Ghost In Hamlet: 'The Ghost Of King Hamlet'

The Puppet Master

The Ghost of King Hamlet William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a heavily debated character within the play. Although the Ghost calls Hamlet his son there’s no proof the Ghost is in fact the spirit of King Hamlet. Which brings into question the nature of its character and motives. The Ghost of King Hamlet is clearly evil based on its willingness to jeopardize Hamlets soul for revenge against Claudius. Based solely on a religious standpoint we could come to a few conclusions about the Ghost in Hamlet. One being that even Hamlet was unsure of its origin and purity when he says “Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned” (William Shakespeare Hamlet, I.4.39). John Mullan, a Professor

The ghost was evil. The ghost did not show back up after Hamlet murdered Polonius and he let Hamlet suffer through everything alone. It did not offer any guidance again or comfort just orders to murder Claudius. If the ghost was in fact his father, he would be trying to help him. Its actions caused a series of actions through Hamlet that led to a series of deaths including his own and the great tragedy that is Hamlet. He was just a puppet master holding Hamlets strings puppeteering his evil deeds into play. Works Cited Miles 4

Shakespeare, William, 1554-1616, “Hamlet” The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Kelly J. Mays, portable 12th ed., W.W. Norton 2017 pp.1101-1210.

John Mullan “Ghosts in Shakespeare”, Web 15 Mar 2016 < https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/ghosts-in-shakespeare >

O'Connor '06, Bridget, ""Spirit of Health" and "Goblin Damned": The Ghost of King Hamlet as a Symbol for the Religious Ambialence in England during the Religious Reformation" (2006). Honors Projects. Paper 5. < https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1001 &context=eng_honproj >

Joseph, Miriam, Dec. 1961., “ Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet” PMLA, Vol 76, No 5,