In ActI sc1 on two earlier occasions Bernardo and Marcellus, guards in the palace of the King of Denmark, at the stroke of one A.M. had seen the ghost of the recently deceased King of Denmark. They had informed Horatio the friend of Hamlet the Prince of Denmark, but Horatio being a rationalist refused to believe Bernardo and Marcellus. So, tonight he has come to see for himself and investigate the accuracy of Bernardo's and Marcellus' story. The ghost doesn't disappoint them, at the stroke of 1 A.M. it appears. All of them are terrified and when Horatio questions it, it withdraws.
Horatio is now convinced of the existence of the ghost and he remarks that the ghost is dressed just like when the King of Denmark fought with the King of Norway and the Poles and concludes that the appearance of the ghost is a bad omen.
Marcellus at once asks him why such hectic preparations are going on in Denmark to get the entire nation ready for a major war. Horatio replies that the King of Norway once challenged the King of Denmark in battle and was slain by him. Consequently according to the legally binding agreement he also lost a lot of territory. Now, the son of the slain king of Norway wished to take back by force illegally this lost territory. So a national emergency has been declared and Denmark is getting ready to prevent this from happening.
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