Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, meaning there are multiple deaths that take place due to characters trying to take vengeance. In line 9, Hamlet meets a Ghost in the form of his father; however, it is later found out that his father was killed by Claudius. The revenge tragedy started when the Ghost came back to tell Hamlet to kill Claudius. “Shakespeare’s play, in contrast to other revenge tragedies of the time… draws on concepts of purgatory that were inherited from the Middle Ages” (Ansgar 255). In line 11, the Ghost explains that during the day he is trapped in fires, located in purgatory. Hamlet questions that the Ghost may be a demon, impersonating his father who is coming to him from purgatory; therefore, he never knows if the Ghost is his father. Either way, when the Ghost tells him to take revenge on Claudius, he does so. There are many reasons why Shakespeare wrote revenge tragedies, but Hamlet, “occupies a unique and complicated place within the genre of revenge tragedy” (Dunne 55). Although many of Shakespeare’s plays are revenge tragedies, what sets this play apart from the many others is that it starts through the word of a Ghost. The Ghost’s appearance first gives the readers the idea that a revenge tragedy is about to take place in a unique and different way.
Around 1600, when Hamlet was written, there were many events that happened that influenced Shakespeare’s writing. In line 10, the Ghost shares that he is allowed to walk the earth at night. Shakespeare gives strong descriptions of what earth looked like, because “he was influenced by the world around him” (Vasuki 235). When the Ghost appears, the earth could be described as dark or eerie. This picture could be because of the sights and feelings Shakespeare experienced from London. His surroundings and experiences are evident throughout his writing of Hamlet and when describing the Ghost. Although Shakespeare did not write the Ghost into the story because he experienced one in his own life, rather he saw the importance of conveying the death through the Ghost. Shakespeare was not only influenced by events that were happening when he wrote Hamlet, like death, but also influenced others by the way he wrote. It is known that Shakespeare’s writing is sometimes hard to understand, but “Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and reword old ones” (Vasuki 236). Line 17 describes how traumatizing the stories of purgatory are, but he explains this by using words like “thy”. The way he words sentences are also different, sometimes wording phrases that do not make sense to most people. An example of this is line 17, which says, “start from their spheres”. Shakespeare’s writing impacted others and was created based on what he experienced and the events that happened in his life.
The Ghost’s appearance shows an allusion to Purgatorio in The Divine Comedy. In this book, Dante walks through purgatory and gets to see the seven terraces where people are located. In lines 11 – 14, the Ghost explains that he is in the fires of Purgatory until he gets punished for his past sins. As explained in The Divine Comedy, once the Ghost finishes his punishment for his sins on earth, he is allowed to leave his terrace. In these lines, the Ghost also shares how he is not allowed to tell Hamlet the torment of purgatory because he is a human. Since the Ghost went to purgatory, he is Catholic and is cleansed from his sins by being punished, he will then eventually go to Heaven. On the other hand, Hamlet is a Protestant, meaning he does not believe in the existence of Purgatory. This is one reason why he is unsure if the Ghost is his father or a demon. Many other readers “accepts the standard Protestant view that… the doctrine of purgatory lacks scriptural support” (Anderson 40). In lines 17-20, the Ghost explains how tormenting his punishment is. One reason why many Protestants say the Bible does not support purgatory is because God forgives us of our sins rather than punishing us. Although many Christians say purgatory does not exist, many philosophers and scholars “have argued that Purgatory represents a secular journey guided by philosophical principles to a temporal happiness” (Corbett 266). Purgatory, in The Divine Comedy and in Hamlet, is shown to bring happiness to people, but only after they suffer their punishment.
There are different philosophers that have thoughts on the Ghost in Hamlet and how he came from purgatory. Plato is one philosopher that portrays thoughts that align with Hamlet; therefore, it is said that “In the logic of Shakespeare’s use of philosophy as the play’s underlying conceit… the play will represent outwardly as the Ghost’s command to revenge his murder” (Freiberger 51). There are different parts of Hamlet that represent conceit, the appearance of the Ghost being one of them. Plato believes that everything only has one truth; therefore, it makes sense that conceit, or deception, is strongly used throughout Hamlet. The invisible sense of the Ghost and what happens to him are shown through Shakespeare’s writing and the way he shares his philosophical views. With the reasons for the appearance of the Ghost that compare with views of Plato, it is said that “Hamlet is linked with the vulnerability of reason to emotion, he nevertheless displays extraordinary emotional control, despite extreme provocation” (Levy 1). Line 20 explains how fearful Purgatory is, but Hamlet does not directly share his sadness or emotions to what his deceased father is experiencing. Shakespeare shares some of the same philosophical views as Plato and that is shown throughout the ways he illustrates the Ghost and Hamlet.
There are many techniques used in Hamlet that make the play what it is. One technique is that the characters talk in iambic pentameter, also known as blank verse. An iambic pentameter is known as “a classically-derived measure based on the foot, a hypothetical unit compromising a weak and a strong stress, five feet to the line” (Davidson 47). Line 17 is one line written in iambic pentameter; therefore, it has ten syllables, written in pairs with one stressed and one unstressed syllable. Most of the lines in Hamlet, like line 17, are written in this way. The meter of every play or book is important, and it shows importance in Shakespeare’s writing because it separates the speech into a rhythm, unlike the way people normally talk.
In Hamlet there is also a lot of symbolism. One example of this is the Ghost. The Ghost sets the theme of death throughout the play, and his appearance starts the revenge tragedy drama. The Ghost is known as a type of appearance; thus, Horatio sometimes refers to it as a fantasy, image, or illusion (Forker 220). Line 9 explains who the Ghost is and starts the setting of symbolism and imagery. The Ghost represents a symbol of death throughout the play; therefore, the readers can better understand what started the revenge tragedy. Image and symbolism are different techniques used in Hamlet that hide important details in the play.
There are many different themes that make up a story, and one important theme in Hamlet is mortality. Mortality is exhibited throughout the play, but starts with the appearance of the Ghost. The first death the readers hear of is Hamlet’s father; therefore, lines 10-11 explain that the he died, and is now living in purgatory. This theme runs throughout the whole play but is most important when talking about the Ghost, because its ideas are the start of many deaths. The concept of mortality is popular throughout revenge tragedies. Because of that, “In writing Hamlet, Shakespeare was preoccupied with the corruption of mortal flesh” (Altick 167). Another theme that seems to be an idea throughout Hamlet is escape. Escape can be used in many different ways; on one hand, there are many characters, including Hamlet, that escape from their problems but the Ghost escapes from purgatory to share his life now. In line 19 the Ghost describes purgatory as a secret prison house, saying he leaves at night to walk around the earth. Although he cannot tell anyone of his experience in purgatory, he still escapes and walks the earth to share of what happened to him before death. Finally, the theme of betrayal is shown when Hamlet’s uncle killed his father. In line 9, the Ghost appears to be Hamlet’s father; therefore, the Ghost comes back to share the betrayal he is experiencing from his brother. The multiple themes portrayed in Hamlet sort into the play that it is. Out of these themes, some important ones that show who the Ghost is, is mortality, escape and betrayal.
Death is exemplified in the Ghost through mortality, escape, and betrayal. The Ghost shares who he is, what happened to him, and his afterlife. Therefore, Hamlet is able to understand who to take vengeance on. Through history and literature concepts Shakespeare shares the importance of the Ghost and how it symbolizes death. Hamlet’s conversation with the Ghosts exemplifies what Shakespeare experiences and who he is as a writer.