What Role Does A Ghost Play In Hamlet
Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, is a tragic story involving themes that are shown through the actions os several important characters. However, there is one character that has a minor part but plays a major role: the the Ghost of King Hamlet.
The Ghost plays a vital role in the understanding and interpretation of Hamlet’s sanity. When Hamlet first encounters the Ghost of his father, the Ghost reveals to Hamlet the way Hamlet's father died. After Hamlet hears this news coming out of his own father’s ghostly mouth, he instantly feels rage towards his uncle and mother. He is angry with his mother because of the fact that she would marry Hamlet's uncle right after the death of his father. All of the problems with his family start to make Hamlet feel like he cannot trust anyone, not even his own mother. These issues alone could be enough to affect his mental status, and combining it with the fact his father actually returns as a ghost to tell him this terrible information, could cause …show more content…
him to lose his mind.
The ghost appears a second time in front of Gertrude and Hamlet. Hamlet's absurd reaction upsets Gertrude, for she cannot see the ghost and now she thinks her son has definitely gone insane. The queen is wondering “Alas, he’s mad!” and “to whom do you speak this?” Hamlet tries to make his mother see the ghost, but Gertrude sees nothing and insists again that he is mad and hallucinating. Hamlet himself is now forced to face the possibility that he is imagining the ghost. Even he can’t be sure whether he is completely sane or not.
Another theme that the ghost helps establish is the theme of revenge. All the actions of Hamlet are based on the one task the ghost gives the prince: to avenge his father’s murder. When the ghost meets with Hamlet he first tells him that he is his father's ghost and that he is "Doomed for a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires, till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away." Hamlet must avenge his father's murder so he vows to erase everything but his father's story from his mind, and swears to get revenge for his father. From this point on, the play revolves around Hamlet's quest for revenge and his inability to complete this task.
The ghost's powerful demand is countered in Hamlet's mind by several questions; is revenge a good or evil act? Is Claudius actually guilty and deserves punishment? Is it Hamlet’s responsibility to punish him? The Ghost brings up this idea of revenge and justice. These questions force Hamlet to decide whether to avenge his father or not and, if so, how.
The theme of mourning is also an important part of Hamlet.
It is Hamlet's mourning for his father that provokes him to demand revenge from Claudius. Before Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, he is already mourning the loss. He tells Horatio, "My father-methinks I see my father." However, once Hamlet sees the ghost, it changes his emotions about the death of his father. Learning about the murder and deceit just makes the death seem more tragic, providing Hamlet with a reason to sink into a state of deeper mourning. Although he may not walk around in a constantly depressed mood, his grief affects his indecision to kill Claudius and his attitudes towards Gertrude and Ophelia. His oppressed frame of mind results in a lack of motivation, and hatred and distrust towards life. Because of this, his mourning can also account for his perceived sickness and insanity. The mourning of his father's death causes him to make some rash decisions and to do and say things he wouldn't normally
do.
The ghost of King Hamlet, although playing a minor part in the play, is a character that plays several important roles in the uderstanding of Hamlet. Without the ghost, the play would not be able to be developed as it was. The Ghost helps to introduce different perspectives of interpreting the play. In the world of Hamlet, there is sanity, insanity, disorder, mourning, revenge, and conflict. Deep in the middle of all this lies the Ghost.
The Ghost plays a vital role in the understanding and interpretation of Hamlet’s sanity. When Hamlet first encounters the Ghost of his father, the Ghost reveals to Hamlet the way Hamlet's father died. After Hamlet hears this news coming out of his own father’s ghostly mouth, he instantly feels rage towards his uncle and mother. He is angry with his mother because of the fact that she would marry Hamlet's uncle right after the death of his father. All of the problems with his family start to make Hamlet feel like he cannot trust anyone, not even his own mother. These issues alone could be enough to affect his mental status, and combining it with the fact his father actually returns as a ghost to tell him this terrible information, could cause …show more content…
him to lose his mind.
The ghost appears a second time in front of Gertrude and Hamlet. Hamlet's absurd reaction upsets Gertrude, for she cannot see the ghost and now she thinks her son has definitely gone insane. The queen is wondering “Alas, he’s mad!” and “to whom do you speak this?” Hamlet tries to make his mother see the ghost, but Gertrude sees nothing and insists again that he is mad and hallucinating. Hamlet himself is now forced to face the possibility that he is imagining the ghost. Even he can’t be sure whether he is completely sane or not.
Another theme that the ghost helps establish is the theme of revenge. All the actions of Hamlet are based on the one task the ghost gives the prince: to avenge his father’s murder. When the ghost meets with Hamlet he first tells him that he is his father's ghost and that he is "Doomed for a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires, till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away." Hamlet must avenge his father's murder so he vows to erase everything but his father's story from his mind, and swears to get revenge for his father. From this point on, the play revolves around Hamlet's quest for revenge and his inability to complete this task.
The ghost's powerful demand is countered in Hamlet's mind by several questions; is revenge a good or evil act? Is Claudius actually guilty and deserves punishment? Is it Hamlet’s responsibility to punish him? The Ghost brings up this idea of revenge and justice. These questions force Hamlet to decide whether to avenge his father or not and, if so, how.
The theme of mourning is also an important part of Hamlet.
It is Hamlet's mourning for his father that provokes him to demand revenge from Claudius. Before Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, he is already mourning the loss. He tells Horatio, "My father-methinks I see my father." However, once Hamlet sees the ghost, it changes his emotions about the death of his father. Learning about the murder and deceit just makes the death seem more tragic, providing Hamlet with a reason to sink into a state of deeper mourning. Although he may not walk around in a constantly depressed mood, his grief affects his indecision to kill Claudius and his attitudes towards Gertrude and Ophelia. His oppressed frame of mind results in a lack of motivation, and hatred and distrust towards life. Because of this, his mourning can also account for his perceived sickness and insanity. The mourning of his father's death causes him to make some rash decisions and to do and say things he wouldn't normally
do.
The ghost of King Hamlet, although playing a minor part in the play, is a character that plays several important roles in the uderstanding of Hamlet. Without the ghost, the play would not be able to be developed as it was. The Ghost helps to introduce different perspectives of interpreting the play. In the world of Hamlet, there is sanity, insanity, disorder, mourning, revenge, and conflict. Deep in the middle of all this lies the Ghost.