Hamlet Analysis

In Act 1 Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet can be portrayed as either, a harsh, mean, and demanding father or a caring, nice, and understanding dad. This depends on how you manipulate the lighting, actions, which includes speech, and other special effects.

By manipulating the lighting on the ghost of King Hamlet, he can be presented as either a demanding and harsh father or a caring and understanding dad. To present the ghost as a demanding and harsh father you could use a bright red light shining on him. Using a red light would portray him as evil because the color red is associated with such things as fire and hell, both which have negative connotations. For example, at the beginning of the scene a single red light can shine down on the ghost from behind casting a dark shadow onto Hamlet. When the ghost says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.'; The single light from behind could move to directly over the ghost casting a shadow onto his face to make him look even more menacing. Also, lights all over the stage would begin at a low red glow and slowly rise to a bright red engulfing the whole stage when the ghost finishes off the quote saying, “murder';. If you manipulate the light in another way the ghost can be presented as a caring father. By using a white or a blue light would portray him as good because the colors of white and blue are connected with things such as heaven and angels, both of which have good connotations. For example, when showing the ghost, a white light could be coming at him from all angles, following wherever he goes. When the ghost of King Hamlet says, “Taint not thy mind…aught.'; A white light could be coming from under the stage shining up onto the ghost, and also from all other angles. This would cause the ghost to shine brightly from the light bouncing off his armor. Saying this quote while having white light surround him would further portray him as caring. This is because he is telling Hamlet not to harm, or even think of harming his mother.

Not only does lighting show how the ghost of King Hamlet can be portrayed in two different ways, but it can also be displayed by his actions and speech.