StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Hamlet’s ghost is a rather elusive topic and has continued to defy analysis to date. The writer of the paper "Significance Of Hamlet’s Ghost Scenes" gives a detailed analysis of purgatory as well as medieval and Renaissance tracts and how these two are interconnected…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.4% of users find it useful
Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes"

Significance Of Hamlet’s Ghost Scenes Hamlet’s ghost is a rather elusive topic and has continued to defy analysis to date. This difficulty has been aggravated by the reality that most secondary sources that explore this topic do not at all times examine the Renaissance studies regarding demonology that have are affiliated to Hamlet (Eissler 13). This paper will give a detailed analysis of purgatory as well as mediaeval and Renaissance tracts and how these two are interconnected. It will then delve into the existence of Purgatory and if indeed the ghost a "goblin dam'd" was a tormented soul from purgatory. Hamlet’s ghost scenes need to be studied through multi colored lenses if only to allow for an expansive view of the same. It can be agreed that sprits possess intermediary potential between man and God but are enemies of virtue as well as chastity. Additionally, these deceitful and false mediators continually seek to separate us from profits of soul and at the same time showing total disregard for God. In addition, unlike Christ’s humility, devils lack clarity hence their knowledge is rendered corrupt. Indeed, it is important that it is believed that the devil himself might transform and become an angel of light. Generally, the existence of spiritual intermediaries has been confirmed. In addition, it has also been agreed that there is only one true God that should be invoked. The fallen angels that can easily deceive man, do so only in Divine Providence which in the end draws good from evil. The theological context that is found in Shakespearian tragedy is full of paradox and this is only one of them. Evil spirits will at all times lack equivocate, pervert knowledge and Christian Chastity. Purgatory, though denied by the Protestants has been used to argue that the ghost was not from hell. The Bible justifies the existence of Purgatory. It is believed that there must be a place in existence for those who die in sin. These people should not be damned due to Divine Justice. The torment found in Purgatory can be explained through two dimensions. Through that of ‘corporal fire’ and ‘beatific vision’ Torment in purgatory goes far beyond any torment on earth. It is the same fire that burns people in hell that is used to cleanse those in Purgatory. Aristotelian metaphysics and Aquinas’ metaphysics are fused with Platonic orientation by Augustine. These three have argued that occasionally God permits supernatural visitations. Aquinus explains that these appearances are authorized y Divine will that redirects evil to the service of God. Demons could actually ne the damned ones and may create apparitions of a soul that is damned in order to torment imagination. Specifically, the purpose would be to scare those who are unrepentant or the ones considered devout. The souls that suffer in Purgatory do experience pain but unlike hell, this pain is only for a time. It is important to note that there are different views regarding this particular Hamlet’s character. The character has at times been accepted as of a melancholic temperament although this study is skeptical of this view point. When ghosts appear to Richmond and Richard, Shakespeare acknowledges that these creatures may be looked at from either a subjective or objective view. In this scene, as directly quoted, the ghosts appear to King Richard (Greenblatt 14). However, immediately after the stage directions imply that the King arose out of the dream. It is clear that these are subjective manifestations of the King’s tormented conscience that prophesied his defeat later at Bosworth Field. The ghosts in Hamlet can however, be viewed as objective, as this paper continually tries to prove. At one point it is viewed as if the ghost is asking for relief from which it suffers. Id any ghost fails it is considered as evil spirit, that of necessity it then has to be for anyone who does not accept Purgatory. Another analyst, Lavater, insists that souls are either saved or damned and there is no in between. Then, it can be concluded that Purgatory could have been conceived by priests in order to perhaps financially exploit a rather gullible public. It is said that hell is not open to all soul, that it is expected to depart forever afterwards. Evil spirits’ souls use deceit to feign themselves as souls of the deceased. These souls are then explained to have to be forbidden from coming back as they do because they only end up seducing and hurting human beings. The ghost defines the kind of agony Hamlet goes through. The arrogance as well as irony of the seduction is directly proportional to the male ego that has been shattered because the former wife preferred a different man. However, is this enough to categorize the ghost as a soul that has been separated? Is it enough to say that the ghost assumes the guise of the dead king? At this point, Shakespeare would have thoroughly dramatized the affair but then this would mean the play lacking ambiguity, a trait most of his works have. Therefore, Hamlet chases the dialectic. (Lavender 20). Spirits though sent by God in order to punish, some have private motives, chief amongst them jealousy. Clearly, the ghost hates Claudius because of his motives and at the same time envying him because he possesses Getrude. When the dead reappear to the living, they do so in the form of air. Thus, they only represent to some extent a mere degree of reality. It has been noted that apparitions usually disclose the truth in order to lead the faithful only if for the salvation of man. When the ghost tempts Hamlet, by nature of the request, Hamlet follows probably to his own damnation. The most valid argument to show Purgatory can thus be seen when the ghost is told by Hamlet ‘Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature .. Are burnt and purg'd away’ (I,v,9-13)1 (Lavender 20). The limits here appear so fine tuned that the Catholic Purgatorial belief is reinforced. Therefore, the question ‘Is the ghost a "goblin dam'd" a tormented soul from purgatory, or something else?’ has several different interpretations. However, this study can conclude that indeed there is a Purgatory. The works of Shakespeare are so obscure that one can only be left to second guess. It is only through comparing several different works that somewhat concrete conclusions can be made. The goblin was most likely condemned to purgatory although the actual existence of Purgatory is yet to be confirmed. Notes 1For the purposes of this paper, this line had to be quoted directly on order to be understood in the direct context of the Paper. Works Cited Eissler, K. R. Discourse on Hamlet and Hamlet. New York: International Universities Press, 1971. Print. Greenblatt, S. Hamlet and Purgatory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print. Lavender, A. Hamlet in Pieces: Shakespeare Revisited by Peter Brook, Robert Lepage and Robert Wilson. Continuum Press, 2003. Read More
Tags
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1”, n.d.)
Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1486957-hamlet
(Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1)
Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1. https://studentshare.org/literature/1486957-hamlet.
“Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1486957-hamlet.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes

Hamlet Critical Perspectives

Jane Jones Professor Jim Smith English IV 19 May 2012 Hamlet Critical Perspectives Perhaps owing to the over four hundred years since William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in circa 1603, few works have had more critical perspectives written on them.... Of course it has also been said that Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language and is the basis for the works of many other famous authors, including Keats, Poe, and Longfellow and even such more modern people like Steinbeck and Bradbury....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Hamlet by Shakespeare

hellip; According to the report death traces its way through the entire play from the opening scene dealing with a confrontation with a deceased man's ghost to the last scene, which leaves nearly all characters dead after a bloodbath.... The ghost of Hamlet's father signifies a disruption to the conventional social order.... Hamlet ponders the spiritual aftermath of death as embodied in the form of a ghost and physical aftermath embodied in physical remainders such as the decaying corpses and Yorick's skull....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Seven Characteristics of Revenge Tragedy - Hamlet

Name Institution Course Date Instructor The Seven Characteristics of Revenge Tragedy-Hamlet The first characteristic of a revenge tragedy is… Is the revenge for a father by a son or vice versa, the revenge directed by the ghost of the murdered?... When they all meet the ghost appears before them.... ?? When Horatio finally agrees to meet them on guard, he does that so he can proof or disproof whether or not the ghost actually appears.... When they meet that night, Horatio and the guards do see the ghost appear, but strangely they will not say a word at all, and then he just leaves....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

A comparative analysis of Shakespeares Hamlet and Mel Gibsons Portrayal

In order to conserve space, one can focus the summary on the scenes most directly in conflict with the film.... Act II encompasses two scenes, the latter half of which follows a quick succession of events: the King and Queen welcome Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, an update on the activities of Fortinbras, Hamlet mocking Polonius and then greeting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only to then berate their reasons for coming to Ellsinore, ending with Polonius announcing the arrival of the players....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Dramatic productions constitute interpretations of plays, not at least when they delete a scene or scenes from play.... The dramatic productions constitute interpretations of plays, not at least when they delete a scene or scenes from play.... Therefore, it is indubitable that the dramatic productions of Hamlet constitute significant interpretations of the play, not at least when they delete a scene or scenes from the play.... An insightful analysis of Hamlet in terms of plot, characterization, discourse, and dramatic significance confirms that the ACT IV scene 4 of the play has a significant implication to the overall interpretation of its meaning....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Primary Theme of Hamlet

The memorable scene with Hamlet and Gertrude The significance of the castle helps us to remember that we are dealing with characters of royalty.... Revenge is what drives the action of the play in that Hamlet is prodded by the ghost of his father to avenge his death.... The ghost is persistent and while Hamlet knows what it is he should do, he encounters difficulty doing it.... The theme of indecision emerges as Hamlet tried to find reason to believe the ghost is that of his father, which brings us to the theme of uncertainty....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Tragedy of the Revenge- Oriented Prince Of Denmark

Firstly, he feigns madness after the ghost tells him that the killer is none other than Claudius.... Shakespeare wrote this tragedy play which will forever have an eternal significance masterpiece.... The author states that Hamlet's tragic character foreshadowed his tragic fate....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Hamlet Critical Perspectives

nbsp; In reading Hamlet many times, I had also looked over the references to mythological/historical figures as simply filler and never really understood their significance in the storyline.... This paper "Hamlet Critical Perspectives" discusses Shakespeare as the greatest writer in the English language and is the basis for the works of many other famous authors....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us