The Ghost of Hamlet's father is a foil for Hamlet. The ghost is featured in the play for two large reasons: establishing the conflict, showing a supernatural improbability to Hamlet's character, and giving Hamlet someone to speak with. The ghost gives the information of how he died and who committed the murder. While Hamlet is talking with the ghost, he becomes very angry with his mother and uncle. He decides he wants revenge from Claudius for the murder of his father. Both Hamlet and the ghost believe Claudius should pay for what he has done, although neither do anything about it. Among others, one similarity between the ghost and Hamlet is that they remain in the same social class.…
Hamlet’s initial response is to question the ghost’s nature as being either good or evil. The fight between good and evil is a central theme of this play. Hamlet calls the ghost by his proper titles and questions as to why the ghost has come back. Hamlet is unsure whether the ghost is actually that of his father, yet he follows because he cares not for his life. He is not afraid and promises to make a ghost of Horatio and Marcellus if they prevent him from following the ghost. Horatio fears that the ghost is evil and is luring him to his death. The line that states Hamlet’s true feelings is “I do not set my life at a pin’s fee/ And for my soul, what can it do to that/ Being a thing as immortal as itself?” The line reiterates Hamlet’s desire to commit suicide out of despair earlier in Act I (pgs. 29,…
By telling Hamlet, “Taint not thy mind, not let thy soul contrive/Against thy mother aught,” he is begging him to not be upset with his mother, to not hate her on the inside for what she has done(I iv 85). Soon after explaining, “Leave her to Heaven/And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge/To prick her and sting her”(I iv 86-88). The Ghost reinforces that God has a plan for all sinners and until his plan goes into action, her guilt will eat her alive. This plays a huge role throughout the play in such a way to consistently remind Hamlet who’s fault it really is for the death of his father; that although what his mother did was wrong, she isn’t the one responsible for his death. In fact, the reminder of who’s at fault saves Gertrude, the Queen, in act three scene when Hamlet’s, ‘words like daggers’ almost turn into…
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).…
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.90), says Marcellus after he has seen Hamlet follow the Ghost into the dark.…
The responsibility of revenge on the perpetrator falls to Hamlet, since he believes his father was murdered. Hamlet learned the events that unfolded during his father’s murder in the garden from a ghost that claimed to be the spirit of King Hamlet. In both soliloquies, his desire and drive to kill Claudius is “prompted to [his] revenge by heaven and hell” (2.2.547). His thoughts of revenge derive from seeing his father’s thought to be spirit in purgatory. The ghost that visited Hamlet may be the “devil” that “assume[d] a pleasing shape” (2.2.561-562) by making himself appear as the spirit of his father tempting him to sin, or could indeed be his father wanting him to redeem his soul. Even though Hamlet is not certain he believes the ghost since it answered his suspicion in the death of his father and the quick marriage of…
The persuasion of Hamlet begins almost immediately after the Ghost stops to talk to him. He claims that he must soon return to ‘sulphurous and tormenting flames’ which references Purgatory, a reference which is later confirmed as truth by the Ghost stating that he is prevented from moving on until ‘the foul crimes done in my days of nature/Are burnt and purged away’ which is the definition of Purgatory. This would evoke a certain amount of sympathy both in Hamlet and in the Elizabethan audience, to whom the idea of purgatory would have seemed a fate almost more terrible than Hell. Evoking sympathy is an important part in manipulation and the Ghost covers in within his first few…
The ghost in Hamlet is a manipulative figure who serves as a reflection of Hamlet’s perspective of his uncle. Hamlet is too distressed about his mother marrying his uncle and the death of his father for he himself to be considered reliable. As Horatio comments, “He waxes desperate with imagination,” portraying Hamlet’s desire to find something that may not even exist. Hamlet does speak to this “ghost” and confirms his own suspicions, as if this ghost simply existed to give Hamlet confirmation of what he already believed. This ghost also refuses to speak or be heard by anyone except Hamlet, putting into question its own existence. The ghost being part of Hamlet’s imagination is supported by Hamlet stating to Horatio, “My Father – methinks I…
I think a lot of the confusion that has been whipped up over Hamlet--including all the nonsense about his supposed inaction--is because Shakespeare didn't plant the dramatic idea of Hamlet's doubts of the ghost's veracity at the right place. If it had been placed right after…
Unfortunately for Hamlet, in this play he does not have all the time in the world to get revenge towards Claudius. Early on in the play Hamlet sees the ghost of his father's spirit and it beckons him to follow if he wishes to speak to it. Hamlet being encouraged not to follow by his comrades says, "It will not speak, then I will follow it" (Shakespeare 1.4). Almost without thinking Hamlet makes the decision to follow the ghost, this will later prove totally uncharacteristic of him. Thinking they can still convince him, his friends, Horatio and Marcellus, try once again to stop him only to hear, "Hold off your hands; my fate cries out; by heaven I'll make a ghost of him that let's me" (Shakespeare 1.4). Hamlet lets it be known here that he has made his mind up and anyone who tries to stop him, he will make a ghost out of, heaven willing. Hamlet does not show any signs of hesitancy here, but will soon allow it to get in his way for at the wrong time.…
The ghost of hamlets father says to hamlet “so art thou to revenge, when thou shall hear.”(1.5.7) the ghost was asking when hamlet was going to get revenge on Claudius to set him free from purgatory. Hamlet and the spirit of his father are both looking for “seeking the truth and soul in eternity knowing the truth.” (121 Sister Miriam, joseph). Hamlet is seeking revenge which is truth, justice, once he has confirmed that Claudius the king killed hamlets father he knew the truth and took action as any other human would in this time period. “I consider the morality of the ghosts command from three points of view: the moral situation as grounded on custom and reason, the legal aspect and the special command.” (122 sister Miriam, joseph).…
The play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, was a poor representation of believability, likeable characters and a plot that makes readers want to continue reading. It is a story that represents honor and revenge. The emotion of the novel is over-exaggerated, therefor lowering the relatable factor. The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells Hamlet to seek revenge for his fathers’ murder. Although the ghost shows personal traits it is not believable that Hamlet would simply be convinced to commit himself to overtly violent actions from a character that he just met. With all the quick assumptions and lack of thought before killing, it makes the story unrealistic. The main characters Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude show traits of a hero, villain and everything in between. The likability is lacking in all of these characters because it is impossible to go along and back up their outlandish decisions. They behave rashly and impulsively to a point where connecting…
It all started when a ghost appeared, that looked like King Hamlet. This ghost spoke to Hamlet saying that he was the ghost of his deceased father. The ghost told Hamlet how he was murdered by the new king, Claudius, and he ordered Hamlet to avenge his death. After meeting with the ghost, Hamlet was unsure of what to do next. He started acting crazy while he came up with a good plan.…
The idea of a spiritual encounter may be considered frightening to many, and it is most of the time not seen as fortunate. During Shakespearean times encounters with events as such would be seen as either decent into madness or as demonic foreshadowing of the future. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, Prince Hamlet encounters the supposable spirt of his father, the previous king of Denmark. The apparition, is a demon that informs Hamlet of how his father war murdered, with the intent of creating chaos. It instills in the prince the thirst for vengeance on his uncle and current King of Denmark, Claudius, and the schemes his downfall.…
One of the major themes in Hamlet is the reason behind his delay for revenge. Throughout the play, the prince of Denmark is presented with many opportunities to kill his father's murderer Claudius but there was always something holding him back. There are different theories of why Hamlet may find it difficult to execute the ghost’s request. It could be said that Hamlet fears the consequence of killing a king, which at that time was considered a mortal sin, or he simply didn't want to hurt his mother Gertrude by killing her new lover, or as some may think, he is too sensitive a soul to be able to commit an act of violence. By carefully reviewing the play, the readers may find yet another, more believable explanation such as that Hamlet is simply over thinking the situation and his indecision is causing him to miss all these opportunities for revenge. In Act III Scene I he himself gives voice to this theory by saying: “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.” His intelligence may truly be the cause of his inability to act and defend his family’s honor. The first clue of this is Hamlet’s doubt of the true intensions of the ghost. In order to assure himself that the ghost’s story is true, the prince plots a…