Hamlet Act 1, Scenes 3-5

 

In last night's reading of Hamlet, many significant events took place. We are introduced to Ophelia, Laertes and Polonius. We discover a very interesting hierarchical relationship between the three, as well as their perspectives on Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship. However, I would like to focus on the interaction between Hamlet and the Ghost of his father. While the Ghost describes to Hamlet the cause of his death and who killed him, he uses specific contrasting language to reveal his feelings towards both Claudius and Gertrude. He refers to Claudius as a “serpent that did sting thy father’s life” (1.5.38). Expressing his brother in this dark light shows his deep bitterness towards him. A serpent also implies a devilish aspect that the Ghost believes Claudius embodies. Furthermore, to him Claudius is an “incestuous” and “adulterate beast” (1.5.42). He continues to describe Claudius as less than human, especially when marrying his wife; however, in the same breath he refers to his former wife as a “most seeming virtuous queen” (1.5.46). This implies that the Ghost is reluctant to blame or look down upon Gertrude for her marriage to Claudius. This contrast between the demonic Claudius and virtuous Gertrude reveals the Ghost's feelings towards the two of them. He places the most fault on Claudius when in reality it was both of their decisions. He believes Claudius used “witchcraft of his wits” and “traitorous gifts” to seduce Gertrude and corrupt her (1.5.43). This furthers his belief that Claudius is something less than human and took advantage of his wife. 

Overall, contrast the Ghost illustrates between Gertrude and Claudius show that his anger lies mostly with Claudius. Similarly, we saw this in the Scarlet Letter with Roger Chillingworth. He only blamed Dimmesdale for the relationship between him and Hester, and his revenge ultimately led to his demise. Though Hamlet’s father is already dead, I am interested to see how this influences Hamlet, and the revenge he takes for his father.