Hamlet 1.1 – The Beginning (Act I, Scene 1) YOU are the director and get to call ALL the shots in presenting this play. Answer the following questions as though you are in charge of what happens during this scene…

1) What will be the first thing the audience sees?

2) How long of a pause will there be before Barnardo speaks his first words?

3) Why does Barnardo, the newcomer, challenge Francisco, contrary to military practice? (Francisco should challenge him)

4) How would you convince the audience the night is bitterly cold?

5) What sound effects would you use? What lighting effects?

6) It is just after midnight, dark but star-lit. How will you ensure the audience sees clearly what you want them to see?

7) In Shakespeare’s time, the play was staged in broad daylight. List all the words or phrases that help create the impression of night and darkness in scene 1.

8) The sentences in this passage are very short. What does this suggest about the atmosphere?

9) On a separate piece of paper, draw the setting of the first scene of this play and explain FIVE different aspects of it.