... the first act. It brought up a lot of suspense and excitement because of all the mystery that surrounds this topic. It wasn't clear whether Hamlet was planning to do anything or not. Shakespeare uses this very well in order to prepare the reader for the rising action, which will lead to ... give the realization of the murder the amount of suspense that it does, includes the actions of the ghost. The ghost acts very mysteriously and Hamlet has to fight with himself in order to decide whether to really believe his father's ghost or not. That progression itself provides a lot of suspense ....

• Word Count: 867
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... stands before him or if it is an evil spirit trying to manipulate Hamlet into doing immoral acts. Thus being one of the biggest mysteries of the play, the ghost is also another major theme of the story. The ghost sets the tone of the play by tying all three of the themes together. With ... the coming of the ghost, Hamlet becomes to act very suspicious to leave Claudius speculating about what he has up his sleeve ... believing that his uncle, Claudius, really did kill his father. The Ghost also makes sure that Gertrude can not see him in Act III.4 when he speaks to Hamlet telling him, "Do...

• Word Count: 633
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... who are considered "clowns." The purpose of these characters is to act as a comic relief. This is necessary after the tension of Ophelia's death and the tone of most of the play. Just a few lines before, Queen Gertrude gave a very depressing image of Ophelia, "When down her weedy trophies and herself / ... but the First Clown appreciated it just the same, "I like thy wit well, in good faith / To't again, come" (501.45-49). After, Hamlet and Horatio came into the scene, the "First Clown" decided to answer the riddle: "Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for / your dull ass will ... might ...

• Word Count: 1229
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School