Ghost In Hamlet

Hamlet and Laertes; more alike than not?
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the audience of Shakespeare’s time period as well as today’s audience would have recognized the play as a revenge tragedy. But, this is not your typical revenge tragedy but one with a twist. As in most Elizabethan revenge tragedies the ghost appeared to further the action or reaction of the hero. However, the ghost in Hamlet not only appears as part of the plot but surpasses the traditional role of the ghost and becomes an actual character within the play (Mandell).
The ghost now as a character not only appears to create further action on the part of the hero but has the most impact on starting the chain of events that creates the plot of the play and starts
the actual tragedy to unfold. Normally the ghost would start the hero in motion but the typical revenge tragedy plays hero would have had considerable trouble finding the murderer. In Hamlet, the ghost appears and then tell Hamlet that he was murdered “Murder-most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange, and unnatural”, and who the murderer is “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”.
Contemplate the role the ghost assumes. You have to wonder how the plot would have played out if Hamlet had never been informed by the ghost that his father had been murdered by his own brother Claudius and demanded revenge by Hamlet’s own hands “Revenge his foul and most unnatural death”.
Hamlet prior to the encounter with the ghost was melancholy and depressed over the loss of his father and then the immediate marriage of his mother to Claudius.
Hamlet was considered to be wallowing in self-pity over everything that had recently transpired. His father’s death, his mother’s marriage to his uncle as well as he had been stripped of his rightful place as King of Denmark. Hamlet was of high morals and religious background. He was raised within the Lutheran Christian Faith and was appalled by everyone’s behavior. Resentment now raised its ugly head towards his mother in her “incestuous” union when Hamlet during his soliloquy, proclaims “Frailty, thy name is Woman!” to reflect his disgust of her weakness. But due to the love for his mother Hamlet keeps his resentment and disappointment to himself at this time. Faced with the realization of the murder of his father, who he had idolized and compared to a Greek sun-god and whose ghost has demanded revenge in order to leave purgatory, Hamlet is further torn between his moral values and his Christian faith, as his faith does not allow murder (“Thou shall not
kill”).
Hamlet has also been courting Ophelia who has a brother Laertes. Their father is the courtier, Polonius. Before Laertes returns to France, he warns his sister about feeling too affection for Hamlet as his intents may not be purely love. Laertes shows love to his sister by trying to save her from the hurt that could come to her from her relationship with Hamlet.
At this time Hamlet now begin to contemplate how to avenge his father’s death. Although Hamlet is bitter and seeking revenge for his father, he is a man of more words than action. Hamlet is hesitate to just go and kill the king because he is not sure that the ghosts accusation is true or it is just a demon trying to send his soul to heel for killing an innocent man. Hamlet decides to pretend to be going mad so as to be able to act irrational while he collects the evidence against Claudius. While he acts as if he has gone mad he rejects Ophelia because she had given a letter from Hamlet to her to her father Polonius and King Claudius to use to determine why Hamlet is acting so strangely.
Hamlet writes a play that has a similar plot of what he believes has happened to his father and decides to have the troupe perform it before the King. He reasons that if the King is guilty he will show his guilt and that will support the statement of the ghost. The king is furious and leaves the play which confirms Hamlet’s suspensions. This is where the tragedy escalates and then spirals downward.
The queen upset about the play and Hamlet’s irrational ways, calls Hamlet to her chamber. On his way to his mother’s chamber Hamlet comes across Claudius praying for forgiveness of his sins. Hamlet had the perfect opportunity to kill the king but hesitated because he felt that to kill him while he was asking forgiveness of his sins would send his soul to heaven instead of hell where he deserved to be. This is where Hamlet, the tragic hero has made his tragic and fatal mistake, his inability to make a decision and then act upon it (enotes 2007). As Hamlet talks with his mother, Polonius is hiding so as to hear the conversation to relay back to Claudius. Hamlet hears a noise, thinks it the king; "Nay, I know not: is it the King?" (3.4.28) and carelessly without thought and full of hate stabs and kill Polonius, an innocent man by mistake.
Unlike Hamlet, Laertes when told of his father’s death decides he will take revenge without regards to his soul’s damnation; “I dare damnation:-to this point I stand” ( ). His morals in comparison to Hamlets are not as high in standards and all he thinks about is revenge. Laertes is a take action type personality not a thinker and planner like Hamlet. After the death of her father and the rejection from Hamlet, Ophelia commits suicide.
During her funeral procession Laertes and Hamlet react similarly when they both jump into her grave and declare their love for Ophelia (enotes). Afterward, Hamlet asks for forgiveness for killing Polonius and Laertes pretends to accept it. But Laertes still determined to avenge his father’s death agrees with Claudius to have a sword duel with Hamlet in which Laertes blade has been covered with a poison that will kill Hamlet with just a slight nick to the skin. Both men are nicked with the poisoned blade. As Laertes lies dying he has a moral enlightenment “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, nor thine on me!” (5.2.337-339) and tells Hamlet of the deceit and plot that the king had created. At the same time the queen who has no idea of what Claudius had plotted drank from a poisoned challis that contained poison also meant for Hamlet. She falls down but warns Hamlet of the poison and then dies. Without hesitation Hamlet stabs the king and forces him to drink the poison. The revenge at this point seems bittersweet. The similarities between Hamlet and Laertes far outweigh the differences between the two. Both were loyal and loving to their families. Both acted carelessly at some point within the play. Although the circumstances of their murders were different both of their fathers had been killed because of political conflict and greed for
power. Both men prior to their death forgive each other for the terrible actions that were played out. Hamlet and Laertes as well as Polonius, Ophelia and Queen Gertrude were victims of the evil doings of Claudius.
In contrast to each other Hamlet valued his religious morals and his soul when contemplating the murder of Claudius. Laertes did not care about his own soul as long as he revenged his father’s death. Hamlet apologized for his actions publically to Laertes. Laertes pretended to accept his apology by lying, but still intended to murder him showing a lesser moral obligation. Laertes was more of an action man versus Hamlet. Hamlet had to think about the consequences of his actions which was the pivotal moment that turned the play to the dark, sad tragedy it became.