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The role of the ghost in Hamlet
How Shakespeare portrays the characters of Hamlet
Characters and characterisation in hamlet
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Recommended: The role of the ghost in Hamlet
The Ghost appears briefly throughout Hamlet by William Shakespeare, yet his presence is significant to the development of the play. King Hamlet, The Ghost, controls the dilemma even after death, influencing young Hamlet’s actions. “So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear (Shakespeare Act I: 31).” King Hamlet makes young Hamlet commit to avenge his death. King Hamlet was murdered before the play began. The Ghost is an appearance of him, where his soul seeks out for vengeance.
At midnight the guards, Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo, noticed The Ghost on their post. They realized that the apparition appeared as the dead King Hamlet. “But in the gross and scope of mine opinion This bodes some strange eruption to our state (Shakespeare Act I: 6).” The Ghost affected the guards in a sense where they believed Denmark will have an unfortunate outcome. Therefore, the guards were influenced to make young Hamlet aware of The Ghost.
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Hamlet’s father affects his actions in the sense where he acts as Hamlet’s conscious. For example, after young Hamlet killed Polonius, Gertrude and Hamlet were arguing, and the ghost advises him to be gentle with her. “O, step between her and her fighting soul… Speak to her, Hamlet (Shakespeare Act III: 95).” The Ghost’s advice makes young Hamlet respond in a certain way. Furthermore, Polonius was killed attempting to discover the reason for Hamlet’s bizarre behavior, which affected Ophelia. Once more, The Ghost was the direct cause of other characters disgrace through Hamlet’s
Hamlet is extremely proud of Old King and respects him.“He was a great human being. He was perfect in everything. I’ll never see the likes of him again” (I.ii.185-188). Hamlet loves his father and gives the greatest praise at the funeral. Grief driven by love tempts Hamlet to think his father’s goodness, and more, the loss of such a favorable figure. Hamlet believes that the ghost that is said to look like the dead king is indeed his father.”He waxes desperate with imagination”(I.ii.92). The Prince, who is deep in sadness and does not think sufficiently, is convinced that the spirit is the Old Hamlet, he is the only person that can physically communicate with the ghost. Hamlet for the second time talks to the apparition in his mother’s chamber, where Gertrude does not see any. What Horatio and other witnesses encounter at the gate at night proves the possibility of the existence of the ghost, Hamlet later in the play is considered to be truly mad on the account of his unusual ability to see and talk to the spirit, which is obviously conjured up by his mind. Rising actions in both the book and the play are implied at the beginning of the stories: Amir’s memory of 1975 and Old Hamlet’s death. The journey of redemption or revenge takes actions of concealing their true emotions and implementing devised
In Hamlet the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and tells Hamlet to revenge his death he said that his uncle Claudis killed him. In (Doc A) the ghost tells Hamlet to act fast and he told him not to blame his mother for any of it even though she is probably involved. It would have been justified if Hamlet did this but he didn’t he took a slow time and he hurt his mother in the process of trying to revenge his father’s death. In (Doc C) he goes into his mom’s room and antagonizes her for killing the king and marrying his brother within a month. (Doc C) he hears someone hiding behind the curtain while he is antagonizing his mother and he think his uncle is behind the curtain so he stabs him and kills him but he didn’t realize it was Polonius behind the curtain. (Doc C) the Hamlets father’s ghost appears and tells him not to attack his
The question of why Hamlet delays in taking revenge on Claudius for so long has puzzled readers and audience members alike. Immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he seems determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes and swears his companions to secrecy about what has occurred. The next appearance of Hamlet in the play reveals that he has not yet revenged his father's murder. In Scene two, act two, Hamlet gives a possible reason for his hesitation. "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape" (2.2.627-629). With this doubt clouding his mind, Hamlet seems completely unable to act. This indecision is somewhat resolved in the form of the play. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play that is similar to the events recounted by the ghost about his murder to prove Claudius guilty or innocent. Due to the king's reaction to the play, Hamlet attains the belief that the Ghost was telling the truth the night of the apparition.
In discussions pertaining to the nature of Hamlet’s ghost, there is much debate. On the one hand, authors such as W.W. Greg believe that Hamlet’s ghost was merely a hallucination, but on the other hand, Maurice Egan believes that Hamlet’s ghost was a real character who truly existed. Egan also contends that the ghost is sent from purgatory, however, authors such as Roy Battenhouse believe that the ghost is pagan and came from hell. Others such as Robert West maintain that the ghost is neither from heaven or hell, but was written to be purposefully confusing so that any audience member could think of the ghost in many different ways. I personally believe that the ghost was a real character who came from hell and appeared before Hamlet in order to have him exact his revenge on Claudius.
In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” there are many different events throughout the play that affect and shape the main character Hamlet. The biggest event being when Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, the king, who then proceeds to tell him that his uncle murdered him. This event will lead Hamlet to madness with sanity while plotting his revenge on his uncle which will ultimately end in his, his uncle and several other’s deaths at the end of the play.
All throughout the play Hamlet mourns the loss of his father, especially since his father is appearing to him as a ghostly figure telling him to avenge his death, and throughout the play it sets the stage and shows us how he is plotting to get back at the assassinator. Such an instance where the ghost appears to Hamlet is when Hamlet and his mother are in her bedchamber where the ghost will make his last appearance. Hamlet tells his mother to look where the ghost appears but she cannot see it because he is the only one who that has the ability to see him.
... to make choices as to how they wanted to act out those scenes. Nevertheless, the ghost is an important part of the play that will always lead to questions in the readers mind. Does the ghost cause Hamlet to go mad or is that madness within that causes the ghost to be revealed? Is it the ghost who causes Hamlet to seek revenge or the unraveling truth of Claudius’s murder? These questions may change with every generation but as some questions get answered others come forth which leads audiences to always be captivated by Hamlet.
After the Prince has killed Polonius, the spirit of King Hamlet reappears for the 2nd time to the Prince when he is condemning his mother for her misdeeds. It almost seems like the ghost is acting just like most fathers. He seems to be prodding a too slow child. The ghost reminds Hamlet that he has promised to get revenge for the King's death.
Ghosts are often characters that are a representation of revenge tragedy, especially in Shakespearean plays, such as Macbeth. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost is very significant because it influences Hamlet negatively, which ultimately results in his tragedy. The ghost causes Hamlet to get revenge, realize his tragic flaw, and leads to his madness.
The aspect of Hamlet that I find interesting is the appearance of the ghost that Hamlet suspects may be the ghost of his father. Hamlet does not know if the ghost is actually of his father or if it is a demon taking on his father's appearance. How will he know what decision to make if he does not know what the ghost actually is? Also, now I'm wondering if Hamlet makes the wrong decision, will his decision lead to his death? This is the second play of Shakespeare's that I have read that has the appearance of ghosts. Macbeth also had apparitions appear in it. Shakespeare seems to have a method of placing ghosts into his writings, and in Macbeth these ghosts led to the downfall of Macbeth. -Keisha McWhorter
The story of Hamlet Senior's death is the ghost story aspect of the play. Hamlet Senior, the late king, was being tormented in hell throughout the daylight hours and during the night he was forced to walk the castle. He stated that he was "Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confin'd to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my [being the late King's] days of nature Are burnt and purg'd away (50 lines 10-13). His release from this torture would not be permitted until his avenger is retaliated against by his son. Hamlet, Francisco and Bernardo all see the ghost of the late king, but the apparition will only speak to his son. The ghost brings an unnatural feel to the drama and leaves the reader/viewer wondering if it was real or all in Hamlet's mind.
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.
The ghost gives Hamlet the information he needs to confront and slay the king, Claudius, but Hamlet makes excuses and goes against his father insight. The ghost disowns Hamlet as his son until he can admit and act on his wish. For this the ghost lives in Hell for the entirety of his undead life and Hamlet no longer has someone he can call his father. Another person Hamlet affects is Claudius, king of Denmark. Hamlet loses all respect from Claudius due to multiple tantrums and a lack of power he is willing to show.
The ghost is the guiding force behind hamlet. It asks hamlet to seek revenge for king Hamlet's death. This propels him into a series of events that end in his death.
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.