Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene i.Horatio: That can I; At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king, Whose image even but now appear’d to us, Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Thereto prick’d on by a most emulate pride,Dar’d to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet— For so this side of our known world esteem’d him— Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal’d compact, Well ratified by law and heraldry, Did forfeit with his life all those his landsWhich he stood seiz’d of, to the conqueror;
A
to describe to the audience the location of the castle and kingdomB
to help the audience better understand Horatio’s characterC
to inform the audience of the events leading up to this pointD
to explain to the audience how the former king died and became a ghost