The very first serious, but shocking blog...

In Act 1, Scene 1, the ghost, “in the same figure like the King that’s dead” is introduced to the audience. However, because he shows little emotion and no interaction, ambiguity is created for the audience as the first impression of the ghost will largely be based on the body language and stage directions of the ghost.  For example the fear felt by Horatio, Benardo and Marcello may be transferred to the audience, presenting the ghost as a fearful character. But, the audience might be interested to discover more, just like Hamlet, presenting the ghost as an intriguing and significant character.

Hamlet’s instant reaction to the ghost is to ask for protection, and after the ghost beckons, “as if it some impartment did desire” for Hamlet to follow, Horatio orders Hamlet not to go; reinforcing the idea of the ghost being a dangerous and powerful character. The ghost finally speaks to Hamlet when he’s alone, but still shows little emotion and says blunt sentences like “mark me”, to show the importance of what he’s saying.

As there have been different performances of the play, the audience may have had different opinions of the ghost, creating many discussions about what the character is really like. In the version of the play with David Tennant, some people may think that the ghost appears quite bitter and desperate to seek revenge. However, when the ghost realises Hamlet’s despair, he comforts him for a brief moment before fading away; which may cause others to think that the ghost is a softer, more emotive character.  This differs to the version of Hamlet directed by Laurence Olivier, where people may think the ghost seems more ‘human like’ and relaxed, as his tone of voice is much softer than the play with David Tennant.  Although, some may disagree and think that the ghost is more ‘robot like’ as he has no physical interaction with Hamlet, and stands at a much greater distance to Hamlet.

Some people think the ghost is a manipulative character because the ghost draws him in with a speech expressing the “murder most foul”, and then proceeds to question Hamlet’s love for him; “If thou didst ever thy dear father love” could warn the audience that the ghost may be a suspicious character as he has seen the reaction of Hamlet since his father was killed which is obviously genuine and sincere. Also, Hamlet previously said that he wants his body to “thaw and resolve itself into a dew” but he can’t because God doesn’t allow it, yet after the conversation with his father’s spirit, is willing to commit murder, which is not allowed by God either. However, people may disagree with this and think that the ghost isn’t suspicious and manipulative, but hurt and suspicious of others. This is because the murdered King may have had a strong relationship with Claudius, but then the King was murdered, poisoned by his own brother, understandably raising trust issues for others, even if it is unlikely.

Throughout the conversation of Hamlet and the ghost, people may question whether the ghost is an illusion in Hamlet’s mind, or if it is really his father’s spirit. This may be thought because a lot of what Hamlet says during the first few scenes in act 1, is later repeated or familiar to what the ghost says to use to persuade Hamlet. For example the ghost talks about the “most seeming-virtuous Queen”, which is a repeat of the conversation when Hamlet disagrees with the Queen about his feelings of grief – “Seems’, madam – nay it is, I know not ‘seems’”. It could also be argued that the things that are said to Hamlet by the ‘ghost’ is exactly what Hamlet wants to hear, again suggesting that the ghost is in fact a hallucination; it was clear in Act 1, scene 2 that Hamlet was not happy with the speech made by King Claudius regarding his father. Hamlet may have already had suspicions about his uncle and the death of his father, and this is shown after the ‘ghost’ gives clues to Hamlet about who committed the murder, as Hamlet shouts “O my prophetic soul”, admitting he had already been thinking about it. However, you could argue against this point, as both Horatio and Marcellus saw the ghost before Hamlet did.

The ghost, on several occasions refers to religion throughout his conversation with Hamlet. The ghost teases Hamlet with the thoughts of the “sulphurous and tormenting flames” and the crimes done that are “burnt and purged away”.  When this play was being first performed, the main religion of the audience was protestant Christianity, yet the ghost refers to purgatory - a part of catholic religion.  This creates ambiguity over the character of the ghost; could the ghost be tricking Hamlet into potentially murder by creating horrid thoughts? Or is the ghost, his father’s spirit, being open and honest because they will not see each other again? 

Not going to lie, I found this very hard, and I'm not happy with this essay on a whole, plus there are things that I didn't get into it like the tragic villain theory, but i'm still not too sure on that, so i'll have to have another stab at it me thinks.

So long, farewell, auf weidersehn, adieu...