... responds to grief in a much different way than Laertes. In this trait their characters are starkly contrasted. When Laertes learns of his fathers death his response is immediate. He displays his anger quite publicly, leading a public riot that occurs outside the Castle Elsinore in response to Polonius" death and quick burial which served as a catalyst. He is suspicious, which is evident from his ... suffering. Hamlet seems to be troubled by his mother's almost immediate marriage to his uncle, but he suspects nothing of his father's murder until the ghost discloses it to him. When facing...

• Word Count: 1938
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... shadow the corruption pervading the recent and future events of the castle. The poison with which Claudius kills King Hamlet spreads in a sense throughout the country, until "something is rotten in Denmark", as Marcellus notes (I.4.90). Shakespeare shades in words of sickness continually during the play, perhaps serving best to illustrate the ill condition of affairs plaguing not only Denmark, but the characters as ... the opening scene. As the play opens in the cool, black night, Barnardo and Francisco are high atop the looming walls of Elsinore, keeping watch for the impending revenge...

• Word Count: 1339
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School