The Ghost of Hamlet’s father is one of the most crucial characters in the play. If not for him, Hamlet would not have been thrown into the state of distress and torment that plagued him throughout the story. Every tragedy needs an element of the supernatural, and in this tale, the Ghost brings forth the reasons for revenge. Although the Ghost only has a few lines, he tells the truths of betrayal and his death to Hamlet. Only one other person, the betrayer and murderer, knows this crucial information, so without the Ghost’s appearance, Hamlet would never know of his uncle’s treachery.
The play of Hamlet takes place within the possibility that there is a higher court of values than those which operates around us… within the possibility that an act of violence can purify, within the possibility that the words of ‘salvation’ and ‘damnation’ have meaning (Edwards 71). It brings forth a gripping tale of death, betrayal, and honor. Is this story a testimonial of a higher power and a higher court than what is on Earth? That is left to the reader or spectator of this play. Everything depends on interpretation (Edwards70). The Ghost in this story could simply be a messenger sent from this higher court to r
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Furious with what the Ghost tells him, Hamlet vows to take revenge on Claudius for the injustices that he committed towards his own brother, Hamlet’s father. The Ghost insists that Hamlet mustn’t die before he’s killed Claudius (Frye 54-55). Hamlet’s grief for the loss of his father and the resentment he feels towards his mother and uncle for marrying so soon after his father’s death is one such reason he might feel sympathy with death. Hamlet knows from the start that something is wrong because soon after his father died, his mother married his uncle, Claudius. This spirit speaks to Hamlet alone both because he is his son and because his consciousness is already turned to sympathy with death (Knight 92). The Ghost appears that he is going to speak when a rooster crows, warning of the fast approaching day, so he leaves again without a word. He warns his son not to allow lechery and incest in the castle. Just as he appeared the two previous nights, the Ghost appears again, and Horatio tries to speak to him. The Ghost appears while Hamlet is talking angrily to his mother and is only visible to Hamlet. Hamlet thus seems to hope that the Ghost will confirm his own beliefs and provide a course of action (Cahn 75). If the spirit had been kind, it would have prayed that Hamlet might forget (Knight 82). This could suggest a couple of different motives. He asks if something good needs to be done, if the Ghost is there to warn of the Denmark’s fate, or if he is there to tell of lost riches.
In the beginning of the play, the Ghost is seen two nights in a row by Bernardo and Marcellus. The final command the Ghost gives, “Leave her to heaven” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 85), tells Hamlet not to do anything to the queen.
Approximate Word count =
1336
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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