Act 1 scene 5 Flashcards
(15 cards)
The Ghost - structure
The appearance of the Ghost itself would be regarded with suspicion by the audience, and would indicate to them that something strange has happened, whichever way the Ghost is interpreted: as a spirit sent by God he demands, retributive justice, as an evil spirit he tempts Hamlet to commit sinful deeds. Either way, the murder of the Ghost seems to foreshadow another murder as its consequence, further creating unrest.
Ghost’s monologue - “Doomed […] Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature / Are burnt and purged away.”
Ghost could be in purgatory (“purged”). Throughout the play the spirit is an ambiguous figure
“Foul crimes done” undermines Hamlet’s glorified perception of Old Hamlet, and signals to the audience that perhaps Claudius is not as evil as Hamlet sees him to be
Verb “doomed” further hyperbolises the Ghost’s suffering which elicits pity from Hamlet, evident through his exclamatory interjections “O God!” “O, my prophetic soul!” “My uncle”
Ghost’s monologue - “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” “most foul, strange, and unnatural”
First use of the noun “murder” in the play, which contrasts Hamlet, who previously has only used euphemisms. However from the beginning of A1.5, it takes the Ghost a while to confirm the murder, which not only reflects Hamlet’s fatal flaw of procrastination, but also increases the tension of the scene, since the reveal of the murderer has been building up since A1.1 when the audience was first introduced to the Ghost
Harsh revelation is reinforced by the use of stichomythia: “murder” is repeated by both the Ghost and Hamlet three times in a row, heightening the gravity of the crime
Hyperbolic superlative “most” could be seen as the Ghost’s manipulation of Hamlet’s emotions by depicting the extreme nature of his murder
Semantic field of unrest “foul” “strange” “unnatural”. These adjectives are repeated throughout the scene, which serves to constantly remind the audience of the disorder caused by regicide, foreshadowing the events of the play
Ghost’s monologue - “sleeping in the orchard”
The Ghost repeats this multiple times to emphasise Old Hamlet’s defencelessness and the gravity of Claudius’ betrayal
Ghost’s monologue - “The whole ear of Denmark / Is […] rankly abused.” “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch for luxury and damned incest.”
Body politic imagery highlights the corruption caused by the murder and emphasises the far-reaching effects of the murder
Depicts how the Ghost manipulates Hamlet by presenting the effects of the murder as not just personal but also as a threat to the whole country. Imperative verb “let not” indicates that it is solely Hamlet’s responsibility to revert this crime and restore Denmark’s disorderly chaos
Ghost’s monologue - “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown.”
The Ghost uses a play on words to reveal the truth about his death, referring to Claudius as the “serpent”. This confirms the rumour on the cause of his death, but in contrary way to what was expected
Metaphor “serpent” establishes how Old Hamlet belittles Claudius and views him as inferior
Noun “serpent” links to the Great Chain of Being, where the king was at the top of the mortal hierarchy, and lowly creatures, especially snakes — symbol of Satan — were at the bottom. Further depicts the upending of order caused by Old Hamlet’s murder, as the lowest creature has managed to climb to the top
Ghost’s monologue - “serpent” “wretch” “garbage” “lewdness” “lust” “shameful”
Semantic field of disgust and animalistic imagery. Interesting to note that only Hamlet and the Ghost depict Claudius in this way; other characters view him as a good king
The Ghost undermines Claudius by suggesting that he became king through lowly means
Belittling lexis subverts the audience’s previously built up suspicion of Claudius in A1.2 which creates suspicion and unease as they don’t know which view of Claudius to trust
Ghost’s monologue - “swift as quicksilver” “like eager droppings into milk” “lazar-like”
Highly graphic similes create disgust at the manner in which Old Hamlet was murdered
Inhuman descriptions reinforce how inhuman and natural Claudius’ act of regicide was
Ghost’s monologue - “sent to my account / With all my imperfections on my head.”
Highlights Claudius’ lack of religious virtue and his disregard for the last rites of absolution, which would very important to the contemporary Elizabethan audience
Determiner “all” is used to exaggerate the injustice of Old Hamlet’s murder. Hyperbolic language throughout the ghost’s speech
Ghost’s monologue - “Remember me.”
The Ghost’s last words to Hamlet are imperative, reinforcing the power imbalance between the two characters. The Ghost occupies the majority of the dialogue whereas Hamlet only passively listens; this also emphasises his passive nature.
Later in the scene, Hamlet repeats the Ghost’s words, depicting the profound psychological impact that its appearance has had on him
Hamlet - “Remember thee?”
After the Ghost exits, Hamlet is left alone onstage, which emphasises how he is isolated by the knowledge of Claudius’ murder of Old Hamlet
In his soliloquy following the Ghost’s exit, Hamlet uses lots of questions which reflects the uncertainty and internal conflict that the Ghost’s appearance has caused him
Hamlet’s situation is ambiguous:
Personal revenge and personal vendettas were condemned by Elizabethan commentators, who felt that they should be left to God.
However, official justice as prince of state would have been approved.
This prevents the audience from taking a simplistic moral view of his dilemma, which needs to be irresolvable in order to be fully tragic.
Hamlet - “O most pernicious woman! / O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!”
Superlatives, exclamatory phrases and repetition of “villain” reflects Hamlet’s heightened emotions and sense of injustice
Horatio - “These are but wild and whirling words”
Euphonic quality to Horatio’s language, which presents him as a character with a rational and calm demeanour, contracting Hamlet’s emotional and impulsive language
“Wild and whirling” evokes a sense of disorder and confusion, reinforcing the description of Hamlet’s internal conflict. Somewhat introduces the theme of Hamlet’s madness
Coordinating conjunction “but” diminishes Hamlet’s reaction solely to being a result of his heightened emotions
Hamlet - “As perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on.”
Hamlet reveals that he deliberately plans to feign madness, which in later events of the play, complicates the audience’s understanding of what is his pretense madness and what is his true insanity
Paradox in that by acting falsely Hamlet can gain information freely
Hamlet - “O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!
Exclamatory phrase, adjective “cursed” has connotations of a burden
Hamlet regrets that he must act
