In many different stories, ghosts play an important part in the plot, as they enhance the reader’s view of the characters and the events that take place. The play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, in 1609, explores the theme of ghosts and real people living around them. The play is about Prince Hamlet, whose father was murdered during his sleep by his brother, Claudius, who later became the king and married Prince Hamlet’s mother. Throughout the play, Hamlet wants to take revenge, and the ghost guides Hamlet to revenge. In the play, Hamlet, the reader can observe the purpose of the ghost, by ghost talking to Hamlet, ghost sharing his death with Hamlet, and ghost reminding Hamlet of his purpose during the events. ough other …show more content…
Consequently, the ghost of Hamlet’s father informed Hamlet about how he was murdered. This allowed Hamlet to stop mourning over the death of his father and allowed him to be engaged in the act of avenging his father, other than lamentation. With this information that Hamlet was able to obtain, he was able to get the justice that his father was hoping Hamlet would get. However, Hamlet did not believe from the start that The Ghost was telling the truth, to make sure he was, Hamlet devised a plan to put on a play and follow his uncle's reactions. King Claudius stood up and ended the play; this was the reaction Hamlet was hoping for, this meant that the alleged ghost of his father, was telling the truth about his death, this meant that the alleged ghost of his father, was telling the truth about his death.
“Murder most foul, as in the best it is.
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.
His most horrible murder. Murder’s always horrible, but this one was especially horrible, weird, and unnatural.
Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.” (I. v. 25)
In this passage, the ghost of Old Hamlet tells Hamlet the real reason behind his death, if he had not then, Hamlet would not have been able to avenge his father’s death. If Hamlet would not get revenge for his father, then Old Hamlet would not be at peace and would not be allowed into heaven. After this scene, Hamlet tells Horatio about how his dad
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 .
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
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
In addition, Hamlets madness causes him to want to kill the king, Claudius, and clouds his thoughts. When Hamlets, fathers ghost comes to visit him, it tells Hamlet to get revenge on its death and to kill Claudius. While the ghost disappears Hamlet recounts what he has just done and states, “So, Uncle, there you are. Now to my word:/It is ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me!’ / I have sworn’t” (I.v.110-112). Hamlet is not even certain that the ghost is his father at first, yet he still aims to kill the king. His anger over his father’s death leads Hamlet to not think clearly, causing him to act out which in the end, leads to his death.
Hamlet questions the true intentions of the ghost and whether it be “a spirit of health or goblin damn’d,” (1.4.669). The Ghost enlightens the Prince of the treason committed by his uncle Claudius, which Hamlet doubts the legitimacy for an instance. According to “Hamlet’s Precarious Emotional Balance,” “Hamlet conceives a way out of his uncertainty, a way to make certain that he has not, because of his melancholy, simply hallucinated the ghost's revelations or been tricked by an evil spirit,” (Lidz). Hamlet develops a scheme to “catch the conscience of the king” by staging a play that depicts the murder of King Hamlet precisely (2.2.581).
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
At around ten o’clock at night, a young girl was laying in bed when all of a sudden someone started rubbing her cheek. She looked around and no one was there. Was this her imagination, or was someone there? Ghosts always make their presence known, just like the Ghost in the tragedy Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. Throughout the character of the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, Shakespeare portrays many Elizabethan beliefs on ghosts. Shakespeare creates the question: is the ghost good or bad? Many people have their own opinion on this question, but in this writer’s opinion, the Ghost of Hamlet’s father is a good ghost because throughout the tragedy the Ghost of Hamlet’s father never physically hurts anyone, instead he persuades Hamlet
After seeing the ghost of his father, Hamlet vows to revenge his death. His father’s murder was motivation enough for Hamlet to get revenge on those who betrayed his father. His uncle Claudius is so self centered to the
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
In Shakespeare's play, the character Hamlet shows us story of the tragedy he had faced by attempting to obtain revenge for a corrupt act, the murder of his father. As everything begins to unfold, we see that Hamlet begins struggling with internal conflict over who and what was behind his father's death. Hamlet’s struggle continues as he begins to imagine and wait for a so called “ghost” that is supposed to resemble his father. Suddenly the “ghost” appears, saying , "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing /
In literature, some great effects can be caused in the work by characters who appear infrequently if at all. One such character is the ghost of Hamlet's father from the play Hamlet by Shakespeare. He only appears twice but creates significant changes in the action, the theme, and the character development. The ghost's appearances to talk to Hamlet change his thoughts and intents at each of the two times. His first appearance is to tell Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, the new king and Hamlet's uncle. This is the inciting action that starts the true essence of the play. Without this meeting, Hamlet would only have suspected his uncle of foul play but would have no proof and no place to start from in his search for clues. The ghost's
Does the ghost in Shakespeare’s Hamlet conform to the standards for ghosts in the days of the dramatist? This essay will answer this and other questions about the ghost in the drama.
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
Though Shakespeare cannot claim the invention of the ghosts in tragedies, still he can claim to have clothed his ghost in Hamlet with convincingness. This essay concerns his one supernatural character in the tragedy.
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.