In the first scene, the guards are on duty outside of the castle when the ghost of the dead King Hamlet appears. Horatio asserts that the ghost brings words of caution to the men that the county is headed for some sort of struggle, which probably means an attack from Norway. Horatio also speaks of Hamlet’s battles with King Fortinbras of Norway; Hamlet had conquered much of Fortinbras’ land, so now the Norwegian king’s predecessors seek to win that land back. The appearance of deceased King Hamlet is, in itself, a sign of something wrong in Denmark, as any country that has recently lost a king must have some unrest. The fact that Horatio thinks upon first sight of the ghost that it must bring a warning to the men about the

As harbingers preceding still the fates

Upon whose influence Neptune’s empire stands,

As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,

Soil our addition; and , indeed, it takes

The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead

The pith and marrow of our attribute.

Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets:

Some topics in this essay:
King Claudius, Julius Caesar, King Hamlet, King Claudius’, Horatio Horatio’s, Denmark Norway, Hamlet Denmark, Denmark Horatio, Norway Hamlet, Norway Horatio, king claudius, fall caesar, rome fall, king hamlet, rome fall caesar, appearance ghost, allusion rome, idea denmark, scene iv, horatio’s words, deceased kings, allusion rome fall,