One of Hamlet's first-act soliloquies (I,v,92-113) is a response to the news that he is given by the Ghost of his father. This response, which does not seem to match the importance of what he has been told, offers insights into Hamlet's character. Hamlet emerges in this speech not as a man of action, but as a man who is unsure exactly what actions he should take. He is horrified by the Ghost's announcement that he had been murdered by Claudius. But this does not move Hamlet to immediate action, which might seem to be the logical response to such information. Instead it seems to present him with a puzzle, something to be thought out and solved prior to taking any action. In this soliloquy, after being told that his father was murdered by the uncle who immediately married his mother, Hamlet is not able to take, or propose, any stronger action than to "set it down / That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain" (I,v,108-9). In this speech Hamlet's indecision is brought out in relation to the problem of revenge and this sets the tone for the rest of the play.
At the end of his last speech the Ghost says to Hamlet, "Remember me" (I,v,91). This is an order to Hamlet to restore the proper order of things in Denmark and revenge his father. The Ghost has said, "If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not, / Let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch for luxury and damnèd incest" (I,v,81-3). By "nature" he referred to the natural feelings a son would have on hearing that his father had been murdered. Even in a peaceful society immediate revenge might occur to a son who learned these facts. But Denmark has already been shown to be a very military society, and, in the midst of current preparations for war the old Hamlet, who is remembered in terms of his military glory, appears armored from head to foot. As he calls on his son's natural feeling, however, the Ghost does not specify how Hamlet should avenge him. He clearly leav...