Hamlet Act 1 Scene 2 Response

1. summarize the scene. The scene begins with an announcement from the new king telling his people that he is happy yet sad about his brothers death. Happy to have Gertrude as his new wife and sad his brother is dead. He then shares with Cornelius and Voltemand the importance of the task of delivering a letter to a Norweigan man, that is their duty. He gives permission to Laertes, with his father's consent, to travel to France. Claudius then speaks to his son with wife present about not leaving for another town and to stop mourning. Hamlet suggests that his downcast eyes, mood, and dark clothing only hint at his true feelings; he agrees to stay for his mother's sake, yet does not fully agree to calling the new king his father. Hamlet describes his pain of the death of his father and his mother's new marriage in the first soliloquy of the play. He meets with Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo as they discuss their reason for being their as well as what had been seen previously. Hamlet is amazed yet confused by the sighting and wishes he was there when it happened as the details continue to unfold before him. In the end they decide that that night's watch Hamleet will join. The scene ends with Hamlet alone thinking that the description of his father as "armed" must mean bad things ahead and that he is very excited to her the hidden autrocities about to be revealed to him.

4. I really liked the whole soliloquy in this scene. I thought is very strongly depiccted what is going through Hamlet's mind as a lot of bad news begins to affect him. In lines 129-132 Hamlet comments on his wish to commit suicide but that it is against God's will.
Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!
I find this reaction to be not too extreme. I can understand why he feels the need to escape life after his father has been killed and his mother has remarried his uncle whom he sees as unfit for the throne. I think the lines really display his feelings and desires that he hides to the world through his dark clothing, mood, and eyes.

2. The significance of scene two in the play "Hamlet" is o establish the characters of Claudius and Gertrud, to give insight into the details of the main characters, and to display Hamlet's true feelings about the current situation. Without this scene in the play the reader would be left extremely confused as this scene ties up bits and pieces and develops characters feelings as well as very important plot limes and introductions to new antagonists.