Speaking to his assembled council, King Claudius mourns the recent death of King Hamlet, his brother. At the same time, he rejoices in his speedy marriage to Queen Gertrude, his widowed sister-in-law. Claudius dispatches Valtemand and Cornelius to Norway with a letter instructing the King to suppress young Fortinbras' advances against Denmark. Laertes, dutifully visiting Denmark for King Claudius' coronation, seeks Claudius' permission to return to France. Claudius complies with Laertes' wish as a favor to Polonius, his highly-valued advisor who is also Laertes' father.
King Claudius calls out to Prince Hamlet, affectionately referring to him as both cousin and son. Bitter that his uncle has married his mother so soon after his real father's death, Hamlet grumbles darkly, "'A little more than kin and less than kind.'" Act 1, Scene 2, line 65 King Claudius and Queen Gertrude are perplexed by Hamlet's gloominess. In their opinion, Prince Hamlet has mourned sufficiently for his dead father. They urge him to cast off his unmanly grief and to stay with them in Denmark, rather than returning to school in Wittenberg.
Deeply depressed, Hamlet longs for his own death, saying:
"'O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew. Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, O God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!'"Act 1, Scene 2, lines 129-134
Though saddened by his father's death, the larger cause of Prince Hamlet's misery is Queen Gertrude's disloyal marriage to Claudius. Within one month of losing her beloved husband, Queen Gertrude hastily married Claudius, King Hamlet's own brother. Galled by Gertrude's hypocrisy and unfaithfulness, Hamlet scorns his mother, saying, "'frailty, thy name is woman!'" Act 1, Scene 2, line 146
Horatio, Marcellus and Barnardo interrupt Hamlet's dark thoughts. Recognizing Horatio as a school friend from Wittenberg, Hamlet asks Horatio what brings him to Denmark. Horatio replies that he came for King Hamlet's funeral. The Prince sneers that he may have come instead for Queen Gertrude's wedding, since the two events occurred consecutively. As Hamlet bitterly quips, "'The funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables....'" Act 1, Scene 2, lines 179-180
Relaying the events of the previous three nights, Horatio informs Hamlet that the silent, armored ghost of his dead father has been seen roaming the castle grounds. Hamlet decides to join tonight's watch and speak with the unsettled spirit himself. Resolving to uncover whatever wickedness that disturbs his father's peace, Hamlet says,
"'My father's spirit in arms! All is not well. I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come. Till then, sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.'" Act 1, Scene 2, lines 254-257
