The Ghost In Shakespeare's Hamlet

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet is a subtle character who has a major effect on Hamlet during the play. Although he appears very little, the ghost causes Hamlet to think incorrectly and not act his normal self. Hamlet is accused madness and hallucination in one scene, and it can be traced back to the ghost causing it. The ghost’s presence is not always clear and only speaks to Hamlet, so it makes other characters think Hamlet is going crazy. The ghost only appears twice to speak to Hamlet, but each visit significantly affects Hamlet.

Throughout the first appearance, the ghost uses fear to to cause Hamlet to think incorrectly. The ghost causes Hamlet to think incorrectly about his actions, leading to impulse decisions

Overwhelmed from the previous appearance, the ghost causes Hamlet to think incorrectly and act unlike himself. After hearing King Claudius had killed his father, Hamlet changes from a depressed moody individual into someone full of anger and plans to take revenge with fiery passion. “How, now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Ham 3.4.28). Hamlet let his actions take over without thinking about what he was actually doing when he assumed Claudius hid behind the curtains and stabbed him to death, but then it turned out to be Polonius. Anybody thinking straight at the time would stab someone without positively knowing who stood behind the curtain, but the ghost caused Hamlet to lose control of his actions. The ghost had got into Hamlet’s head in the previous scene and caused Hamlet to impulsively do it without thinking about it. After the murder, the ghost returns again to remind Hamlet his purpose is to avenge on King Hamlet’s death. “Do not forget. This visitation/ Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (Ham 3.4.126-127). The ghost tells Hamlet to remember his goal is to kill Claudius as soon as possible, and he needs to fulfill that request. This quote also ties into the remember quote, for the reason that the ghost says do not forget, meaning do not forget about me and what my purpose of appearing here is. “Gertrude: Nothing at all; yet all that is I see./ Hamlet: Nor did you hear nothing?/ Gertrude: No,

Some may argue whether the ghost is real or not, but either way it has a major effect on Hamlet. Even though he may not appear many times, the ghost causes Hamlet to not think correctly, not act his normal self, and make people think he has gone insane. Throughout the play, the ghost only appears four times throughout the play, but every appearance is significant and has an effect on