In Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 of Hamlet, describe your reactions to a character, action or idea.

Obviously your reactions are from
your perceptions of what is happening in the play at this point, but here are a few
things that are happening and some questions you can answer for yourself to get you
thinking about the play.

Scene 4 is about Horatio and
Hamlet waiting for the ghost to appear.  Horatio is concerned for Hamlet's safety
because the appearance of a ghost is rarely a good thing.  Hamlet, on the other hand, is
anxious to see and interact with this ghost.  As they are waiting for the ghost, they
overhear the party that Claudius is holding in another part of the castle.  Hamlet
speaks quite eloquently about where the flaws in human nature come from.  Some questions
to ask yourself:

1.  Is Horatio a good friend?  How do you
know?

2.  Is Hamlet brave or foolish for wanting to see the
ghost?

3.  What do make of Hamlet's commentary on fatal
flaws?  Is he right?  Is this speech really Shakespeare talking about tragic
flaws?

4.  How do you feel about Hamlet's lack of concern
for his safety and his remark that he "doesn't set his life at a pin's
fee"?

5.  How do you now understand Marcellus's famous line
"something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

In scene 5,
the ghost has a long monologue with Hamlet.  It is hear that Hamlet learns several very
disturbing things.  First it is revealed that King Hamlet is in purgatory (not heaven,
not hell) -- a place where he will stay until his "sins are burnt and purged away."  It
is not a pleasant afterlife.  Next the ghost reveals the details of how Claudius killed
King Hamlet and how the ghost feels about his wife and his brother as concerns their
quick marriage.  The ghost asks Hamlet to "let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch
for luxery and damned incest."  Hamlet swears to carry out this command and makes the
others swear to not speak a word of they saw this night.  Here are some questions to ask
yourself:

1.  What do you think of the way
the ghost revealed the story of the murder -- the clever build up to the
reveal of Claudius?

2.  How does the ghost blame Claudius
for Gertrude's behavior?  What does this reveal about King Hamlet and his feelings about
Gertrude.

3.  What do you think he is exactly asking of
Hamlet?

4.  What do you think of the ghost's request for
Hamlet to not punish Gertrude?

5.  What do you think
bothers the ghost the most?  dying with sins on his soul; Claudius murdering him;
Claudius and Gertrude's marriage; something else?

6.  What
is your reaction toHamlet's soliloquy after the ghost initally leaves?  Is this what you
expected?  Are you surprised by his determination? 

7.  Now
what do you make of Marcellus's line in the previous
scene?

8.  What do you think of Gertrude as she is
portrayed here by King Hamlet's comments?

Hope these
suggestions help!