This is truly the first time that I have seen the true text of Hamlet. Otherwise, I have only seen spoofs in television shows and high school plays.
Thus far, I have really enjoyed it, though it can be a bit misleading at times. The vocabulary leads me to footnotes over and over again. However, the message is usually relatively clear, overall.
The previous debate in class was regarding the reality of the ghost: is it or is it not Hamlet's father? Thus far, as I am mostly through the third act, I am still questioning the being. Even Hamlet understands the ghost's potential untruth as he states in Act 2, Scene 2, line 610b: "The spirit that I have seen may be a devil, and the devil hath power t' assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me."
I do not believe that with the information I have thus far gained that I am able to form an opinion of the true identity of the ghost. However, if it were not Hamlet's father, I am curious about the motive for revenge in that case. Or would the "Devil" merely be searching for conflict within a society, with no particular political or ethical drive? Perhaps the potential devil-in-disguise is a way to cast downward glances of judgment on those who marry quickly after the death of a spouse (though this doesn't seem likely, as Shakespeare is the playwright).
It all leaves me with much to think about.... opinions?
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2 comments:
I struggled with the same questions when I was reading Hamlet. I guess I tend to play the gullible reader, because I just assumed the ghost was certainly that of Hamlet's dead father, until the question was raised in class of whether or not he was an evil being in the form of King Hamlet. I guess I feel like if the ghost were a devilish spirit, then it would not have revealed the truth to Hamlet and instill in him the desire for revenge. Granted, an evil spirit may have said these things in order to provoke chaos within the family, but it seems to me that the ghost really is King Hamlet and he just wants justice to be served.
I am also not sure about the ghost. On the one hand he says "leave your Mother to heaven" suggesting that he cares for her. But why would Hamlet's father come back and make his son seek revenge? Hamlet has just been through the ordeal of his father's death, so why does he need the added stress of knowing that his uncle murdered his father. I would think that a father would want to protect his son from more emotional damage, not try and inflict more.
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