The Importance Of Language In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

The Ghost’s appearance troubles Hamlet again in a different way at the end of Act Two, when Hamlet questions whether or not the apparition he has seen is really the ghost of his father. He believes that it is likely that what he saw was really an evil spirit trying to trick him into sinning, for, as he says, “the devil hath power / T’assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps…abuses me to damn me” (2.2.628-32). His concern is legitimate; however, it causes him to delay further due to his worries about sin and what could happen to him should he decide to take action if the Ghost is in fact evil. When Hamlet attempts to work himself into a frenzy by insulting himself and climactically cursing Claudius with caustic epithets, he is incapable of maintaining his emotion and he orders his brains to turn about, bringing himself back down to logic and reason. He feels that he cannot act without some sort of proof of the truth of what the Ghost has said, and therefore he arranges to “catch the conscience

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

Language Techniques in Hamlet by William Shakespeare Shakespeare used a variety of language techniques throughout Hamlet,

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

As humanity strives to live, humans use language as an indicator to communicate their thoughts and needs. Language conveys more than words depending on the way it is delivered and why it was said. Although the same line can be said by two different people, people use their body language, diction, symbols, or images to get their message disclosed to their audience. Within William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main characters go through a whirlpool of conflicts in his mind. His mentality has been going through a controversy between action and contemplation since his father’s murder. He debates whether he should kill himself or not and whether he kills Claudius or not. As he suffers through this dispute between acting and reflecting, he symbolizes and illustrates his emotions. Shakespeare has characterized Hamlet to be a man who struggles through the deliberation of action and contemplation; however, illustrates his thoughts and feelings rather than just telling a story.

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.                                              

In this revenge tragedy, which is a play in which the plot typically centers on a spectacular attempt to avenge the murder of a family member, Hamlet’s call to adventure is when the ghost, whom he believes to be the ghost of his recently deceased father, beseeches Hamlet that he avenge his death (Charters and Charters 1251). At first looking at the ghost, he questions the authority of him and contemplates that the apparition is just the devil tempting him:

Hamlet is insure of whether the ghost is good or evil. This is evident when the ghost appears and Hamlet questions him repeatedly while contrasting ideas of good and evil. Hamlet asks the ghost if it is "a spirit of health, or goblin damned," whether it "bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell" and if its "intents [are] wicked or charitable." This repetition of questions emphasises Hamlet's uncertainty about the ghost and highlights his fear that it may be a dishonest and evil spirit trying to damn Hamlet to hell by getting him to commit murder, and so Hamlet struggles to undertake his duty to avenge his father's death.

He began to doubt the purpose of the ghost because it presented itself as an evil being, he began to question the if the ghost was genuinely his father or the devil that “abuses to damn” him. The ghost insinuating it came from purgatory a place superior to hell. It is tentative whether it [ghost] was the devil or his father but the ghost was capable of making Hamlet fulfil a task, that being vengeance. Hamlet had the chance to kill Claudius when he was praying, hamlet appears in his quarrels and finally has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius. He pondered to himself “Am I then revenged,/ To take him in the purging of his soul?” (3.4.84-85) His catholic beliefs persuaded him not to end his [Claudius’] life. Although Hamlet wanted Claudius to suffer, he realized that Claudius would be forgiven, freed from his sins, and sent to heaven and as for him, he would be sent to hell for murdering someone. Hamlet demonstrates he is a man of little action, being so intellectual he battles with an excess amount of thoughts that cloud his apparent plan. Thus making him wait for things to run their

A man with a unique manipulation of language had the power to captivate minds centuries ago, and yet his legendary voice is still heard today. William Shakespeare was the man of his time at the forefront of drama and play writing. It is no wonder he stood as a noble character by the king, because his literary works were so cherished by all of the people. His audience praised him, and they understood him, however, the language that was recognizable to them might be more unfamiliar to us. As an illustration, one might ponder why Shakespeare chose to assert in the famous tragedy Hamlet that "This above all; to thine own self be true." A modern audience might translate the phrase to mean "the most important thing is to look after yourself", but why is the phrase written in such a peculiar way? There is a certain rhythmic pattern along with distinct tools embedded in Shakespeare's voice that one must explore... and then the audience can fully become one with his thoughts and brilliant mind.

How much power does a king have? In Early Modern England this question was not one of politics and militaries, but of a natural social order. The Great Chain of Being Places a King above his country; if the king becomes corrupted so does the state and in turn, the natural world will become diseased and rank. Shakespeare’s use natural language in hamlet indicates an adherence to The Great Chain of Being. The corruption of the natural world is a metaphor for the corruption of the state by the perverse actions of Claudius and Gertrude. These metaphors refer to corrupt animals and plants, to disease and death, and ultimately connect to the fall of man.

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the thoughts of revenge are introduced early in the play. At the end of the first act, Hamlet meets the ghost of his deceased father. He is brought to see him by Horatio and Marcellus, who saw the ghost "yesternight" (Shakespeare 1.2.190). During this exchange of words between the Ghost and Hamlet, the Ghost tells Hamlet, "[s]o art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear." (Shakespeare 1.5.5). He is telling Hamlet to listen closely to what he has to say. Then he tells Hamlet to "[r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 1.5.23). When Hamlet finds out that it was his Uncle Claudius who murdered his father, Hamlet plots against him to avenge his father's

Following the meeting with the ghost, Hamlet is both physically and mentally exhausted. In a second soliloquy, his thoughts are disorganized, and he is shocked and angry. However, the mood of this soliloquy differs dramatically from the first. No longer listless and melancholy, the ghost's wish for a great act of revenge gives Hamlet fresh hope and energy. He vows to disregard "all pressures past", and do away with the "smiling damned villain." Although deeply agitated, he has resolved to act. Indeed, his violent and passionate oaths seem to indicate he will, "with wings as swift as meditation", execute a swift revenge.

He thinks that out of his “weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me”(2.2.630-632). Hamlet would like to please his father, but the fact that he may be taking commands from the devil, who just wants to bring him to ruin, understandably gives him pause. The ghost also brings to Hamlet’s mind that “Foul deeds will rise, through all the earth o’erwhelm them to men’s eyes” (1.3.279-280). While Hamlet dangerously considers murder, he is torn because he knows that crimes and sins cannot be hidden forever. God knows and people will find out. His spiritual beliefs keep Hamlet from following through.

Hamlet then accepts revenge as his main focus of his mind and soul as he states he “will wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all shall live Within the book and volume of my brain.” (Shakespeare I.v. 99-103). Hamlet fully accepts his divine duty given by the ghost and proclaims that revenge will fully be upon his mind. One critique elegantly elaborates on Hamlets proclamation that Hamlet sees himself “ As an agent of Gods Vengeance, Hamlet then could act, and his revenge would have the authority and finality of God’s revenge.” (Kastan 117).