Central Idea Tracking

Act/Scene/ Line #	Central Ideas	Evidence, Connections, and Development
Act 1.2, lines 92–111	Mortality	Claudius connects mortality and duty in Act. 1.2 with “mourning duties” (line 92), “filial obligation” (line 95), and “obsequious sorrow” (line 96). Claudius in Act 1.2: “But you must know your father lost a father … obsequious sorrow” (lines 93–96) Links mortality, duty, and gender roles in his critique of Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s death, which he calls “unmanly grief” (Act 1.2, line 98). In line 111 of the same speech, he refers to “unprevailing woe” to emphasize the foolishness of failing to accept the inevitability of mortality.
Act 1.5, lines 102–110	Revenge	Hamlet says in Act 1.5, lines 109–110 “thy commandment all alone shall live / Within the book and volume of my brain.” Hamlet decides in Act 1.5 to take revenge for his father by killing Claudius. Hamlet seems to see revenge as a family duty in Act 1.5: he repeats “Remember thee?” in lines 102 and 104 and speaks of his father’s “commandment” in line 109.
Act 1.5	Action vs. inaction	Hamlet’s decision to kill Claudius is a turning point in Act 1.5, moving the character from inaction to a commitment to action.