Mystery and horror pervade the extract. The appearance of the ghost has a huge impact on both the characters and the audience, and his supernatural revelations of fratricidal regicide and adultery create a mystical and tense atmosphere of suspense and terror. Adding to that, Hamlet’s speech conveys a state of confusion, due to the fact that he does not know whether the ghost comes from Heaven or Hell, deepening the mysterious atmosphere (Brodwin, L., 1964: 129). On the other hand, Hamlet’s speech has such a negative, dark tone that it depicts his strong melancholy and pessimistic view of life (Smith, N., 2008: 52) –due especially to his mother’s sexuality–, now augmented with rage by his father’s account of the horrific nature of his death.
Language in Hamlet is very important, so much so that “the power of words helps drive the central action of the plots (…) and they have the power to shape and create a sense of reality” (Smith, N., 2008: 50). Much of the language of the extract is courtly, elaborate, and witty. On the one hand, the vocabulary the ghost employs is defined as archaic by Delaney (1999; 15), a quality that “makes the ghost of the old King sound a bit more 'majestical' than the other characters in the play”. It is also very ornate, which makes the apparition deliver very long and detailed speeches, such as the very graphic description of his death, which is vividly painful and disgusting and which would have certainly disturbed an Elizabethan audience immensely. This helps to reinforce the majestic quality of his speech and to create wonderful visual images in the audience’s mind (Delaney, I., 1999: 15). “Because of the verbal power of the ghost we find ourselves sucked into his rhetorical power and supernatural influence” (Smith, N., 2008: 49). Furthermore, through his language, it can be seen that the ghost is “obsessed with family matters, [as] he expresses revulsion at the thought of Gertrude’s sexual relationship with Claudius (…) and speaks bitterly of ‘lust’ and ‘garbage’ (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 46).
In the same way, Hamlet’s soliloquy after the ghost’s departure, further exhibits the importance of language in the play, since it is through the soliloquies, not through action, that the audience learns Hamlet's troubled thoughts and dark feelings, indicating a restless dissatisfaction with the world and with himself. As it is always the case in this kind of solitary speeches, the character is more honest here than when he speaks to other characters. Such is the case with Hamlet, who, when interacting with others, often uses a mocking and sarcastic tone (Siminoff, D., 2009: 45, 46), hiding himself behind his language. Hamlet’s words, according to Smith (2008: 50), are poetic, despite the lack of an audience. He uses grotesque images to express his inner turmoil –and here the reader may notice the fact stated by Johnston (1999: 32) that “the ghost talks in many respects in the same language as Hamlet himself (in the characteristic imagery and verbal patterns)”. These images typically convey a sense of powerful disgust with the wholesale corruption and deception of the world, especially of Denmark, represented by Claudius, as well as with sexuality, mainly related to Gertrude’s. In addition, Hamlet’s vocabulary, characterised by short colloquial words, suggests a mood of exhaustion, contempt, disgust, and overall unpleasantness (Johnston, I., 2001: 25). Another characteristic of Hamlet’s way of speaking is the fact that, as he is a great listener, “he listens intently to what is said to him and often seizes on a word or phrase to construct his own reply” (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 254), such as when he repeats the ghost’s words ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me’.
The extract abounds in imagery, repeatedly illuminating the themes of the play. For instance, similes can be found when the ghost “tells how hebenon spread through his body as ‘swift as quicksilver’ “ (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 264) or when he relates the effect the poison had on his blood to that of ‘eager droppings into milk’. These associations stir the audience’s imagination and deepen the feeling of horror depicted by the description of the murder, since “the Elizabethans strongly condemned poisoning, and viewed it as an especially despicable and cowardly thing to do” (Jordan, J. P., 2006: 36).
Additionally, the extract is full of metaphors and allusions. To begin with, the fact that old King Hamlet was murdered by his brother while sleeping in the orchard conjures up the image of gardens, traditionally associated with the Garden of Eden. The metaphor here represents the fact that Denmark, which was like Eden under old King Hamlet, has now fallen apart under King Claudius (Smith, J. N., 2000: 48), who symbolises the malicious serpent which tempted Eve (Gertrude) and stole her innocence. Moreover, according to Coombs (2009: 5), the killing of a brother would have reminded Shakespeare’s audience of another biblical story, that of Cain and Abel. Following, Shakespeare uses the image of the ear being poisoned, both literally and metaphorically, as a wonderful metaphor for lying, and to indicate that words are like weapons or daggers, which poison the ear and have the power to manipulate and destroy (Smith, N., 2008: 50). Furthermore, strong images of decay and disease are suggested in the extract through the use of the words ‘leperous’, ‘posset’, ‘curd’, ‘tetter’ and ‘lazar-like’. At the same time, they convey a sense of corruption and sin spreading through Denmark at the hands of Claudius, who corrupts others –especially the Queen (Delaney, I., 1999: 15). In addition, related to the field of accountancy are the words ‘reckoning’ and ‘account’, which create another metaphor, meaning that the ghost died "in debt" –in the religious sense– for his sins (Jordan, J. P., 2006: 37). Finally, another figure of speech is found in Hamlet’s soliloquy when he refers to his troubled mind as a ‘distracted globe’ –though it is believed that the word ‘globe’ also refers to the world in general, denouncing its disorderly state, or even the Globe Theatre (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 264, 265).
Continuing with the issue of language, the repetition of some words and phrases add to the emotional intensity of the extract. First of all, the repetition of the word ‘horrible’ by the ghost may imply that he is horrified at the incestuous relationship of Gertrude and Claudius, but it mainly refers to the fact that he died without the Last Rites: 'Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled’, i.e. without receiving the correct religious preparation to be immediately admitted into Heaven. This feeling of horror was also shared by the Elizabethan audience, since “in Shakespeare’s day the threat of hell and eternal damnation was much more sharply felt than it is today” (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 249, 250). On the other hand, the word ‘adieu’ is repeated by both the ghost and Hamlet. In the first case, the ghost’s long goodbye may serve to emphasise his reluctantness to leave his son; whereas Hamlet's ‘adieu’ can be taken as if he is saying goodbye to his former life. The prince has now become obsessed with avenging his father, hence transforming himself into a different person: a cold, cynical, and tormented man. Thus, with his words ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me’ we are bidding Hamlet himself goodbye (Chan, K., 2004: 4). Another kind of repetition appears in the extract in the form of “doubling language” (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 268), such as when the desperate prince tells his heart to ‘hold, hold’ and be strong in order to be able to perform the act of vengeance. Following with this idea, a special type of doubling known as hendiadys –meaning “one through two”– is present in Hamlet’s phrase ‘book and volume’. Here, the two words express a single idea yet contribute to dramatic effect, adding to the sense of delay and reflecting, particularly in this case, the prince’s fragmented thoughts and disturbed feelings (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 268, 269). It is appropriate to refer here to what Bradley (1979: 22) states as one of Hamlet’s peculiarities: “repetition is a habit with him”. Adding more to the point, the word ‘remember’ is largely repeated in the extract, helping to emphasise one of the main themes of the play –that of memory and remembrance. The ghost does not want to be forgotten by his son, expressing “a widespread fear among the living of being forgotten after death” (Goldman, P., 2001: 20); nor does he want Hamlet to put his duty out of his mind. For his part, Hamlet obeys his father’s command and goes on reiterating this ‘remember’ (the “word” of the ghost) because he is afraid he will forget his message (Bradley, A. C., 1979: 13). Therefore, he takes up the “solemn resolution that all he had in his memory, all that he had ever learned by books or observation, should be instantly forgotten by him, and nothing live in his brain but the memory of what the ghost had told him and enjoined him to do” (Lamb, C., 2009: 14). Finally, Hamlet’s utterances ‘O villain, villain, smiling damnèd villain!’ and ‘That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain’ refer to Claudius’ deceptive facade, illustrating Shakespeare’s most common theme of appearance versus reality. It seems Claudius was given to smiling on people, still Hamlet’s repetition of the words ‘villain’ and ‘smile’ conveys the fact that he believes that things not always are what they seem and that the new King is only pretending to be amiable. Barkley (1999: 40) further amplifies this idea by stating that “Claudius' outside seeming friendliness is contrasted with his inner wickedness”. Ironically, as Jordan (2006: 38) describes, Hamlet himself is smiling when he writes the phrase ‘One may smile, and smile, and be a villain’ on his tables, since he now has "villainous" intentions against Claudius.
Shakespeare’s favourite method of piling item on item is also present in the extract. First, in the ghost’s monologue, when he declares that he was ‘by a brother's hand, / Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatched’. This list of the things old King Hamlet was dispossessed of serves to emphasise the abominable cruelty of Claudius’ triple crime –which consists of fratricide, regicide, and incest. Lamb (2009: 14) corroborates this idea by stating that Claudius killed the King “for the hope of succeeding to his bed and crown”. Secondly, the spectre’s reference to the fact that he died ‘Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled’ is another list which helps to stress his unnatural and terrible death. The fact that old King Hamlet died without the holy sacrament of the eucharist (‘unhouseled’), unprepared and not absoluted because he could not confess his sins (‘disappointed’), and not blessed by receiving extreme unction (‘unaneled’) is terrible (Andrews & Gibson, 2006: 48) because these rites were all considered all very important in order to have a decent death (Coombs, H., 2009: 6) –especially in Shakepseare’s time. Therefore, by listing them, Shakespeare is making the torment of the ghost in Purgatory even stronger. Such pilings up of language increase dramatic effect by intensifying the ghost’s description of the things he was dispossessed of and of his murder. They also serve to augment the feeling of horror in the audience and to intensify the tense atmosphere of the extract. On the other hand, Hamlet also makes use of lists, such as when, immediately after the ghost’s exit, he exclaims ‘O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else? / And shall I couple hell?’, not knowing of what to swear by, whether by God and the angels, by earth, or by hell (Weller, P., 2009: 24). This depicts his confusion because he does not know whether the ghost is benign or evil. Again, this list increases the feeling of fear and horror present in this part of the extract and in the play in general.
The dramatic centre of the extract is the ghost’s appearance, which has a huge impact on both the characters and the audience, heightened by the disclosure of his murder and Gertrude’s adultery. The Elizabethan audience must have cried in at the prospect of seeing a ghost appear on the stage and its effect must have been much more stunning when he revealed that his own brother killed him –a double crime: regicide and fratricide, both strongly condemned in medieval times. Even more shocking must have been the apparition’s repulsion at Claudius and Gertrude’s marriage –very scandalous due to the social convention of the time against marrying an in-law (Jordan, J. P., 2006: 36)– and his suggestion of being in Purgatory. This last fact was extremely appalling since Elizabethans were very superstitious and obsessed with what would happen to them after death. Besides, there was a certain ambiguity concerning the ghost and his purpose, reflected in Hamlet’s confusion after the ghost’s speech, because the Elizabethan audience was moving more toward Protestant beliefs that were angels or devils who could assume the form of a relative or to cause harm (Brodwin, L., 1964: 5). Consequently, neither Hamlet nor the audience knows whether the ghost is an angel to instruct or a devil to tempt. And this ambiguity is the key to its dramatic power, reinforcing the mysterious atmosphere of the play (Brodwin, L., 1964: 129). As Goldman (2001: 19) says, “in this paradigmatically modern play, the Ghost hearkens back to the late medieval world of magic and superstition, the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, as well as the generic conventions of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy”.
Concerning the way in which the ghost can be presented on stage, it must be taken into account the fact that, at Shakespeare’s times, plays took place during the day, thus staging the ghost at night must have been very complicated. However, language and props were all important in establishing these conditions. Nowadays, with the help of special effects, it is much easier to achieve that. Nevertheless, for the modern director, the ghost still presents challenges, due to the fact that “Elizabethan audiences were more religious and the idea of both Heaven and Hell were perhaps more real than they are to us today” (Symon, R., 2009: 57). Very few members of a modern audience will believe in ghosts in the same way, given that we have a different view of ghosts, devils, and the supernatural in general. Anyway, as Johnston (2001: 30) declares, “this does not stop artists from using them very successfully in fiction or the audience from entering fully into the world of that fiction”. This is what happens with Hamlet even today.
Hamlet’s soliloquy is also a very important dramatic element in the extract, since it offers an effective way for the dramatist to divulge a character’s inner thoughts and feelings. Besides, the Shakespearean audience would approve of this theatrical practice very much because they liked a close relationship between audience and actor. However, nowadays, this technique is not widely used because, according to Bloomfield (2007: 34), the soliloquies are difficult to be performed on stage and seem unrealistic to modern audiences.
To sum up, it can be stated that the extract is central to the play as a whole since, with the ghost’s devastating revelation, Hamlet’s desire for vengeance is motivated, spurring the action of the entire tragedy. In addition, it is in this passage where the audience is given the crucial facts of the play in general, giving insight into Hamlet’s central themes –appearance versus reality, corruption, disease and decay, the supernatural, religion, among others. The ghost’s words in this extract are of such paramount importance that they will direct the play from here on, “unsettl[ing] Hamlet’s reason, warp[ing] his character and lead[ing] to his death as well as the wholesale destruction of the chief members of the court” (Brodwin, L., 1964: 129).
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