Denmark’s Presentation at the Opening Ceremony of Hamlet

The presentation of Hamlet’s Denmark is first seen in the opening scene of Hamlet where the two guards enter and the first thing said is “who’s there?” This immediately sets the mood of the whole play and to some extent what kind of state Denmark is in on high alert, also the darkness and mystery of who is there sets a sinister tone for the play and it also sets a sinister mood for Denmark. It also suggests that the opening scene of Hamlet is set in the dead of night, as they cannot identify each other and are therefore nervous about who exactly the other person might be.

Also, when Bernardo says “long live the king”, he shows that he is loyal to the current king of Denmark and by doing so shows that he is on the side of the other guard. This while establishing that both guards are on the same side also shows that there might be an enemy and therefore the audience can conclude that Denmark is currently in a state of war. Throughout scene 1 of Act 1 there is stichomythia where both Bernardo and Francisco have alternating lines and there are also blank lines that break when Francisco says “Bernardo?” to which Bernardo responds in the same way of broken white verses “He”. By using this dramatic technique, it suggests that the lines are spoken quite quickly one after the other, which suggests that there is some kind of tension between the two guards, which is quite strange, since they are just changing shifts and, again, this it suggests the possibility that there is some kind of military instability in Denmark at the moment that makes everyone nervous.

In Act 1, scene 1, when Marcellus and the two sentinels see the ghost for the first time and see that the ghost looks exactly like the late king hamlet “in the same figure as the king who is dead”. Despite this, they view it as a bad omen that perhaps the men should have an army in Denmark in response to Fortinbras’s raising of an army. Although Fortinbras’s army is supposed to be used against Poland, they fear that he may attack Denmark to avenge his father’s death and reclaim the land his father lost to King Hamlet. This is also supported when they see the ghost in his full armor, as the old king used to wear “such was the armor he had on”. This again shows the risks that Denmark imposes and how it is on the verge of war and the fact that the ancient King Hamlet’s armor is discussed suggests that the ancient King was very much a war king who was a hero to the people and thus Denmark is moving from a traditional place of war to a more political and diplomatic Denmark, which can be seen when the new King Claudius sends a messenger to the King of Norway instead of facing the army that is being diplomatically prepared to guarantee that the army does not attack Denmark, but simply passes by and goes to Poland.

In Act One, Scene 4, again the ghost is seen as an omen about the fate of Denmark when Hamlet says to the ghost, “Be a spirit of health or a cursed goblin”, so here it would be that Hamlet is asking the ghost ghost if it’s a ghost. omen of good health possibly for Denmark or is a leprechaun. He then goes on to say, “Bring with you winds from heaven or gusts from hell,” bringing about the contrast and again an ominous mystery as to whether the ghost here will bring gentle breezes or violent, devastating flavors.

Also in scene 1, act 4, Marcelo says “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. being a harbinger of bad news. Horatio responds to this “heaven will direct it”. This can be seen as Horatio saying that everything that is currently wrong in Denmark in the end, heaven will direct too well and heaven will make everything right.

In conclusion, the presentation of Denmark in Hamlet is very well done, as it shows how influential people within Denmark affect the country as a whole.