The Role of the Ghost in "Hamlet"

Essai , 2024 , 5 Pages

Philologie Anglaise - Littérature

The Senecan Ghost was used to represent ghosts in the Elizabethan revenge play in the 16th century, It was a revolutionary innovation in Elizabethan drama. The Ghost in Hamlet comes not from a mythical Tartarus, but from the place of departed spirits in which post-medieval England, despite a veneer of Protestantism, still believed at the end of the sixteenth century. It served as the prologue or chorus of the whole play and Shakespeare mainly used it to communicate with the audience about the upcoming revenge, murder, fate and complexity of the obligation that must be completed by Hamlet as he will not communicate straightforwardly. Elizabethan audience believed in ghosts, witches, prophesies, omens and their destructive and unfortunate consequences. ‘Shakespeare's Ghost is both a revenge-ghost and a prologue-ghost, that is to say from the technical point of view it corresponds with its Senecan prototype’.

Presentation of Ghost in Hamlet

The Senecan Ghost was used to represent ghosts in the Elizabethan revenge play in the 16th century, It was a revolutionary innovation in Elizabethan drama.”The Ghost in Hamlet comes, not from a mythical Tartarus, but from the place of departed spirits in which post-medieval England, despite a veneer of Protestantism, still believed at the end of the sixteenth century” (Wilson 56). It served as the prologue or chorus of the whole play and Shakespeare mainly used it to communicate with the audience about the upcoming revenge, murder, fate and complexity of the obligation that must be completed by Hamlet as he will not communicate straightforwardly. Elizabethan audience believed in ghosts, witches, prophesies, omens and their destructive and unfortunate consequences. ‘Shakespeare's Ghost is both a revenge-ghost and a prologue-ghost, that is to say from the technical point of view it corresponds with its Senecan prototype’ ( Wilson 56).

The Late King Hamlet had to remain in the purgatory till his sins were washed by him as he was murdered before he could repent his sins. ‘The Ghost’s intention is to save its spirit from Purgatory, which represents the interval between life and death, rather than to harm Hamlet. Its goal in the play is to enlighten Hamlet about how he died, and it is also crucial to several of the play’s the mes, such as appearances against reality, action versus inaction, religion, honour, and revenge, and poison, death, and decay. The Ghost acts as a continual reminder of the force of death and the likelihood that the hereafter, to which all souls are going, will not be a pleasant place, regardless of one’s behaviour while alive’ (Anderson 2022). In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the atmosphere during the appearances of the ghost is one of tension, mystery, foreboding and the atmosphere of revenge and horror.

The first appearance of the ghost happens in Act 1 Scene 1, here the Ghost appears in the form of the recently deceased King Hamlet with the same armor of the deceased king which was worn by the King Hamlet, during his fight with the King of Norway. ‘The first act is full of references to the armour, which obviously makes the greatest possible impression upon all who see the Ghost. His "fair and warlike form", his "martial stalk", his "portentous figure" which "comes armed through our watch" are notes in the recurrent theme of the opening scene, which is continued in Act 1 Scene 1, when Horatio and the gentlemen of the guard give their report to Hamlet’ (Wilson 57). The Ghost was silent and later, it suddenly vanished in front of Bernardo, Marcellus and Horatio at the crowing of the cock which suggests a connection to the break of dawn.

The second appearance of the ghost happens in Act 1 Scene 5. The ghost and Hamlet will have a private conversation and it reveals the shocking revelation about his murder and Hamlet was both horror stuck and ashamed to hear about it and he was entrusted with the task of avenging his father’s murder and the ghost warned him not to attack his mother directly and let him prick her conscience and let her die thinking about her sins day by day. Later Hamlet let them swear about the secret related to the Apparition of King Hamlet, they witnessed and the ghost also urged them to do so by its loud, echoing voice. The ghost is threatening them as it had a kind of fear about whether the truth about it’s appearance will disturb the process of revenge if it becomes a loophole for Claudius to take advantage of it to kill Hamlet. So both father and son were conspiring against Claudius silently, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

The role of the ghost in hamlet is to create strong curiosity and interest in the audience. So without the presence of the ghost, Audience will not have much curiosity towards the end of the play and they will not have much emotional attachment to the Tragic hero, Hamlet which will decrease the effect of Catharsis in Audience. It also presents a moral significance that, one could not hide any truth or secret for long. The ghost here also symbolises the messenger of divine justice and death as there will be many deaths followed by it’s appearance, it could also symbolize the cause of imminent madness in Hamlet as Horatio and the Elizabethan audience believed that the presence of ghost might drive people mad. At first maybe Hamlet disguised himself with madness as a way to gather evidence against Claudius, to capture him caught off guard. But the audience and critics are confused about his madness and thinks that he allowed himself to be consumed with the thoughts on vengeance and revenge which was triggered by the confrontation of the ghost.

The third appearance of the ghost happens in Act 3 scene 4, after the play within the play, “The Murder of Gonzago”(Mousetrap) which was a trap done by hamlet to ensure whether Claudius was the murderer or not (Act 3 Scene 2).Hamlet confronts Gertrude and humiliates her while questioning about her marriage with Claudius after the death of his father without waiting for the mourning period to pass. The ghost appears to Hamlet in her presence, but invisible to her and it was wearing everyday clothes and was pale in complexion. ‘He appears in the Queen's chamber, it is "in his habit as he lived", that is, as the First Quarto tells us, "in his night- gown"’(Wilson 57).The ghost emphasized Hamlet to focus on his revenge rather than procrastinating and blaming Gertrude. The ghost’s words reveal complex emotions towards his ex-wife and maybe his words show his forgiveness toward her. The other thing that should be noted from his appearance is that, he may have washed away his sins in the purgation and was about to leave.

This presence of ghost as being invisible to Gertrude was analysed by many critics. ‘Shakespeare scholar W. W. Greg was of the opinion that the Ghost was a figment of Hamlet's overwrought imagination. Shakespeare scholar J. Dover Wilson and others have argued that in having the Ghost appear a number of times to others before appearing to Hamlet, Shakespeare makes clear that the apparition is not a mere illusion’(Wikipedia 2019). Many Critics are of the opinion that Hamlet may be mad and he imagines the presence of ghost and that it is subjective. While another group of critics who thinks he is not mad consider it as objective. According to Kobler, The first appearance of ghost was real and the second was imaginative. The first was initiated by the ghost itself while the second appearance of ghost maybe imagined by Hamlet as he may have wished his presence after finding guilt about murdering his brother on Claudius. ‘The Ghost is the linchpin of Hamlet; remove it and the play falls to pieces’ (Wilson 52).

Work Cited

Anderson, William. “Ghost in Shakespeare ‘s Hamlet: Analysis.” Schoolwork Helper, 2022.https://schoolworkhelper.net/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2023.

Contributors, Wikipedia. “Ghost (Hamlet).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,29 Nov. 2023. https://en.wikipedia.Org/w/index.php? Title=Ghost (Hamlet)&oldid=1187545551. Accessed 21 Dec. 2023.

Wilson, John. “What happens in Hamlet.”1935

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• Année de publication: 2024
• Pages: 5
• N° de catalogue: V1453558
• ISBN (PDF): 9783963568619
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: role, ghost, hamlet