motions for Hamlet to follow him, Horatio and Marcellus hold him back in fear of what the ghost may do to Hamlet. In this scene, Hamlet is the brave one because when the ghost tells Hamlet to follow him, Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus that he will be fine. Even when Hamlet is returning from his discussion with the ghost, Horatio says how he hopes that Hamlet is okay. Although Horatio appeared to be the brave one back in Scene 1, Hamlet turns out to be the bravest one so far.

4. Hamlet says, "the stamp of one defect, / Being nature's livery or fortune's star, / His virtues else, be they as pure as grace, / As infinite as man may undergo, / Shall in the general censure take corruption / From that particular fault. The dram of [evil] / Doth all the noble substance of a doubt / To his own scandal] (1.4.34-41). This line really shows how judgmental people can be. Hamlet is saying that some people have defects that they are born with, defects that they cannot manage themselves. He is saying that often because of one defect, people judge others and perceive them differently.

7. I feel bad for Hamlet because he finds out from a ghost, a ghost of his own father, that his own uncle murdered his father. I mean it is one thing for one of your parents to be murdered, but by your own family member makes it worse. And it gets even worse for Hamlet because after his father's death, Hamlet's mother marries Hamlet's uncle. It seems like nothing is going right in Hamlet's family. I don't know if he thinks he can fix anything or what. Most people would be horrified and super emotional about all of this, but Hamlet seems to be coping with everything. I always wonder if he acts like everything is fine when in reality it isn't?