Hamlet Character Analysis

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In the passage “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, ...Remember me,” (I.v.42-91) in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the Ghost thoroughly describes to Hamlet about the horror of its situation. Before this occurrence, Hamlet hears from his friend Horatio that he believed to have seen the spirit of Hamlet’s deceased father. Despite any warnings of temptation, Hamlet decides to find and talk to the Ghost out in a remote area, where it speaks quite briefly about how Claudius is actually the original king’s murderer. After the ghost vanishes at daybreak, Hamlet, overwhelmed with anger, swears to avenge his father and plans to do so by feigning insanity and killing his uncle in the process. Built up by the ominous atmosphere and the presence…show more content…
At the moments before its eternal sleep, the spirit tells of how the king was “sleeping” in his “orchard” during “the afternoon” when young Hamlet’s “uncle stole” his “secure hour” with the poisonous “juice of cursed hebona” placed into his ears (I.v.59-63). The inclusion of the specific time, place, and venom assists in precisely crafting a scene that can be interpreted and imagined in the reader’s mind. Complex words, including “secure” and “stole,” additionally provide a dual meaning in that they represent both how the king was disturbed from his peaceful slumber, but also how his life was taken from him unexpectedly (I.v.61). The sudden and painful death the Ghost describes is filled with insightful diction that is the foundation of the mood for the rest of the passage. After entering his body, the king immediately begins to deteriorate as the venom takes its effect, as “swift as quicksilver,” due to a “leperous distilment,” which “doth posset and curd” in his “thin and wholesome blood” (I.v.64-70). This unfortunately proceeds to cause his skin to become “most lazar-like” and “vile and loathsome” in such a short amount of time (I.v.72). As the descriptions increase in depth, the writer intends for the pace of the speech to slow down, causing it to resemble a realistic discussion of one’s memory. The deep darkness of this horrific sequence of events leading to the king’s death, as described by the spirit, generates a disturbing mood and helps develop the ominous tone that is maintained until the play’s resolution. This ultimately changes Hamlet’s perspective on the issue, leaving him open to listen to every detail towards the end of the Ghost’s time with

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