Essay On Hamlet Act 3

A characteristic that made Shakespeare such an intriguing playwright is his ability to convey powerful messages to an audience in a creative and unexpected manner. When comparing act 5, scene 3 from Richard III to act 1, scene 5 from Hamlet, this niche can truly be appreciated by analyzing his usage of ghosts. Although the roles the ghosts have in their respective plays are different, they are still used as vessels that communicate profound points regarding the play’s context. Shakespeare utilizes such entities in the aforementioned scenes as a literary device that foreshadows the outcome of a circumstance and to define what is morally acceptable. In Richard III act 5, scene 3, ghosts are used to foreshadow the outcome of the Battle of Bosworth Field. At this moment in the play, Richard and Richmond are carrying out there final battle plans that will decide the future of the English throne come the morning. After both Richard and Richmond retire to their tents to rest before the battle, Shakespeare employs scenic parallelism to express how differently the ghosts
Tomorrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword. Despair, and die!
(to RICHMOND) Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster,
The wrongèd heirs of York do pray for thee
Good angels guard thy battle. Live and flourish.
This message foreshadows the victory of Richmond and Richard’s demise in the Battle of Bosworth Field. In Hamlet act 1, scene 5, the appearance of the ghost of Old King Hamlet foreshadows bad times for Denmark. This is the moment that Hamlet is given his quest for revenge by his father’s ghost which ended in his own demise as well as the rest of his direct noble family. The ghost of Old King Hamlet expresses the reality of the situation and his desire for revenge in the following quote meant for Hamlet (Hamlet 30):
I find thee