Questions Raised About the Ghost

1.2 165-205
In line 191, Hamlet tells Horatio that he thinks that he sees his father in his mind’s eye, was the spirit of Hamlet Senior brought on by Hamlet’s own desire to see him? Will the ghost of Hamlet’s father speak to Hamlet even though he has refused to speak to the others?

What emerged from my questions was a consensus among the group that Hamlet Sr. has come back because he has something to say to Hamlet. However, there was little agreement whether or not the ghost would actually speak to Hamlet after it had been silent in the presence of Horatio and the other guards. One person argued that the ghost was silent because the men were disrespectful towards him, ordering him to speak and threatening him with violence. Others disagreed and we did not come to a firm conclusion. Rather, we raised more questions then answered them, which closely parallels the situation that Hamlet finds himself in after 2.1. Without solid textual evidence, all anyone can do is speculate about the mysterious ghost.

What surprised me is that everyone was so quick to assume that the ghost is, indeed, Hamlet’s father without considering any alternate possibilities. Is the ghost what it appears to be or is it something else? I am reminded of a quote from Macbeth, “to win us to our harm, /the instruments of darkness tell us truths” (1.3. 135-136), which I think brings up a good point. Perhaps the ghost is not who he says he is (in context of 1.5). The ghost might be an evil demon sent to deceive Hamlet and tempt him into murder. Or maybe the ghost does not have correct knowledge of his own death and he is himself deluded. The questions that emerged from this prompt suggest that we cannot make any solid judgment of the ghost because both his being and his motives are ambiguous. Keeping this in mind, I think it would be a good idea while reading "Hamlet" that we ask questions before trusting our own intuitions blindly.

--Ally