- The Men on Watch with Horatio, Hamlet's best friend see the ghost of Hamlet's father
- They report that young Fortinbras of Norway seeks the lands his father lost to Hamlet's father in battle.
- Two deaths hang over Act I –
Two princes stand to gain the throne, Fortinbras of Norway and Hamlet of Denmark. Fortinbras takes the throne in Norway but Hamlet II is denied in Denmark as his uncle, Claudius, moves in and marries his brother's wife, Gertrude, Hamlet's mother
The soldiers agree to send Horatio to tell Hamlet they have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father
Scene Two
Claudius receives petitions at court after his wedding to Gertrude
- The new king dispatches a message to Fortinbras's beridden uncle to ask him to stop the young Norweigian king from attacking Denmark
- Laertes, son of Polonius, asks permission to go to France; Claudius reveals that Polonius is Claudius's favorite "subject" and Laertes' petition is granted
- Hamlet questions his new double-relationship to everyone "too much I' the sun" [aunt-mother/uncle-father)
- Hamlet suggests his mother's behavior is "common"
- The King and Queen tell Hamlet he can't go back to college
- Hamlet wants to commit suicide but is afraid to because he has been taught that God won't forgive it