How Does Shakespeare Create An Atmosphere In Act 1

How effective is act one as the opening to the play?
The opening of the play is enigmatic and tense, almost gothic as it is set at night time, just before the ‘dead hour’. This is during the changing of the guard at Elsinore castle. This image is strengthened through the connotations of descriptions such as ‘tis bitter cold’; ‘not a mouse stirring’ creating an eerie and silent atmosphere. One guard, Francisco, questions the arrival of new characters with a feeling of paranoia and anxiety: ’stand and unfold yourself’; ‘stand ho! Who is there?’ presumably his vision marred by a dense fog, this heightening the gothic setting. However, this also make the audience eager to understand the apprehensiveness of Francisco, as they’ve been immersed into an atmosphere of uneasiness and uncertainty, this feeling is also evident through the short, broken up speech, which portray their nerves.
Through the continuation of the scene, through exposition through the discussion of characters such as the guard Marcellus and the Wittenburg ‘scholar’ Horatio the audience are made aware of the context of the play and political turmoil of medieval Denmark. We learn of the much admired king’s
There is a sense of hierarchy within the family, as he is addressed ‘my lord’ and give Laertes interpersonal advise before his travels abroad, however, his advice is largely contradictorily e.g. ‘costly thy habit as thy purse can buy/ But not expressed in fancy: rich not gaudy’ as he advised Laertes how to dress, to look wealthy but not too rich. This makes it intriguing as the audience assesses Polonius as having low interpersonal skill, despite in the scene; he is respected by his children in the dynamics of this family. The effect of this scene is not just to introduce these characters, but how thi family, although completely different regarding status, is a microcosm of the