Live or Die Essay

The Ghost in Hamlet is a widely controversial topic with arguments determining whether the Ghost is a “goblin damn’d” or a “spirit of health.” (1.4.40) “‘A spirit of health’ is one, which comes from heaven with charitable intentions, and ‘a goblin damn’d’ is one, which comes from Hell with wicked intentions.” The Ghost only has two appearances in the play and is a symbol for uncertainty, yet it is important as it catalyses the play into action and also Hamlet into madness. The Ghost in Hamlet is an evil spirit returning to revenge his killer Claudius; which is a questionable action for a Catholic person leading the audience to believe that the Ghost is evil. He pressures Hamlet into revenging Claudius while destroying Hamlet’s

'Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,' says the ghost of Hamlet. The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet dumbfounded and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something is needed to be done, Hamlet is to busy

The Ghost of Hamlet's father is a foil for Hamlet. The ghost is introduced so to reveal information that is not blatantly revealed to us yet. The king gives us some explanation of why Hamlet wants revenge. The king tells us of his death and introduces the fact that it was a murder and tells that the murder was committed by his brother. Through the conversation with the ghost he gains more fuel for the anger he has about his mother’s marriage. In the discussion with Hamlet and the

Shakespeare’s introduction of a ghost in Hamlet serves various objectives in the play, to the characters as well as the audience. The ghost is a controversial character who challenges the audience’s view of the plot, the motifs, as well as the flow of events in the story. The appearance of the ghost is associated with tragedy, usually where the humans entangle with the supernatural forces, but in this case, the ghost seems to conform to human capabilities and relies on other human beings to meet its objectives. The presentation of the ghost in the play, from its motives to its appearance highlight the human traits over the supernatural capabilities. The characteristics of the ghost suggest that it might be a construct of Hamlet, and his friends, in trying to make sense of the events leading to the death of his father, as well as a coping mechanism. The narrative gives Hamlet, a son who loved his father, justification as well as the reason to execute revenge against his uncle who took the father’s life despite the deviation that exists in his character. Hamlet is considered as the calm and collected character, and engaging in violence is not part of his personality, and as such the conviction that Hamlet is mad.

Since the death of his father, King Hamlet, Hamlet his son is eluded between his thoughts and his emotions. The real struggle begins when a ghost, namely the ghost of King Hamlet, his father, accuses Hamlet’s uncle Claudius for his murder. When the ghost tells Hamlet about the reason for the murder Hamlet expresses his thoughts and feelings with passion, “The serpent that sting thy father’s life/Now wears his crown” (Shakespeare). The passion from his anger is also evident at the end of the soliloquy when he calls his uncle “damned villain” (Shakespeare). Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude is also accused by the ghost of King Hamlet for being sexually involved with Claudius and hamlet passionately with rage and anger calls his mother “O most precious women” (Shakespeare) at the end of his soliloquy. This situation put Hamlet in a sensitive and fierce battle between what’s truth and what’s right. His thoughts do not run in parallel with his emotions, Hamlet being caught up in this internal confusion keeps on delaying his actions. Furthermore Hamlet’s reason to kill Claudius comes from his passion, but his intelligence gives him reasons not to kill his uncle Claudius. He keeps

Hamlet has thrust upon him the dual responsibility of avenging his father and becoming a man. These new responsibilities push Hamlet’s already fragile sanity over the edge into madness. “Hamlet experiences anxiety both because of the dysfunction of previous masculine roles and because of his shames at their loss, a loss he holds himself accountable for” (Rosen, 63). Hamlet is instantly roused from a bout of depression at Horatio’s news of the ghost. Hamlet undoubtedly feels that this ghost might be able to put his mind at rest.

When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother. Gertrude was seduced by “that incestuous, that adulterate beast,/With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts” – Claudius himself – prior to his brother’s passing. “So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,/Will sate itself in a celestial bed,/And prey on garbage.” In the mind of Hamlet, this drastically reduces the goodness of womankind generally. Hamlet chooses to use an “antic disposition” to disguise his actions as he maneuvers to kill the one who poisoned his father in the garden. Wilkie and Hurt say that Shakespeare “is particularly fond of double-plotting” (2156).

In what is probably the most famous line in all the play, Hamlet begins his speech by asking whether it is better to “be or not to be”- is it better to live or to die? As he continues, the grieving and troubled prince questions if life is worth the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes”, or if it is nobler to end ones “sea of troubles” by simply committing suicide. While Hamlet flirts with the benefits of death, he is also forced to face the implications of ending one’s life in search of relief. He describes death as an “undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns”, and remarks that we inquire about it, but death only “puzzles the will”- clearly illustrating the uncomfortable uncertainty that surrounds the phenomena. Prince Hamlet concludes that if it weren’t for this ambiguity and fear of the unknown, no one would actively choose to “grunt and sweat under a weary life”.

To start with, the ghost heavily influences the development of a few characters in the play which includes Hamlet and his friends. In the opening act, Hamlet’s friends encounter the ghost of the former king while standing guard on the wall of the castle. They are the first and only characters besides Hamlet that the ghost influences. They are also the only ones besides Hamlet that can see the ghost. This furthers the story by sending Hamlet’s friends on a mission to tell him of his father’s return. From the beginning of the play Hamlet is already depressed and down after being called home from school to return to Denmark to witness the funeral of his father. Following the funeral Hamlet meets up with his friends where they tell him of his father’s ghost. Immediately, this sparks Hamlet’s interest and he wishes to hear more of his father. ‘The king my father!/For God’s love, let me hear.” (1.2.192-95 Hamlet) Here Shakespeare shows Hamlet’s interest in the matter

When Hamlet sees his father’s ghost the second time, he speaks with him in private. The ghost tells Hamlet that he is indeed the ghost of Hamlet I, the deceased king of Denmark and Hamlet II’s father. He explains to his son the real reason for his passing wasn’t by a poisonous snake bit, but by the hands of his uncle. He was murdered by his brother and betrayed

The play Hamlet is a fable of how the ghost of a slain king comes to haunt the living with disastrous consequences. A rancorous ghost and a brother 's murder, lead the gloomy setting of Hamlet 's Denmark. Hamlet story opens with an encounter between young Hamlet, his dad 's ghost as well as the prince of Denmark. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that its murderer was his brother Claudius, who then rapidly wedded his widowed queen, Gertrude. As a result, the ghost presses Hamlet to seek vengeance on the man who stole his throne as well as his queen to which Hamlet consents.

Even though Hamlet seems ardent in his intentions of avenging his father’s death during his encounter with the Ghost, by the second act, Hamlet begins to doubt that the ghost was actually his father. While giving his soliloquy after he has seen

The ghost made the whole situation for Hamlet seem even that much more unreal. He already wished that all of the recent events he had to deal with were not real. He then has to deal with the reality of this ghost. It seems to influence him terribly and takes a negative toll on his emotions. This occurrence continues to further diversify Hamlet’s feelings and emotions (Snider, 67).

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,'; demands the ghost in (Act I, Scene 5, line 23). The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet crazy and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something is needed to be done, Hamlet is to busy thinking about his

This story begins on a cold night in Denmark Elsinore Castle when Hamlet’s trusted friend Horatio, and some guards see a ghost, the ghost of King Hamlet to be exact. The philosophical and complicated yet socially popular young Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, is busy fuming at his uncle Claudius who married his mom two days after his father's death. Hamlet suspects that they conspired to kill his father, and he even contemplates suicide. His hopes are lifted when he hears about the ghost.