What issues are introduced in the first act of Hamlet?
             The opening act of Hamlet is essential for the purposes of outlining the main issues or themes of the piece as well as revealing the plot, characters and mood of the play. Act I of Hamlet is successful in outlining all of these aspects. Most importantly Act one introduces many key issues of the play such as appearance versus reality or "playing roles", whether in fact the story is a revenge tragedy, clashes of certain people's ideas, problems that must be resolved in addition to the theme of action versus inaction.
             The quite centrally important of appearance versus reality is dealt with in Hamlet's first appearance on stage in scene two. Hamlet emerges, still dressed in his mourning clothes with a melancholy face while showing his contempt for Claudius to whom he directs many dry and sarcastic remarks. Gertrude asks Hamlet why it seems his fathers' death has troubled him for so long to which Hamlet replies "I have that within which passes show". Hamlet, by this statement implies that most people only pretend to grieve and do so by using "all forms, moods, shapes of grief...for they are actions a man might play". These people only act is if they are grieving and put on clothes for those meant to be in grief whereas Hamlet feels within what the outward appearance is suppose to inwardly symbolise. Hamlet feels people like this are merely "playing roles" or acting by putting on an outward appearance that is in contradiction to their inward selves. Shakespeare makes sure this is a main theme by making practically every character in the play guilty of this contradiction.
             A popularly debated issue of "Hamlet" is it's status as a revenge tragedy. Act one, taken in isolation is in most ways fairly representative of a traditional revenge tragedy, which in Shakespear
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