Reading Log

A. Vocabulary

1. rummage 1.1.119
- bustle, commotion
Of this posthaste and rummage in the land.
2. retrograde 1.2.118
- opposite, contrary
It is most retrograde to our desire,
3. censure 1.3.75
- critic, judgment, expression of disapproval
Take each mans censure, but reserve thy judgment.
4. shrewdly 1.4.1
- keenly, intensively
The air bites shrewdly; it is very cold.
5. plausive 1.4.33
- pleasing
The form of plausive manners that these men,

B. Summary
On a dark cold night outside the royal Danish palace, Barnardo, Marcellus, Horatio and
Francisco had an encounter with a ghost, at first Horatio expresses doubt that the ghost
will appear. Claudius and Gertrude, the King and Queen of Denmark announced their
marriage to the court. This marriage has followed quickly after the death of Old Hamlet,

Claudiuss brother. Then, there is Ophelia, Hamlets love interest. Laertes advises her
about her relationship with Hamlet, he tells her to forget him because he, as the Prince
of Denmark, is too much to hope for as a husband. The guards informed Hamlet about
the ghosts appearance; he talked to his fathers ghost and the ghost gave him an
advice to get away from the others. Alone with Hamlet, the ghost finally speaks. He tells
Hamlet that he has come on a nightly walk from Purgatory, where his soul is under
continual torment for the sins of his life. The ghost then reveals that he was not killed by
a viper, as officially announced, but was murdered.

C. Reaction
Reading Shakespeares Hamlet is really a challenge for me, because, firstly, its my first
time reading one of William Shakespeares work, I had to read some translation in the
internet for me to understand the story further. In act 1, it focuses on the uncertainties
and betrayals that accompany such shifts in power and the general sense of anxiety
and fear that surround them. After reading, researching and discussing act 1 of Hamlet,
I was so fascinated in a way, on how Shakespeare write his works. I am looking forward
to read the next acts. He is really a genius.

Reading Log
Act 1
Scenes 1-5
A. Vocabulary
Word
1. Comart

Line
-

1.1 line 105

Bargain

Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same comart

2. Countenance-

1.2 line 247

-

n. Face; expression

3. Imminent

4. Clepe

5. Arrant

A countenance more in sorrow than in anger

1.3 line 46

adj. Ready to happen; inevitable

Contagious blastments are most imminent.

1.4 line 21

Call

They clepe us drunkards and with swinish phrase.

1.5 line 138

Complete

But hes an arrant knave

B. Summary

King Hamlet is dead, and Prince Hamlet has returned to Denmark, only to
discover that Queen Gertrude, his mother, has married his Uncle Claudius. Hamlet is
informed that what is apparently the ghost of his dead father has appeared to the palace
guards. When he later confronts the ghost, Hamlet learns that Claudius murdered his
father.
C. Reaction

I could say that Shakespeare is really fascinating by the way he puts up his words
and their meanings. It takes time for an ordinary person to apprehend his plays. I have
downloaded different versions of the book just to understand it. I notice that when the
sentence is translated, the value of the meaning differs. Its like, from sublime to cute.
The character of Claudius is common, someone who would kill and betray people even
his relatives for the sake of power and lust. As for the Queen, I dont like what she did; it
was like betraying his husband though King Hamlet was already dead.