ipl-logo

The Role Of The Ghost In Hamlet

713 Words3 Pages

The role of Hamlet 's father as a ghost is to not only avenge his own death, but to make sure that Hamlet gets vengeance for claudius murdering him. The nature in which the ghost appears differs between each one of the three appearances. Throughout the play the ghost appears in many different ways, his main objective is to have Hamlet get revenge for his death. The role of the ghost in hamlet can be seen from different points of view, it can be seen as the ghost being hamlets father is trying to make contact with Hamlet to avenge his murder by Claudius. Or it can be seen as the ghost being some type of evil spirit trying to destroy hamlet through bad advice. The ghost is simply trying to free its spirit from purgatory and not trying to destroy hamlet, this is evident due to the fact that we know that Claudius killed Hamlet’s father in cold blood before he could pray for his sins. The ghosts role in the play is to tell Hamlet how he truly died.
The nature in which the ghost appears in the play changes from appearance to appearance. This is due to the ghost having to get through to Hamlet in a different way, and for a different reason in each appearance. The first appearance of the ghost is to a duo of soldiers, Bernardo and Marcellus and a visitor of Denmark Horatio. The ghost in this scene is recognized as the king dressed in his full armor. When asked by Horatio to reveal its secret, the cock crows signaling morning, and the ghost disappears. The meaning of this

Show More
Related

  • What Are The Similarities Between Hamlet And Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1552 Words  | 7 Pages

    The play begins by having Hamlet's uncle marry Hamlet's recently-widowed mother in order to become the new King of Denmark. Hamlet, while mourning the death of this father, is disappointed at his mothers lack of loyalty at the same time. The guards of Denmark's Elsinore castle see a ghost that resembles Hamlet's deceased father and decide to tell Hamlet. In act 1 scene 5 the ghost appears to Hamlet, stating that he is the ghost of his father, and that Hamlet's uncle murdered him. This is a huge turning point in the play as Hamlet swears vengeance for his father.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Hamlet's Ghost Speech

    251 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main goal of the ghost speech is for King Hamlet to convince young Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius. He does so by using figurative language such as foreshadowing, motifs, and allusions. He tries to convince Hamlet by telling him how Claudius killed, and robbed him “of crown” and “queen”. The King turns Hamlet against Claudius when he tells him exactly how he was killed. His references to the being killed by his brother alludes to the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Self Respect

    1234 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hamlet at first was a little bit weary of the ghost but when the ghost told Hamlet that he was stuck in purgatory until revenge was sought out, hamlet was on board. Hamlet adored his father so when the ghost asked him to seek revenge, and when it told him to murder claudius it's all he focuses on for the majority of the novel. The effect seeking justice had on Hamlet was profound. He became obsessed with finding a proper way to kill the king. His first attempt was to put on a play where he hired actors to recreate the old king's murder to see how the queen and Claudius would react.

    Read More

  • Honor In Hamlet Essay

    799 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the play Hamlet, we find that Hamlet meets with his father’s ghost, and about his father murder by the hands of blood related brother, Hamlet takes a decision, to revenge and restore the glory back

    Read More

  • Theme Of Greed In Hamlet

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    Killing someone for the throne? Is this Envy? Pride? Greed? Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Figurative Language Essay

    785 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’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 abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.” 2) The soliloquies that Hamlet provides over the sequence of the entire play allows us to distinguish what Hamlet was thinking about and display how he was losing his sanity.

    Read More

  • Mental Health In Hamlet Essay

    564 Words  | 3 Pages

    A few soldiers on guard report to him that his father’s ghost has been seen, and he sees the ghost when he goes with them the next night. The ghost tells him that his uncle killed him to get his crown and his wife, and makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death. Hamlet decides to pretend to be

    Read More

  • Essay On Incest In Hamlet

    1425 Words  | 6 Pages

    Hamlet faces many problems in the play. The first problem he faces is King of Denmark which is his father died. In the play, Hamlet suffers from depression. The play Hamlet Is like a love triangle. A big topic in the play is incest, incest is a sexual activity with a close relative or family members.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Indecisiveness In Hamlet

    261 Words  | 2 Pages

    Instead of taking action and killing claudius, he questions whether the ghost was actually his father asking to revenge his death or the devil resembling his father to try to tempt him into murder. In No Fear Shakespeare from Sparknotes, Hamlet talks about his doubts to believe the ghost is actually his father or not by saying “May be the devil, and the devil hath power T’ assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me (Act 2 Scene 2 Page 24). This shows how Hamlet was indecisive and how the ghost of his father was one of the major reasons why he was indecisive.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Hamlet's Ghost In Hamlet

    906 Words  | 4 Pages

    King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.

    Read More

  • His Father's Death And Death In Hamlet

    1156 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hamlet states, “ The spirit that I have seen, may be the devil, and the devil hath power, T’ assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me” (II.ii.627-632). The ghost resembles his father and leaves Hamlet confused and concerned. From the quote in the play, Hamlet believes that the ghost could possibly be the devil trying to persuade him into evil to continue his suffering. He also believes the ghost is targeting him because of his suffering; making him more vulnerable to evil. After numerous interactions between Hamlet and the ghost, the ghost reveals that he is Hamlet’s father.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Ghost In Hamlet

    1678 Words  | 7 Pages

    King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.

    Read More

  • To Trust Or Not To Trust The Ghost In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    652 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play Hamlet most of the conflict comes from Hamlet's internal struggle of deciding whether he should trust the words and appearance of the ghost of his father. Just like a student trying to finish an essay, his procrastination has made him more eager to carry out the act but that dire obligation he so badly wants to fulfill can't be done without any sound proof that he strives to find. This comes to show Hamlet's inability to trust the Ghost because he didn't believe that the existence of the ghost of his father would be possible, he believed that the apparition might be a devil trying to lure him in to committing an unjustified act, and he needed to rely on Claudius’s reaction to the play to validate his trust with the Ghost. At the start of the play, Hamlet is awestruck and dubious about the Ghost because during his first meeting with the apparition, he was so stunned of the supernatural sighting that he felt skeptical if it was even possible for such an episode to happen.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Death Theme Essay

    873 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Hamlet meets with the ghost King Hamlet in the opening scene, he realizes that his father is murdered by Claudius. From Act I scene 5, the ghost King Hamlet is asking Hamlet to seek for revenge, “So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear” (1.5.12). By knowing this, Hamlet starts the revenge for his father and sets the tone of the entire play where death, revenge, murder, and suicide become the symbols of the whole play, and leads to the deaths of almost all the characters, including Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet himself. Also, because of his father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage with Claudius, Hamlet has the idea of committing suicide. From Act I scene 2, "O, that this too sullied flesh would melt,Thaw, and resolve itself to dew" (1.2.133-134).

    Read More

  • The Ghost In Hamlet Essay

    983 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet is one of the most memorable Shakespearean plays due to the focus on a young prince`s struggle with obeying the ghostly figure that we witness briefly on stage. The ghost is certainly an important figure in shaping the outcome of this revenge tragedy. Thus, we must ponder what is the ghost and how it can be interpreted in a plethora of ways. It is arguably seen as the spirit of Hamlet`s father, a figment of his imagination and being Shakespeare himself. Therefore, this essay will examine these potential answers to the question.

    Read More

More about The Role Of The Ghost In Hamlet

Open Document