Ghost

Ghost

1. The Ghosts first arrival indicates not only the genre of revenge tragedy ,but reveals the context of the play, and sets an unnerving atmosphere for the following scenes.

   • 'Has this thing appeared again tonight?'
     • 'thing' suggests something inhuman- supernatural common in R.T
   • 'in the same form as the king that's dead
     • King is dead- hasn't passed peacefully- something wrong with his death
       • More obvious to an Elizabethan audience- when religion was a foundation of society- and someone back from the dead indicated something wrong in the balance between life and death
   • 'majestical' and 'guilty thing'
     • The Ghost's appearance in described using contrasting language- showing form the beginning there is confusion of the ghost's intention and its origin
     • Shakespeare wants the ghost to be received as a questionable character- developing the theme of uncertainty. Hamlets love for him may portray him to be good- but he encourage hamlet to take revenge- and others are sceptical of what this means for denmark.
   • 'stars...fire and dews of blood ..doomsday.. disasters in the sun'
     • Apocryphal- makes references to doomsday- talks about issues not only for the country-'eruption to our state' but for the planet.

2. It is clear even from the first scene that old King Hamlet was a respected and well liked king- from the language used when describing him. Shakespeare gives father and son the same name suggesting hamlet too has equally good qualitites.

   • 'usurp'st.. fair and war like'
     • Suggests they don't see the ghost worthy of their king
   • 'combated.. armour'
     • These words all show warrior like Qualities showing he was a brave soldier- which many guards'soldiers would aspire to.
   • 'smote .. sledded .. polacks'
     • Sibilance used slows down words allowing them to be emphasised and appreciated- showing Horatio's true admiration for the king
   • Elizabeth too was a well liked monarch as her reign bought many benefits to England.

3. Upon meeting Hamlet- The ghost tells him of his murder- but there remains uncertainty about the ghosts validity

   • The Elizabethan audience would have been sceptical of a 'good' ghost so Hamlets suspicions are necessary
   • Ghost wants retribution- This theme of justice motivates Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes and so is an important part of the play
   • 'Angels and ministers of grace defend us'
     • Hamlets first response s to seek protection- which acknowledges the fact that this drama is on a cosmic scale.
   • ‘Have burst their cerements...ponderous and marble jaws/To cast the up again’
     • -This vivid description of Hamlets dead father emphasises what a phenomenon it is that a ghost has appeared. -Idea that the spirit was spat out/vomited up- negative connotations. -Reminder of how unusual and absurd it is suggesting something is gravely wrong
   • 'Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damned .. airs of heaven or blasts from hell'
     • Hamlet recognises the ambiguity of the ghost’s presence, and he shows his confusion by juxtaposing the phrases- uses antithesis to way up evidence on either side.

4. The ghost builds up to his murder creating an unnerving anticipation

   • 'as in the best it is- but this most foul'
     • Idea all murders are bad- this is even worse.The ghost makes his murder stand out amongst murder- escalates the horrific nature of events and keeps the audience engaged
   • 'The serpent that did sting thou father's life now wears his crown'
     • Serpents are cunning- relates to bible- when devil came in the form of a serpent and got adam and eve kicked out of heaven- Suggests Claudius is devil- source of all problems and sin'
   • 'With a sudden vigour it doth posess'
     • Such a vivid image would hold with Hamlet- fuelling his hatred and desire for revenge.
   • 'traitor' 'wicked' ''beast'
     • There is a semantic field of Evil in what the ghost is saying portraying his presence to be a negative one- dangerous to Hamlet's already sensitive state of mind-They also show the Ghost's hatred- encouraging Hamlet's hatred to grow as he is no longer alone.
   • 'let not the royal bed of Denmark be/ A couch for luxury and damned incest'
     • Ghost is also putting a lot of weight on H's shoulders- as though he has the reputation of Denmark to save
   • 'remember me'
     • Ghost represents universal issue of being forgotten after death

5. There are many things which make the Ghost seem untrustworthy and a problem in the play. It is unusual for a Ghost to provoke so much speculation suggesting that this is not a standard RT but a complicated psychological dilemma.

   • thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls'
     • Similar to Macbeth- Shakespeare explores what happens when someone is given more than mortal knowledge
   • 'Oh horrible, horrible, most horrible'
     • Gives a mass of contradicting statements- first tells him punishments of the afterlife then tells him to do something that will most surely land him there.
   • Stephen Greenblatt argues that the ghost represents a widespreadfear of being frgotton after death. /thetur of the 16th centuy was a time for religiou uncertainty- reformation didn't accept the Catholic idea of purgatory- so Hamlet's struggle to reconcile his own beliefs with the Ghost's claim can be symbollic of the struggle between the confilcting faith of catholicism and protestantism.