Hamlet 1.4-1.5 The Ghost

At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 4, Hamlet shows that he is very pensive when he considers King Claudius's custom of drinking. He seems like he would be a better king because he is more conscientious and disapproves of the carousing at night, which creates a bad reputation for the kingdom. Then, he continues to think more deeply about how people only remember the one defect in a man, despite his other virtues. Also, Claudius is not helping to improve the country's stability with it preparing for war and his drinking. Although Hamlet is usually passive, he takes direct action when he leaves to talk with the ghost. Horatio warns that he could be an evil spirit that drives Hamlet to madness, which I think foreshadows how it does make Hamlet crazy with the knowledge that his uncle might have killed his father. He has no fear of the ghost, unlike Horatio and Marcellus, who he threatens not to hold him back (I.iv.95).

Even though the ghost would feel angry and betrayed by his brother, it seems like they did not even have a good relationship when he was living. He acts like he was condescending to Claudius when he says that his brother's natural gifts were always inferior to his own talents (I.v.58-59). He might be an evil spirit, who wants Hamlet to kill Claudius and ruin Denmark, because he shares many of the same ideas as Hamlet, which would convince him to believe the ghost. He also calls Claudius incestuous for marrying the queen and he also expected her to have more dignity (I.v.49). The ghost contradicts the rumor that a serpent stung the king, which killed him while he was sleeping in his garden. He reveals that the serpent was Claudius, who is similar to the devil in the Garden of Eden in the biblical story of original sin (I.v.46-47). Also, at first the ghost seems still loving to Gertrude, which matches Hamlet's earlier description of the king, because he does not want Hamlet to take revenge on her, but then he says that he wants her to suffer with guilt, which may be a worse punishment. When the ghost exits, Hamlet begins to act crazy because he does not trust his friends anymore and repeatedly tells them to swear to keep the secret when they have already sworn to him.