Act 2- A night in the Elsinore Castle

The Elsinore Castle is becoming quite lonely for me I must say. And yet, watching Hamlet in such a vulnerable state because of his undying love for Ophelia makes me thankful. Hamlet may sometimes appear unusual to the public, partially because he is so expressive in his emotions. He portrays every emotion running through his body and his heart. It is his heart that weakens in Ophelia’s presence. It weakens to suppress his speech and to leave him powerless. In their recent encounter, he could not do anything but hold her, shake her and move his mouth only to speak of nothing. To express his feelings towards Ophelia, Hamlet wrote her a letter and gave it to her personally. Such an action can only make us wonder. The likelihood of love is not questioned but he appears to have all the symptoms of a madman as well.

Act 5- The fall of Denmark

The end has come. Fortinbras has prevailed in power, while the Denmark leaders have fallen one by one. I am currently in the Elsinore Castle. It began with a duel, in which I did warn dear Hamlet to not go along with, but him and Laertes battled to death. Claudius and Laertes’s scheme to kill Hamlet did not go as planned. They seemed to have dug a whole for themselves, as well as the queen’s. Nevertheless their plan was successful since my dear friend, Hamlet is dead. Oh- what an image! How I saw my long-time companion on the floor, covered in blood, lifeless, without a breath left to breathe. Now tragedy was creeping into my life. I shared so many years with this intellectual in university, shared my ideas with him in philosophy, mathematics and other subjects. And I was ready to share his pain, his despair to show this gratefulness. I was to drink the poisoned wine left in the glass, but Hamlet refused to let me do it. Oh, what a good soul he had! His dying wish was for me to live on and tell his story. And I was ready to live up to his orders. Hamlet also specifically stated that Fortinbras is to gain control over Denmark. And so, that was how Fortinbras prevailed in power, through the dying wish of Hamlet.

Act 4- A soul to pity

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark- was my dear friend Marcellus ever right when he said that! Yet, another tragedy has occurred in this town. Polonius was found dead, murdered and now only his children are what remain of him. Laertes is very determined to avenge his father’s death on the murderer. He will stop at nothing, even if he has to punish the murderer at a church, he will do so as he said. Whereas, my poor Ophelia has pleaded to insanity. The wretched soul has gone mad, appearing quite disoriented and singing strange songs. I pray for thee, unlike Gertrude who chooses not to see Ophelia because of her state. It it not her who is at fault, it is simply natural to grief over a father's death. Now, Gertrude should be able to understand as the mother of a son who recently lost his real father. Or does she think that Claudius fulfills the father's role for Hamlet? That is anything but true. Ophelia is young woman, the knowledge of a father figure is necessary for her in a world with such sex hungered men. As we were discussing her, I explained to Gertrude that she is only reacting to her grief. At last, Gertrude agrees to see her with an open mind.

Act 3- A play to remember

The curtains open, the actors reveal themselves and so would the truth. I sit there, attentively watching not only the play, but the reaction of the audience as well. The "dumbshow" play is telling the story of a king and queen displaying their love for each other in bed. When the queen leaves, a mysterious man appears in the king's room, murdering him in his sleep by pouring poison down his ear. Then, unexpectedly, it is revealed that the murderer is the king's nephew and queen falls for his seducing ways. It was at that moment that we heard a roar, a gasp in disbelief and the truth coming out of Claudius's voice. See, my dear friend Hamlet schemed to create this play to only achieve such a moment. Hamlet had to find a way to prove that the ghost was right about Claudius murdering his father. His philosophical ways brought him a long way, uncovering secrets through a guilty conscious. By reenacting Claudius's actions, it would only be a reminder of his betrayal to the king and his very own brother. Shortly before the play started,I had a chat with Hamlet myself and he specifically told me to keep an eye on Claudius. I must say he was rather rational and very calm as he spoke, pointing out that he did lack of it. However within the entrance of the king and queen came Hamlet's wild behaviour , identifying him as a crazy man. Yes, i was well aware of his plan to appear as a mad man in order to not raise suspicion of the investigation on Claudius. However, I wonder if Hamlet is truly putting on an act. After all the tragic events he encountered, first the death of his father and then his mother's marriage to his uncle, can one only appear CRAZY? How far can a mask go, before it is engraved in the soul and takes the identity of the human? It is something i debate over and over again, is Hamlet simply a crazy, mad man?

Act 1- A surprise visit to Hamlet

When we arrived, I must say he was quite surprised to see me. Once we let him know our reasoning for such an unexpected visit, Hamlet froze. He was in disbelief. So it was only natural that when the ghost reappared close to midnight, Hamlet behaved recklessly and blindly. He chose to follow the ghost. We did try to warn Hamlet to be cautious, but he was so vulnerable, so desperate for unanswered questions and in such despair that he reacted to the ghost without thinking. Hamlet followed the ghost into the woods, as did we in order to protect our friend. But what surprised me the most had to be Hamlet’s behaviour when the ghost was disappearing. He made us ‘swear’ not to mention a word about the inhumanly creature’s appearance, and not just once. But over, and over again. Does he not trust me? I have not broken his word once. I am a loyal, trustworthy friend that simply wants to see him well. Dear friend Hamlet has been shaken out of his element to a much more intense level than the whole city of Denmark.