Hamlet's Unnatural Murder

From the beginning of his and his mother’s conversation Hamlet was very angry and on edge with her for being with his father’s murderer. Hamlet somehow knew someone was eavesdropping on their conversation as he had been spied on previously. He suddenly decides to act out of fury thinking how angry he was at Claudius and kills who’s behind the curtain, thinking it was Claudius. Hamlet realizes after that he killed the wrong man, it had been Polonius that he killed but he didn’t care much saying that Polonius was a fool. Hamlet sees the ghost again after and the ghost tells Hamlet he still must carry out his revenge for his father because he had failed .

After talking to the ghost in Scene 5 he learns that Claudius poisoned King Hamlet and the story of him being bitten by a snake is not true. When the ghost talks to Hamlet he says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”(1,5,31). By the ghost telling Hamlet what actually happened to him and to take revenge on Claudius Hamlet seems as if he will not be the

Apart from Hamlet's moral dilemma, he is also trying to prove or disprove what a ghost told him. This ghost is apparently the prince's progenitor, who tells Hamlet that his father's death was caused by Claudius pouring poison into his ear. The ghost encourage Hamlet to "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (1012) For this reason Hamlet has to prove if the ghost is an evil spirit deceiving him, testing him, or even if he is who he really says he is, and has the implicit endorsement of a higher power. As Hamlet expresses in act 1:

In the play by William Shakespeare, the ghost of King Hamlet approaches his mourning and depressed son, Hamlet, who is still affected by his death. The ghost explains to Hamlet how he died and demands that Hamlet avenge his death. Note how the ghost approaches Hamlet when he’s the weakest and still mourning to persuade and manipulate him into taking revenge for him. In Act one Scene 5 the ghost states, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love-/ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The way King Hamlet words his request is more as a challenge; in which Hamlet’s love for his dead father can only be proven by carrying out whatever his father wishes. The ghost influences most Hamlet’s behavior, which not only affects the plot, but also the relationships with other characters. The ghost influences the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. He becomes angry at Gertrude because of her fast marriage with his uncle Claudius. Through the use of innuendos, antic disposition, and metamorphic plays, Hamlet makes it his duty to get King Claudius back for killing his father. Hamlet agreed to avenge his father without second thought. As the play advances, Hamlet begins to doubt the apparition. In act 3 Hamlet begins to have second thoughts and states, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil…” This shows Hamlet’s inner conflict between listening to his father and avenging his death or following his ethics. To be sure that Claudius

When Hamlet is first encountered with the ghost that resembles his father, it is revealed that his uncle Claudius might have been the cause of his father’s death. Hamlet is then confused about what he should believe and how he

The ghost already has an idea in his own mind about his revenge when he says, "But howsomever thou pursues this act, / taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / against thy mother aught" (1.5.91-93). Hamlet hides his desire for revenge by saying, "There's never a villain Dwelling in all Denmark but he's an arrant knave" (1.5.137-138). When Hamlet finds out that his friends had heard the whole conversation between the ghost and himself, he makes them swear not to say a thing, and intentionally pretends to be crazy. Hamlet's madness also allows him to avoid truth in his pursuit of revenge. Although Hamlet overtly wants to know the truth, his behavior is quite contradicting. By avoiding a confrontation with Claudius and accusing him directly of wrongdoing, Hamlet also avoids the possibility of truly knowing what happened.                                              

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet relays Hamlet’s quest to avenge the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The late King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who took the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude for himself. Hamlet is beseeched by the ghost of his father to take vengeance upon Claudius; while he swears to do so, the prince inexplicably delays killing Claudius for months on end. Hamlet’s feeble attempt to first confirm his uncle’s guilt with a play that recounts the murder and his botched excuses for not killing Claudius when the opportunity arises serve as testimony to Hamlet’s true self. Hamlet is riddled with doubt towards the validity of the ghost and his own ability to carry out the act necessary to

A spirit comes to Hamlet in the form of his father and orders him to kill his uncle Claudius. At first hamlet is hesitant to believe the ghost because he does not know if he even believes in them. However, after collecting a little bit of evidence, he foolishly decides that it is enough information for him to conclude that his fathers’ death was in fact a “foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.31-32) Hamlet tells his fatherly spirit “Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or

When Hamlet's father appeared to him in the form of a ghost claiming the current king, Claudius, Hamlets uncle, had murdered him; Hamlet did not heed the information and obtain his revenge right away. Hamlet's reaction was that of a wise methodical individual. It took Hamlet some time to convince himself that the ghost truly was a good spirit of his father, relaying truthful words in order that his soul may rest in peace, and even then Hamlet still wanted more proof. Only until Hamlet was certain and had confirmation of Claudius's guilt was he ready to take action. The reader sees how Hamlet finds his final convincing piece of verification through a conversation Hamlet has with his good friend Horatio:

This belief relates to the play because the Ghost of Hamlet’s father decides to visit Denmark and makes everyone question his visitation. Clark states that ghosts appear to “obtain revenge”, although this appears to be true as to the reason Hamlet’s father’s Ghost appears, it is not the actual reason. The Ghost is there to ask Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 57). In other words, the Ghost is not there to seek revenge physically, but to have Hamlet seek revenge on Claudius for killing him. The Ghost makes his visitation to specifically ask Hamlet to seek revenge on his murderer; however, he does not force Hamlet to seek revenge. Since the ghost does not force Hamlet to seek revenge he appears to the audience that he is a good ghost because he does not hurt anyone and does not appear violet. Therefore, because the Ghost has not been physical this situation allows the audience to become aware that he is a good ghost.

Robert R. Reed Jr. had stated that Hamlet delayed his revenge to avenge his fathers murder due to internal meditations and external obstacles on his hesitation on killing his uncle Claudius, obstacles preventing him from killing Claudius. The critic states that one of the external obstacles on Hamlet delaying his revenge was because of his uncertainty of the identity of the ghost I agree with this critic since when Hamlet had first encountered the ghost of his father near the beginning of the play, Hamlet’s father demands for him to get revenge on Claudius, informing Hamlet that Claudius had killed him, although the spirit could’ve been a demonic spirit disguised as his father who is demanding Hamlet to avenge his death on Claudius who has

Although indecision continues to plague him, Hamlet establishes the certainty of the ghost's claims of murder using a play, written by Hamlet himself and performed before

In William Shakespeare, Hamlet, the ghost speaks to Hamlet, claiming to be his father’s spirit. Hamlet is shocked at the revelation that his father has been murdered, and the ghost tells him that as he slept in his garden, a villain poured poison into his ear, the villain who now wears his crown, Claudius. The ghost urges Hamlet to seek revenge, telling him that Claudius has corrupted Denmark and Gertrude, taken her from the love of her first marriage and seduced her in the lust of their incestuous union. The ghost also urges Hamlet not to act against his mother in any way. Through out the play, Hamlet has many opportunities to avenge his father's death

In Act 1, Scene 5 of Hamlet the interaction between the Ghost and Hamlet was a frenzy of emotions that kick-started the plot for the remainder of the book. The context of the story is that the King of Denmark, Hamlet’s father (Old Hamlet) randomly died from an unknown cause and then his brother Claudius assumed the throne. The quick synopsis of the conversation was that a ghost claimed to be Old Hamlet, accused Claudius of killing him, and lastly asked Hamlet to kill Claudius. If I was Hamlet, initially I would’ve been dumbfounded. First of all, I am talking to a ghost; the ghost claims to be my dead father, he accused my uncle of killing my father and asked me to kill my uncle. Confusion would’ve been another emotion going through my head causing me to ask myself many questions. Do I really see a ghost or is it my imagination, maybe I am just hallucinating because I miss my father? Is the ghost telling the truth, or is it a demon? What should I do, kill Claudius or ignore the ghost? I would not vocalize these questions because they are personal and could outrage or offend the ghost if it really exists. The next action I would take is consulting another person because I don’t want to react irrationally to the ghost’s claims. I would not talk to Claudius because if he did commit the atrocious act he might react horribly and kill me, also I wouldn’t tell my mother since her new husband is Claudius and this might drive her crazy. I would ask my best friend Horatio, because he

Throughout the story, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare, it is pondered upon by many as to why Hamlet bided his time to avenge his father. His father had been murdered, and it was believed to be from a snake bite. When the ghost of his father visited him, Hamlet realized it was murder. It would be assumed that if any parent was slain and then asked their child for vengeance, they would swoop into action immediately, but Hamlet did not. Was it fear of the vile act of murder? Could it be that the ghost of his father was actually a demon in disguise? Freudian critics believe that Hamlet is deranged from the jealousy of his mother’s love for her new husband (Shakespeare, Masterplots, pg. 3). Hamlets hesitation could even stem from the wraith it might bring upon him from his kingdom and from God. Many believe that Hamlet’s hesitation was based on the possibility of the ghost being a deceitful demon, the method of innocent until proven guilty, or even that Hamlet did not want Claudius to die within Gods given graces.