The influence of Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy is seen throughout the use the ghost in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. This scene marks the beginning of Hamlet's action towards revenge. Through the allusions of Greek mythology, death and revenge, Elizabethan tragedy is displayed in both dialogues. The ghost present in both plays fit the what the Elizabethans held about superstition.
Depicted by Shakespeare and Kyd, the theme of revenge correlates between both ghosts' monologues. Both of their objectives are set on seeking retribution for a relative. Old Hamlet appears to his son with the intent of setting him in action to avenge his death. Don Andrea focuses on his after-life while Old Hamlet focuses on how he died. He finally sets Hamlet in motion to seek revenge. The ghost that meets Hamlet reveals as to why he appears but speaks only to him. It is to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (1.5.25). The repetitive use of the word 'unnatural' between Hamlet and the ghost shows how urgent the issue has become. By going into excruciating detail of his murder, it pulls on the heart strings of Hamlet. It lights a fire in him to become his father's avenger.
Don Andrea's detailed description of his soul's passage in the underworld, he wants help is plotting for appropriate revenge. He wishes to seek revenge against his murder, causing the eternal separation of he and his "worthy dame" (1.1.10), Bel-imperia by "forcing divorce betwixt my love and me...When I was slain, my soul descended straight,/ To pass the flowing stream of Acheron"(14, 18-19). According to Clark, "Ghosts were thought to appear before...to exact justice, to revenge a foul deed" (100). Both of them rise from purgatory to do exactly that.
The allusions of Gre...
... middle of paper ...
...tion. Through the ghost's revelation for Hamlet to seek revenge, Greek mythology plays an important role by linking the two plays together. Through the themes of revenge, deceit, and loss, they are able to relay their messages to receive the outcome desired. Although the ghost in Hamlet has been murdered before the play and Andrea's murder creates the plot's motivation, revenge becomes evident. Avenging their unnatural death to rest in peace can only be achieved through the immediate action.
Works Cited
Cumberland, Clark. "The Supernatural in Hamlet." Readings on Hamlet. By Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1999. 99-105. Print.
Kyd, Thomas. "The Spanish Tragedy: Ghost's Monologue." The Spanish Tragedy: Ghost's Monologue. N.p., 2003. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 2002. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
A great chain of events in "Hamlet", Shakespeare's great revenge tragedy, leads to Hamlet's own demise. His necessity for subterfuge allows him to inadvertently neglect is main objective, revenge. So much so that the ghost of his dead father appears to stipulate Hamlet's reserved behavior towards his fathers revenge. "Do not forget. This visitation is to whet thy almost blunted purpose," (83-84) says the ghost in a motivational manner which almost suggests a lack of faith on Hamlet's behalf.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
The play within a play has been used for a long time in stories ; scholars have traced it’s use back to the Arabic, Persian and Indian storytelling traditions (Bonnie Irwin, 1995). It can also be identified in Homer’s Odyssey but the first time it was probably used for drama, was in Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy. By reusing this emerging literary organ, Shakespeare is sure of his success with the presentation of his work and demonstrates to what degree drama is powerful so as to make ones self see the truth in ones acts. It is with it that Hamlet manages to surface Claudius’ guilt and to be sure that the ghost’s truthfulness. Additionally, he uses all the conventions and themes of a revenge tragedy that where extremely popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era and present in The Spanish Tragedy. But Shakespeare moves well beyond the usual revenge tragedy form in this play. Hamlet became a play were the themes are complicates and the psychology of its models is deepened. This is done by Hamlet’s complex characterization were he is in conflict between the Roman values of blood-right and martial valor, and Christian values of humility a...
illuminates on the mystery surrounding the death of Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark. Often in literature the presence of a ghost indicates something left unresolved. In this case, the death of Hamlets father is the unresolved event as well the revenge necessary to give the tormented soul repose. The ghost created mystery for the audience, spawns the chain of death and treachery in Denmark, causes characters to question the death of their former king, and
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Unabridged William Shakespeare. William George Clark and William Aldis Wright, ed. Running Press. 1989.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The. Hamlet. The. London: Dover Publications, Inc, 1992. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992. Print.
“Revenge is a dish best served cold.” This famous saying is an ancient proverb that has been carried out for centuries. The phrase describes that the best payback is one that comes with planning; revenge is bringing the most horrendous pain to your enemies when they are least expecting it. In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet discovers that his uncle, Claudius, poisoned his father, late King Hamlet, in order to steal his crown. Not only did his uncle usurp his father’s throne, but he married Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, as well. After meeting a ghost that claimed to be his father, Hamlet is instructed by the ghost to commit vengeance on his uncle. Hamlet is furious about the cases regarding: murder, incest, betrayal, and deceitfulness, that he is quick to follow through with his orders. Revenge is a dominant theme portrayed throughout Hamlet, influencing the trust between characters, resulting in downfalls and deaths.
Shakespeare, William, Marilyn Eisenstat, and Ken Roy. Hamlet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th Compact ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 1010-1107. Print.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complex and ambiguous public exploration of key human experiences surrounding the aspects of revenge, betrayal and corruption. The Elizabethan play is focused centrally on the ghost’s reoccurring appearance as a symbol of death and disruption to the chain of being in the state of Denmark. The imagery of death and uncertainty has a direct impact on Hamlet’s state of mind as he struggles to search for the truth on his quest for revenge as he switches between his two incompatible values of his Christian codes of honour and humanist beliefs which come into direct conflict. The deterioration of the diseased state is aligned with his detached relationship with all women as a result of Gertrude’s betrayal to King Hamlet which makes Hamlet question his very existence and the need to restore the natural order of kings. Hamlet has endured the test of time as it still identifies with a modern audience through the dramatized issues concerning every human’s critical self and is a representation of their own experience of the bewildering human condition, as Hamlet struggles to pursuit justice as a result of an unwise desire for revenge.
In traditional and modern, ghost reflects death and fear, and it never change. In Hamlet, the ghost is a symbol of Hamlet’s father who is killed by Claudius. Its propose is to demand Hamlet to avenge its death. Although the ghost only appears three times in front of Hamlet, it is a specify role to develop the whole story and plot. Through Hamlet, the ghost is the motive to make Hamlet kill Claudius, and the ghost plays a critical role to influence Hamlet.
A common motif in Shakespeare’s many plays is the supernatural element, to which Hamlet , with the presence of a ghost, is no exception. The story of Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is one of tragedy, revenge, deception, and ghosts. Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural element helps give a definition to the play by being the catalyst of the tragedy that brings upon Hamlet’s untimely demise. The ghost that appears at the beginning of the play could possibly be a satanic figure that causes Hamlet to engage in the terrible acts and endanger his soul. The supernatural element incorporated into the play is used as an instigator, a mentor, as well as mediation for the actions of the protagonist that ultimately end in tragedy, with the loss of multiple lives, as well as suscept Hamlet’s soul to hell. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the ghostly apparition causes a reader to question whether the ghost is a demonic force on the basis of its diction, conduct towards others as well as Hamlet, and it’s motive to kill.