What Role Does Religion Play In Hamlet

The Ghost in Hamlet cleared out the event that Hamlet was uncertain of. The spirit clarified the death of King Hamlet, and caused Hamlet to perform his evil deeds. The Ghost’s request to avenge him caused the death of Hamlet’s family, friends, and eventually himself; therefore, the spirit can be viewed as evil because it failed the four tests that was set by Lewes Lavater and the Church.

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

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 .

I suggest also that perhaps Hamlet is not able to truly understand people's evil motives, due to his own idealistic nature. It would follow, then, that he would have great difficulty in committing an act of such brutal violence himself. The action which Hamlet has been commanded by the ghost to undertake goes against Hamlet in a very basic, fundamental way. "The fact that Hamlet is a thinking as well as a feeling person, conscious of the good and bad points in every step he takes, makes the act of revenge particularly painful for him. Revenge is not Christian, and Hamlet is a Christian Prince; it is not rational, and Hamlet is a philosopher; it is not gentle, and Hamlet is a gentlemen" (Boklund 113).

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

Hamlet’s need for revenge begins in act 1 when the ghost tells him what happened. In the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears and tells his son, Hamlet, that he is his father’s spirit, “I am thy father’s spirit…” (act I, scene v). The ghost is talking to Hamlet and tells him how he was really killed. He says, “Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown” (act I, scene v). King Hamlet’s spirit explains to his son that the serpent

Throughout Shakespeare's Hamlet, intersperse various symbols to describe Hamlet’s mental state. As he does so, the symbols also show exhibit Hamlet’s great debate between acting and contemplating. Within the play, the ghost contributes to Hamlet’s actions to a great degree. Hamlet only seeks revenge because the ghost has asked him to do so and kill Claudius. The ghost symbolizes his haunting memories and the debate between reality and imagination. When the ghost first appeared before him, he has dedicated

that it was on death that the soul either went to Heaven or Hell, thus

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.

I believe that the ghost is trying to exploit Hamlet’s mental unstableness. Although the ghost’s purpose is not clearly stated in the story, it is obvious that he is trying to get revenge and justice for his death through Hamlet. After the sudden passing of his father, Hamlet became depressed. His emotions further intensified when King Claudius, his now stepfather, staged a gathering to essentially claim his spot as the new king of the Kingdom. After an argument during the event, Hamlet expressed his rage by a soliloquy, stating “… a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourn’d longer, -married with mine uncle, my father’s brother, but no more like my father that I to Hercules …” (line 150-153). Later in the play, the ghost reappeared

William Shakespeare created the well renowned playwright, Hamlet, which includes many ties to religion and other foreign ideologies. One of these multiple ideologies is whether or not King Hamlet’s ghost is more of an christian ordeal or if he is just Prince Hamlet's lesser conscious pulling him into the dark. Many discussions have been carried out over what the purpose of King Hamlet’s ghost really plays in Prince Hamlet’s revenge and if he does fuel his anger for revenge or if he was just imagining his dead father, later causing his insanity. The appearance of King Hamlet’s ghost in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is no mere plot device. The supernatural being represents not only a catalyst for Hamlet’s revenge, but a manifestation of Shakespeare’s

The ghost was not looking to do Hamlet any good. The ghost had his own agenda. The ghost revealed to Hamlet the truth about the murder of Hamlet’s father. The ghost also told him who was to blame: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (I.5. 38-39). The ghost ignited a rage inside of Hamlet. Revenge replaced the grief in Hamlet’s heart. The play does not reveal if the ghost is the devil or the ghost of Hamlet’s father. However I do not think that Hamlet’s father would have wanted to end another life to make up for his. The deaths that occur in the play could have been avoided if the ghost had never appeared. The truth would have come out eventually and maybe Hamlet would have a clear head by that time. If the ghost was the devil I am sure that he was pleased with what transpired in the play.

In William Shakespeare's work Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the ghost of the deceased king, a character with only a brief presence, to play a significant role in the plot of the story as a whole in multiple ways. The first way Shakespeare uses the ghost of King Hamlet is by first using him to play a crucial role in the development of the characters in the play This is especially true regarding Hamlet. An example of the ghost influencing the development of the characters in the play is sending Hamlet into his descent into madness and furthering his complex character. Shakespeare does this by having the ghost inform Hamlet of his father’s murder. Secondly, Shakespeare uses the ghost to influence the theme of revenge and madness that develops in the play by using the ghost as a driving force

“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