Note 1: There were three thoughts of ghost in Elizabethan England; Catholics believed ghost went to heaven,
hell or purgatory. They believed ghosts could be seen. Protestants believed ghost went to hell and
heaven, but the majority was sent to hell. They were seen as evil and vile. Sceptics had to see a ghost to
believe it was there. Horatio was sceptic, as he asked to see the ghost that the guards claimed to have
seen. Horatio at first refuses to believe there is a ghost and accuses the guards of fantasizing; however,
when the ghost appears, this theory is immediately cast aside.
Note 2: Young Fortinbras aspires to recover the lands and power lost by his father, but he has yet to prove his
"mettle." Claudius, the new King of Denmark, however, takes young Fortinbras seriously and activates
the Danish military and places night guards to watch for the enemy. Hamlet also has a respect for
Fortinbras, and during the course of the play, he praises Fortinbras as his ideal. While Hamlet
procrastinates about avenging his father's murder, Fortinbras determinedly marches forth to reclaim his
father's kingdom. Fortinbras' character is driven by chivalric heroism and spurs Hamlet onward in his
quest for revenge.
L'histoire débute durant l'été 1922. Un enfant découvre une vipère. Il la saisit et l'étouffe de ses mains. Cet acte lui vaut d'être comparé à Hercule, le personnage de la mythologie grecque, qui dans son berceau étrangla deux serpents.
25 ans plus tard, Jean Rezeau, "l'enfant de 1922" est le narrateur de l'histoire. Son surnom est Brasse-Bouillon. Il évoque la propriété de sa famille, La Belle Angerie. Il présente sa grand-mère paternelle, Mme Rezeau, chez qui lui et son frère aîné, Ferdinand, ont passé, parmi des domestiques dévoués, quelques années d'enfance heureuses tandis que leurs parents et leur plus jeune frère séjournaient en Chine. M. Rezeau père enseignait le...