Hamlet: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 97 words and 9 sentences.
But, soft, behold! (Ch 1, para 57)
The first line establishes the setting and introduces the ghost as a mystery. Two sentries on watch signal danger and the unknown. The opening creates immediate tension and raises the question of what the apparition means.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1
This bodes some strange eruption to our state. (Ch 1, para 51)
And then it started, like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons. (Ch 1, para 67)
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
The first page establishes a military and political crisis in Denmark. The ghost's appearance signals supernatural danger. The voice is formal and urgent, setting a tone of dread and mystery that drives the entire play.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
This bodes some strange eruption to our state. (Ch 1, para 51)
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Ch 4, para 37)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 0 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 0 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
The hook is the ghost's appearance and refusal to speak. Horatio's agreement to tell Hamlet creates suspense about what revelation will follow. The audience wants to know what the ghost will say.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1
And then it started, like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons. (Ch 1, para 67)
This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. (Ch 1, para 69)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
Not a feature of this book. The play has no prologue; it opens directly with the sentries on the platform.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question emerges quickly. Chapter 1 raises the mystery of the ghost. Chapter 2 introduces Hamlet's grief. Chapter 5 reveals the ghost's demand for revenge, establishing the central quest by the midpoint of act one.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 5
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. (Ch 5, para 13)
The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right. (Ch 5, para 67)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
The final chapter resolves the revenge plot through the duel. Hamlet kills Claudius and dies himself. Gertrude and Laertes also die. Fortinbras arrives to restore order. Horatio survives to tell the story, fulfilling Hamlet's final request.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 20
The rest is silence. (Ch 20, para 163)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 14 words.
[Exeunt, bearing off the bodies, after which a peal of ordnance is shot off.] (Ch 20, para 177)
The last line is Hamlet's final words: 'The rest is silence.' This leaves the mind with acceptance of death and the end of struggle. It echoes the play's meditation on mortality and the unknowable beyond.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 20
The rest is silence. (Ch 20, para 163)
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
The revenge plot is resolved; Claudius dies. Hamlet's fate is sealed. Fortinbras's arrival restores political order. Loose ends include the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, mentioned but not shown, and the broader state of Denmark after the deaths.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 20
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hold their course for England: of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell. He that thou knowest thine, HAMLET. (Ch 17, para 11)
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 3,387 words.
Not a feature of this book. The play ends with Fortinbras's arrival and Horatio's promise to tell Hamlet's story. There is no separate epilogue after the final scene.
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
The opening ghost and the closing duel both involve supernatural or fated events. The opening raises the question of corruption in Denmark; the ending shows that corruption destroyed nearly all main characters. Both frame the play as a tragedy of disorder.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 20
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Ch 4, para 37)
The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right. (Ch 5, para 67)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
The climax (our reading) falls in the last chapter, so there is almost no wind down.
Ask Hamlet a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.