to set it right!" (1.5.188-89). At this point Hamlet's mind is torn apart by the controversy of vengeance. It's hardly surprising to find him veering between extremes of behavior, hesitating, demanding proof, and looking for the most appropriate way to carry out his task. The Ghost appears before Hamlet at a very disturbing time in his life -- his father's tragic death and his mother's quick remarriage are more than Hamlet's mind can bear. The reader can easily find justification for this point of view, especially in Hamlet's own soliloquies. Early in the play Hamlet manifests his anger:
             Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman-
             A little month, or ere those shoes were old
             With which she followed my poor father's body
             O god, a beast that wants discourse of reason
             Would have mourned longer-married with my uncle,
             My father's brother, but no more like my father
             Than I to Hercules. Within a month,
             Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous
             ...