Hamlet Scenes

For two nights Bernardo and Marcellus have seen a ghost in the form of the late King appear on the battlements. They have called on the scholar Horatio to join them on the third night, in the hopes he will know what to do. Horatio is skeptical, as he does not believe in ghosts, but he is shaken when the ghost appears just as predicted. They discuss the preparations for war occupying the Danish court, and Horatio explains that young Fortinbras of Norway is threatening to take back the lands that his father lost to old Hamlet, the dead King whose ghost they have seen. The ghost reappears, and Horatio tries to get it to speak, suggesting every explanation for its appearance that he can think of; but the ghost remains silent and vanishes as the morning rises. The three agree to tell young Hamlet, the dead man’s son, about the event. (191 lines)

Enter Barnardo and Francisco, two sentinels, meeting.

Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.