Throughout the beginning of Hamlet, there are various methods of surveillance that occur in the text.

In Act 1 Scene 1, A watchman Francisco is patrolling  Elsinore Castle in Denmark. The reason behind this patrol is because Horatio was warned by the ghost of King Hamlet that there might be possible misfortune for Denmark, perhaps in the form of a military attack. The ghost tells the story of King Hamlet’s conquest of certain lands that once belonged to Norway and says that Fortinbras, the young Prince of Norway, now wants to regain those lost lands.

In Act 2 Scene 1, Polonius sends Raynaldo to spy on Laertes. He tells Raynaldo to ask leading questions to  Laertes’ acquaintances and how to make the questions seem inconspicuous so it does not look like a spy.

In Act 2 Scene 2, Claudius and Gertrude tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s friends to cheer Hamlet out of his sad mood, or at least figure out the cause of it. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern both agree to investigate, but they are quickly found out by Hamlet. Hamlet is suspicious of their actions, and within a few lines of dialogue, he figures out that they were sent by Claudius and Gertrude.