Personal Reaction by Abbie Clark

I am very intrigued with this book so far. It seems to be like a  soap opera with all the love, lust, heartbreak and hate that takes place in this Act alone. Obviously Ophelia and Hamlet have a thing going on but they are separated by Ophelia's lack of royal blood. It doesn't seem that Hamlet is too concerned with her at this point because he is still coming to terms with his father's death and the marriage of his mother to his uncle. Some people would find Hamlet to be melodramatic in the ways in which he is acting and such but I find that I can empathize with him. I cannot imagine what I would do if I were in his situation. To arrive  to a place once called home after being away for months and realizing with a heavy heart that everything I had ever known was gone and then to discover  that the  future was plagued with evil as dark as night for I swore revenge on my fathers murderer; my uncle none the less... Hamlet is much more composed than I could ever imagine being if I were in his shoes. When Hamlet swore this revenge, I immediately thought of all the numerous ways in which this story could end. I have never come across the ending to Hamlet, but considering that Shakespeare is the author, I imagine it will end in tragedy.

Personal Response Annie Cruz

My reaction to Act 1 in Hamlet is disquist. The fact that a person could possibly be so power greedy that they would take their own siblings life is horrific. Althought Hamlet's reaction to being enlightened of the cause of his father's death wasn't what I expected, I do beleive that he will overall get his vengence on King Claudius. I find that Hamlet is a very depressed character. Hes very emotional and sensitive for the usual masculine role. Also, I find it interesting that Shakespear involves and refers to ghosts in this story. When Hamlet's father's spirit communicates with him i found it to be a very important part of the story because this sets Hamlet's actions for the rest of the play.

Personal response, Rachel Myers

I like how the story is getting much better to read, it is actually interesting because Hamlet has found out this new information that it was his own Uncle that killed his father. I think this upsets and makes him even more mad that his mother and uncle are married now. Everyone thought it was a snake that killed his father but it was poison given to him by his uncle. I predict that eventually it will come out that Hamlet knows this since his two friends were there and heard it, but I don't think people are going to believe him. The hardest part about reading this is you have to pay really close attention to the language used because at times it can be difficult to understand.

Personal Reaction, Tori

My personal opinion of Hamlet's situation is that everything that has happened to him is ridiculous and sad.  It is wrong of his mother to marry his uncle after such a short period of time that has passed after his father's death.  It is also very shocking that Hamlet discovers that the supposed "ghost" is his father, and it is ironic that he finds out that his father was murdered by his uncle, the new king of Denmark.  It is also wrong of the kingdom to move on from King Hamlet's death as quickly as they did, because he was a great king and deserved more.  As of right now Hamlet is no longer depressed, but once he has had his revenge, I feel that his depression may resurface, as for him to have any emotion right now is better than him feeling nothing at all, and that is why his need for revenge is so strong.