Tragedy in Hamlet: Act 1

Scene 1
It starts of with the mourning over the loss of the previous king: Hamlet senior. This Tragic loss is a widespread loss, the effects are felt and related to all over the country. Tragedy in this first scene is portrayed not only in the mood but also the setting and imagery placed throughout. there is the imagery of death portrayed through the night watchmen being near a graveyard and then later on by the dwelling omen of the appearing ghost of the recently dead king.They become fearful because of this which also opens up recently healing wounds. the ghost also raises questions.... was he as good of a king as shown? was he well respected? to what extent has his death had an effect?

Scene 2
With the basis of the tragedy already established; it develops into a much deeper tragic plot. His son Hamlet is in great internal turmoil..... he is deeply mourning his father and even though it's been 2 motnhs he cannot grasp anything to help him start to move on; unlike his mother who has just re-married to the new king and uncle of Hamlet.This new joining puts more emphasis on Hamlets misery since this news deeply effects and hurts Hamlet, he feels betrayed by his mother and scorns her for her moving on so soon. Shakespeare shows the contrast in moods between these characters by the fact that Hamlet is heavly dressed in black whereas all other aspects of the play:characters and setting is colourful and in celebration which isolates him even more from everything else as if noone can relate to his pain and suffering.

scene 3
a different type of tragedy is new established in this scene... introducing Ophelia as a sub-plot.Her father and brother  create a new tragedy for her as the ruin her hopes and brandish hers and Hamlets love as false, this opens up heartbreak and hurts her immensely since she is madly in love with him.Although at this stage this is a minor tragic element all together it builds drama and great tragedy for the future plot.

Scene 5
Scene 4 is very short so there isnt any development to the tragedy however scene 5 is very vital for the future of the play. it starts with Hamlet stating how he has nothing left to live for after the loss of his father.... so after being told of the ghost sighting he goes in search for himself to seek the truth and hopefully shed some light on the situation. He learns that the former tragedy is much worse than originally believed as he find out from his fathers ghost that he was murdered and betrayed by his own brother and is now stuck in purgatory ( a place so awful he cannot even describe it because it scares him too much). The former tragedy of Hamlet Sr's death is now legnthened which creates an aim for Hamlet to take revenge on his father's death. tragedy was also conveyed again by the imagery of death since it was set new graves again with a melancholy feel towards it. From this event Denmark is collapsing;it effects everyone so deeply and may be the starting point of more turmoil and dismay.