A Second Chance: an Epilogue to Hamlet

A second chance

For readers who have not read Hamlet, here's the link to the  full summary of the play (in modern language, of course!):

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/summary.html

I hope this was  helpful.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Hamlet

It has been a little over 3 months since that tragic day. On that day, Horatio had informed the citizens of Denmark about the events leading up to the tragic death of their rulers. There were a variety of reactions from the audience, ranging from shock and anger to despair. The kingdom mourned deeply for the loss of young Hamlet, whom they had acknowledged to be their rightful ruler. Fortinbras, who was appointed the king of Denmark in honor of Hamlet's final request, has allowed many to take leave from work to mourn for their former prince. He even delayed his and his Queen's coronation for over two months so that the kingdom could settle their emotions and start anew.

As the kingdom slowly moved out of mourning and back to its normal state, it was decided that Denmark would be ruled separately from Norway's monarchy in recognition of the deceased prince's potential to be Denmark's ruler. Fortinbras' uncle was in better health and could now rule Norway in place of the new king of Denmark. Denmark has been able to maintain a better relationship with Norway since then. Horatio was appointed to be the king's advisor on Fortinbras' coronation, guiding him in hope that he would become a ruler that the people would love. Horatio has taught him about Danish culture, to which he had taken an interest in and quickly became accustomed to. He practiced the many customs of the Danes. However, he has stopped having late night drinking parties in the castle after Horatio mentioned what Hamlet had thought about it during one of their many conversations about the past.

Since Hamlet's death, Horatio had reflected on what he could have done to help with Hamlet's depression that eventually led to the chain of events leading to his final moment. This was one of the reasons why Horatio have referred to Hamlet without his title as he used to. He came to realise that the difference in social classes might have caused his friend to feel isolated. Hamlet once joked with Horatio that he wanted to change the name of servant with Horatio.  Although he may have been joking about this, Horatio realised there was an underlying desire to be of the lower class where he is equal with everyone. He wanted to acknowledge Hamlet as his close friend, not just his superior. To Horatio, he was no longer Lord Hamlet but Hamlet, his dearest friend.

Despite the kingdom's new found peace, there seems to be some disturbance within. It was the night before the king formally announce to the kingdom that his Queen had conceived the kingdom's new heir. That night, Horatio was in the study, looking over the king's speech, when Bernardo and Marcellus burst into the room. They claimed to have seen Hamlet's ghost wandering around the castle, dressed in the same suit he had on that tragic day.  It seemed to appear even during the day! They noticed that these daytime appearances were quite rare and were only in places where there were few occupants. However, they had decided to keep this a secret from the king, in fear that it would cause a riot if the word got out. They finally decided to confront Horatio on this matter after a month, believing it to be benign.

Horatio would not have believed this if it wasn't for his past experience with ghosts but this does raise some concerns. From his past experiences with Old Hamlet's ghost, he suspected that there must be some disturbance within the kingdom. However, strangely enough, a feeling of pleasantness that Horatio can't quite describe came over him. It was as though he was glad to see the prince once more.  Horatio warned himself to be wary of these feelings as it could lead to a repeat in history. Keeping his emotions in check, he agreed to look for the ghost with the two officers the following night.