And there’s more: the ghost claims that Claudius killed him, taking his throne and his wife in the process. Back on the parapet — the outer walls of Castle Elsinore — Hamlet follows the Ghost, who admits that he is the spirit of King Hamlet and tells his son to hear him out. He’s introduced in the beginning of ‘Hamlet’, triggering the up roar of the kingdom. The Ghost tells Hamlet that he must return to purgatory. The ghost told Hamlet that King Hamlet was murdered by Claudius, and it asked Hamlet to avenge the murder. Shakespeare scholar W. W. Greg was of the opinion that the Ghost was a figment of Hamlet's overwrought imagination. The ghost charges Hamlet to perform a three-part task. Answered by Jill D on 18 Jul 13:39 The ghost (Hamlet's father) … Other characters may see the ghost (the castle guards and Horatio, for example), but Hamlet's the only one who has a dialogue with it. The Ghost describes in graphic detail how Claudius poured a vial of poison into his ear when he was enjoying his customary siesta and murdered him, consequently his soul was consigned to Purgatory because he did not have the opportunity to confess his sins and be absolved of them.The Ghost also tells Hamlet how Claudius seduced his wife, that is his mother, and after his death how he … He is asked to: 1. b)don't be alarmed if Hamlet seems crazy; he's not. When the ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and charges the prince with seeking vengeance, Hamlet takes the ghost’s words to heart. Intensely moved, Hamlet swears to remember and obey the ghost. Shocked, Hamlet agrees and vows to avenge his father’s death. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... Hamlet Act 1. Report This +1. 7. Report This +1. Hamlet, however, believes that the ghost is truly his father. Horatio is addressing the Ghost, demanding to know what the ghost is and why it resembles Hamlet, Sr., since it's dressed as he would be if he was still alive and going to a battle. He wants Hamlet to kill Claudius in revenge. already exists. For this reason, Hamlet makes people around him think that he is getting out of his mind because he seems not to be sure whether or not the revenge would relieve his situation. The ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius but to leave Queen Gertrude alone because she will get her … 2. Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost that could be his father. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet (/ ˈ h æ m l ɪ t /), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. As the play begins, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is visited by a mysterious ghost resembling his recently-deceased father the king. The ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by Claudius, the king’s brother, who then took the throne and married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. London: Macmillan. People were told that Old Hamlet died when a snake bit him, but he was really poisoned by Claudius. 6. bound, Delius points out that Hamlet uses the word in the sense of ready to go [M. E. boun, ready to go], while the Ghost takes it as the past participle of the verb to bind. Hamlet’s entrance so alarms Gertrude that she cries out for help. 1 answers. 0-1. In Act 3, scene 4, when the Ghost appears to Hamlet (and the audience) but not to Gertrude, Gertrude sees the Ghost as a sign of Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet is furious with his mother because she has remarried his uncle only two months after his father’s death. What did the ghost tell Hamlet? Hamlet speculates that the ghost might be a devil sent to deceive him and tempt him into murder, and the question of what the ghost is or where it comes from is never definitively resolved. Share a link to this question via Google+, Twitter, or Facebook. B. Revenge the murder of his father. What did the ghost tell hamlet +1. Literally Analysis of the Ghost in ‘The Hamlet’ Introduction. My hour, the time at which I must return to the lower regions. Hamlet decides to feign madness while he tests the truth of the Ghost's allegations (always a good idea in such situations). 2. The Ghost appears to Hamlet, claiming indeed to be the ghost of his father. In the middle of Hamlet’s attack, the Ghost returns to remind Hamlet that his real purpose is to avenge his father’s death. What did the ghost tell Hamlet? In this case, the ghost tells Hamlet that he must be ready for revenge (Shakespeare, 1.5.8). He is confused. What were people told about how Old Hamlet died? Hamlet himself raises the possibility that the Ghost is actually a demon impersonating his father, which certainly seems possible, though we never see any further evidence to support this idea. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was killed by his brother Claudius, who was in love with Gertrude (the ghost Hamlet's wife). Report This. Hamlet then verbally attacks his mother for marrying Claudius. So maybe the ghost-as-dad is just a figment of Hamlet's imagination. This implies that Gertrude may be grieving silently and putting on a brave face for the kingdom: Denmark is on the brink of war with Norway, and has just lost its beloved general-king. Why is the Ghost so upset with the swiftness of his death? What did the ghost of Hamlet's father tell him at the third night when he appeared in front of Hamlet?? 14. In this case, the ghost tells Hamlet that he must be ready for revenge (Shakespeare, 1.5.8). Asked by Anonymous on 31st March, 2010 about Hamlet Study Guide. He cannot share any of the secrets of life in Purgatory, but he has a tale of woe he desperately needs to pass on to his son. Hamlet’s Protestant skepticism could very well put him at odds with the Ghost and the whole revenge plot in which Hamlet finds himself. Did Hamlet and Horatio now accept entirely without any reservation the message of the … What message does the ghost tell Hamlet? What is the truth? Polonius echoes her cry, and Hamlet, thinking Polonius to be Claudius, stabs him to death. 8. Due to his sudden death, the kingdom is supposedly to be … The ghost confesses that it was Claudius who killed him. Know someone who can answer? Thus, many people believe that it is because of how various aspects of the play are left up for the audience’s decision. Report This. The frightened talk about the Ghost right from the opening of the play, and then its appearance to the terrified night-watch soldiers, and later to Hamlet himself, establishes an atmosphere of evil beneath the surface. Notably, the ghost tells Hamlet to enact his revenge in the opening scenes of the play; he seems hesitant, as if he questions death for the first time. The ghost in Hamlet is the apparition of prince Hamlet's father, the dead King Hamlet. What did the ghost tell Hamlet? +1. Next: Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 1 Explanatory Notes for Act 1, Scene 5. The Ghost Two slightly bumbling courtiers, former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg, who are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover the cause of Hamlet's strange behavior. The ghost told Hamlet that King Hamlet was murdered by Claudius, and it asked Hamlet to avenge the murder. Answered by Anonymous on 15th December, 2010. The ghost refuses to speak to the two men. The Ghost In every rendition of “Hamlet”, Hamlet’s father the “Ghost, has played a key role to the downfall of Hamlet’s character. The Ghost tells Hamlet that, if he wasn’t forbidden to do so, he would tell Hamlet about what it’s like in purgatory, and the ‘tale’ he would tell would tear up the soul of Hamlet, freeze his blood, and make his eyes pop out their sockets in horror. The ghost told Hamlet that he was not really the son of King Hamlet, The Queen had lied, and Hamlet was really the son of Claudius. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 30,557 words. SAVE CANCEL. 7 By drawing our attention away from revenge, Greenblatt’s interpretation shares some affinities with René Girard’s pioneering interpretation in A Theater of Envy (271-289). Furthermore, what does the ghost say to Hamlet in Act 1 Scene 5? Know someone who can answer? To avenge his death. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare has been there for more than many years and ages. The Queen had lied, and Hamlet was really the son of Claudius. 16 terms. This is significant because the ghost will only speak to Hamlet and the two men decide to tell Hamlet about this encounter. The ghost tells Hamlet that he is, in fact, the ghost of his dead father. He's also the only one who sees or hears the ghost when it shows up in Gertrude's chamber to remind Hamlet to be nice to his mom (3.4.126-131). Hamlet wants to make sure that Claudius did in fact kill his father, so he sets up a play to re-enact the crime scene and to Hamlet… A. He tells Hamlet about how Claudius, the current King and Hamlet's uncle, murdered him, and Hamlet swears vengeance for his father. Summary. The Action Begins Otherworldly . Nonetheless, the Ghost tells Hamlet to "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing / To what I shall unfold" (pity me not Hamlet but listen carefully to what I am about to tell you), (Line 5). Hamlet swears Horatio to two things. Find three examples from the text that reveal Hamlet’s feelings of depression during this scene. 0-1. Act 1, scene 4 While Claudius drinks away the night, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost. a) don't tell anyone about the ghost. The Ghost reprimands Hamlet and tells him to be kinder to his mother (“O, step between her and her fighting soul”). Asked by hamda on 21 Mar 17:51 Last updated by Jill D on 18 Jul 13:40 1 Answers Log in to answer. rachelllpresss PLUS. What does Horatio tell Hamlet about? That his brother killed him … K. Deighton. From Hamlet, prince of Denmark.Ed. 0-1. He is confused. 3 answers. 0-1. His time is short before he must return to Purgatory. Hamlet … The Ghost in Hamlet is fundamental to the plot, and has been the subject of a variety of interpretations. Hamlet now tells the Ghost to "Speak; I am bound to hear" (Line 6). Hamlet is appalled at the revelation that his father has been murdered, and the ghost tells him that as he slept in his garden, a villain poured poison into his ear—the very villain who now wears his crown, Claudius. 2. In Polonius’s chambers, Laertes says good-bye to his sister, Ophelia, and tells her not to trust Hamlet’s promises of love…. For this reason, Hamlet makes people around him think that he is getting out of his mind because he seems not to be sure whether or not the revenge would relieve his situation. Share a link to this question via Google+, Twitter, or Facebook. What are they? What did the ghost tell Hamlet? The ghost told Hamlet that he was not really the son of King Hamlet. 3. Asked by Anonymous on 13th December, 2010 about Hamlet Study Guide. In Hamlet, the ghost is representative of a supernatural world where restless spirits are in torment because of something which happened when they lived on earth. However, up until the time when the ghost first appears to Hamlet, interrupting his speech and thoughts, it appears Hamlet is unaware that his father was murdered.