Horatio again crosses the path of the Ghost when he challenges it to speak, even though he is afraid it may ‘blast’ him and curse him under its evil influence. The lines in this particular speech are no longer measured with a steady flow; they are enstopped in various places with lines of different lengths, creating an aura of excitement and fear. The second time Horatio attempts to force the ghost to speak he is almost successful, but the cock crows to signify dawn and the Ghost hastily returns to its hellish lair.
When the Ghost vanishes with the approaching dawn, the men discuss consulting Hamlet, which gives them a sense of optimism. They seem to lose their morbid tones and use more positive lexis in their speeches; ‘as needful in our loves, fitting our duty?’ as they realise that their allegiance to their royal prince forbids them to keep this from Hamlet.
The guards have not yet discovered the origins of this apparition but its likeness to the King seems ominous. The Ghost arrives fully clad in armour, which the guards take to be a presage of war against Norway. Claudius had not yet settled in his position as King, and other countries (such as Norway), saw this period as a good time to wage war because they were at an advantage with the Danish royal state of affairs in turmoil. Ghosts were perceived as bad omens regardless of any current upset in the country, as there have been numerous occasions when spirits have risen to warn people of disasters to come. Mentioned in the text is the night before Julius Caesar’s death: ‘A little ere…Julius fell, the graves stood tenantless’ insinuating that all the dead people rose before the ‘mightiest’ emperor was assassinated.
Shakespeare delays the scene in which Hamlet learns of his father’s ghost until we have witnessed his difficult relationship with Claudius his one time uncle, now his step-father, and his newly remarried mother, Gertrude. In scene two, Horatio, Marcellus and Bernado decide to consult Hamlet about the unearthly visitant that they have encountered three nights in a row. They inform him that this fiend resembles the late King and Horatio gets straight to the point when Hamlet mentions his father. Hamlet is eager to learn about this ghost and promises to visit the guards upon their platform ‘’twixt eleven and twelve' to witness it for himself.
Whilst the three men are conferring with Hamlet, it gives him some time for bitter reflection on the speed of his mother’s remarriage, ‘The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables’. Hamlet is referring ironically to the hot flesh, served at his father’s funeral, exclaiming that the meat was distributed cold at his mother’s wedding. Evidently he is still mourning his father, and does not wholly approve of his mother’s insensitivity in forgetting her late husband and moving on to his brother so rapidly. Hamlet tells Horatio in no uncertain terms that he would rather have died than seen the day of his mother’s second marriage and makes it clear that he is disgruntled about the jovial attitudes of the courts and his family.
The conversation between Hamlet and his associates provides Shakespeare with a chance to describe the Ghost’s terrifying appearance and ominous presence. He uses phrases such as ‘armed at point’, ‘solemn march’ and ‘slow and stately’ to symbolise the figure’s air of superiority and importance and to further substantiate the guards’ speculation of the King being the enigmatic apparition.
The pace of the action in the play changes once again in this scene, allowing Shakespeare to disperse much information into many more characters’ lines. Horatio, Marcellus, Bernado and Hamlet all enlighten us with speeches (Hamlet’s suspicions: ‘I doubt some foul play’) and remind us of previously collected evidence with both long and short lines (the guards’ reports about the ghost: ‘thrice he walked’).
At the end of the scene Hamlet surmises his conjectures concerning foul play, although not in the presence of any companions. His soliloquy provides us with information regarding Hamlet’s suspicions which had not yet been expressed, although it is unclear whether he had thoughts about them before.
For the climax of the Ghost’s appearances we are made to wait again. In this way, Shakespeare builds the tension. There are many similarities with Act 1 Scene 1, such as the weather, ‘the air bites shrewdly; it is very cold’, ‘it is struck (twelve)’ ; information about the state of Denmark, ‘they clepe us like drunkards’, ‘ soil our reputation’ ; short and long speeches, for instance Hamlet’s lines from 13-38, or Marcellus’ lines from 60-63. Using all these effects, the audience gain interest in the play as they sense an atmosphere of foreboding until the ghost appears, where tension is at its peak.
The Ghost enters suddenly at Act 1 Scene 4 line 38, shocking Hamlet and the audience. Hamlet recognises him immediately, ‘I’ll call thee Hamlet, King, Father, Royal Dane’ and will follow him at any cost, ‘I will follow it’ which is indicated by the fact that Horatio, Marcellus and Bernado cannot stop him going however persistent they are.
During scene five, Hamlet and his father’s spirit are left alone to discuss the matters that the Ghost has come to inform him of. Hamlet discovers that his father must burn in hell as he died without forgiveness of his sins, which Shakespeare uses to its full advantage by vividly describing how terrifying even the thought of the underworld is although not disclosing any actual information. This is a clever piece of stagecraft by the playwright, as he himself doesn’t have any experience concerning such an eternal punishment. The Ghost reveals that Lucifer forbids him to tell the harrowing happenings and atrocious affairs that hell holds, so the audience have to make do with the information given. ‘When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames must render up myself’ suggests that King Hamlet is constantly being burned in a hellish atmosphere, to which Hamlet gives a simple, direct and sympathetic reply: ‘poor ghost!’. He describes the after-life in which he is doomed to suffer in for an unspecified time, forbidden to tell any mortal of the mind-blowing terrors that befall him.
The Ghost of King Hamlet mentions to his son that he must revenge his death, indicating that he was murdered rather than killed by a serpent as ‘the whole ear of Denmark’ has been wrongly informed. Hamlet replies in shock. The King then suggests that he is in doubt of Hamlet’s love for his mortal self, at which the Prince is horrified, forcing him to reassure his father that he is still true to him. The Ghost lures Hamlet into a trap by saying this, as he is unable to refuse to help his father on family moral grounds. The apparition discloses that his assassin ‘now wears his crown’, to which Hamlet replies with great gusto ‘oh my prophetic soul!’ He means by this that the suspicions of foul-play that he had predicted have proved accurate. Shakespeare uses lots of negative and emotive language in the Ghost’s speeches, i.e. ‘incestuous’, ‘adulterate’, ‘traitorous’ whilst describing his brother Claudius and his affair with his wife, Gertrude. ‘Incestuous’ seems rather a harsh word for this type of extra-marital activity, as the culprits are not blood-related, but in Shakespeare’s time it would be an apt description of the act between sibling-in-laws.
Furthermore, the King’s ghost requests that Hamlet must revenge his father’s death whilst not punishing his mother in any way for her crime, as he sees Gertrude largely as a victim. He believes that Claudius, who committed this shocking act of treason, seduced her with his wily ways so she should be disciplined by God. To this plea for retribution from his father, Hamlet replies with great empathy, understanding what has to be done and promising ‘now to my word; I have sworn’t’.
In conclusion, the role of the Ghost of King Hamlet is to provide a structure to the play, he is the backbone of the story, unveiling the plot and supplying the audience with a high pitch of expectations. Shakespeare creates peaks of fear and tension by using atmospheric lexis throughout the periods that the ghost appears and disappears.
