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The Relationship between Hamlet and the Ghost of his Father
Harold Clarke Goddard
In the book The Meaning of Shakespeare, a collection of Shakespearean criticisms written by Harold Clarke Goddard, Goddard states that the ghost of Hamlet’s father is a symbol of the doubts and conflicts in Hamlet’s mind. In Goddard’s opinion, Shakespeare utilizes the ghost of Hamlet’s father to show the state of Hamlet’s mental condition. While the ghost’s speech shows that Hamlet feels like it’s his responsibility to avenge his father’s death, the ghost also declares murder to be foul but encourages Hamlet to murder his uncle. This logical slip shows that Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death but also understands that murdering Claudius would make him as much a villain as Claudius.
In order to prove that the ghost is a reflection of Hamlet’s mind, Goddard stresses that the ghost’s appearance in military garments shows the “fanatically ideal portrait” Hamlet has created of his father. Even though his father does not die dressed in military garb, Hamlet still imagines him in such clothing because Hamlet subconsciously associates his father with war. Hamlet’s father was known to be a brave soldier whose life was dedicated to warfare. Because of such a reputation, it is not strange that Hamlet would affiliate his father’s image with war. While in the book Hamlet exclaims “My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well” because he thinks that his father’s military garb is a foreshadowing of future conflict, it is more likely that the ghost’s clothing is based upon the image of his father Hamlet has inadvertently created in his mind.
The final example Goddard uses to show that the Ghost of Hamlet’s father is simply a metaphysical manifestation of Hamlet’s internal conflicts is the relationship between the ghost’s use of language and Hamlet’s. Goddard states that it is not a coincidence that both Hamlet and the ghost often use the word...