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The Ghost In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Upon learning of his father’s murder and the subsequent usurpation of the throne by his uncle Claudius, the eponymous hero of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, prince of Denmark, plots to personally avenge his death. At the beginning of the play, the prince is mourning his late father and fails to come to terms with the remarriage of his recently widowed mother to his recently crowned uncle. Hamlet is informed of the murder of his father at the end of the first act in which the ghost of his father appears before him, discloses the events of Claudius’ crime and calls for the revenge of his murder. The Ghost’s appeal plays a crucial part in the plot as it generates a complication for the main character that will guide his actions and his thoughts …show more content…

The Ghost explicitly links his appeal for revenge of his ‘foul and most unnatural murder’ (1.5.29) with the condition of love: ‘If thou didst ever thy dear father love’ (1.5.31). Hamlet is told that to prove his love for his father, he must avenge him. Furthermore, by addressing Hamlet as ‘thou noble youth’ (1.5.45) who is deemed ‘apt’ (1.5.39) to take on the vengeful task, the Ghost emphasizes with paternal authority that the prince should demonstrate the sense of duty that is expected of a young noble son. Similarly, the Ghost implies that Hamlet would be ‘duller … than the fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf’ (1.5.39) if he declines to take action. By referring to the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, the Ghost seems to be warning Hamlet that a worthy son does not forget his father. In reaction to this appeal and in order to fulfill his role of the dutiful son, Hamlet’s interjection ‘O God!’ (1.5.30) affirms his love for his father and his readiness to prove himself to him. He confirms this further by blindly accepting to avenge the murder without knowing the identity of the murderer and likens himself to a bird quickly attacking his prey ‘with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love’ (1.5.35). In sum, the Ghost’s attempt at exerting emotional pressure on Hamlet is echoed by the prince’s eagerness to …show more content…

Hamlet idealizes his late father, whom he likens to Greek gods and whom he considers as ‘so loving’ towards his mother (1.2.143-146). By contrast, the Ghost portrays Claudius as an adulterer who has not only deprived a son of his father but also who has taken his father’s place as a husband to his mother. For instance, the Ghost uses negative and incriminating adjectives such as ‘that incestuous, that adulterate beast’ (1.5.49), ‘traitorous’ (1.5.50), ‘shameful’ (1.5.53), ‘wicked’ (1.5.51) to describe Claudius and his actions. With these strong words, the Ghost aims to denounce Claudius as a lustful and conniving seducer of Gertrude and thus calls upon Hamlet’s sense of duty as a son to defend his father’s honor. The hissing of the above-mentioned serpent is further dramatized by the use of the alliteration ‘so to seduce’ (1.5.52) to emphasize the manipulative nature of the incestuous relationship. Furthermore, by referring to Gertrude as a ‘most seeming-virtuous queen’, the Ghost suggests that Claudius has successfully corrupted her and that this may have occurred before her husband’s death. This constitutes another motivating factor for persuading Hamlet to avenge his father’s honor against his adulterous brother and wife. In addition, in his mention of Gertrude’s ‘falling off’ (1.5.54), the Ghost considers her relationship

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