The argument has been made that the ghost in Hamlet is actually the Devil come to trick Hamlet into killing everyone connected to him. I personally believe that there is a good chance that this argument is valid because of the outcome of Hamlet’s revenge and the significant absence of the ghost at said outcome. Posing as Hamlet’s father the Devil convinces him that Claudius killed Hamlet the elder and took his wife as his own. Hamlet’s fragile mental state and his position as the “emo prince” as well as subsequently mourning for his late father makes for a perfect opportunity for the Devil to plant the seed of revenge. Once the seed is sown he needed only to sit back and watch the body count go up.
One of the points brought up as a counterargument is that the ghost argues for Gertrude’s innocence and that she should not be hurt. I feel that this only strengthens the fact that he is not Hamlet’s father, if he was truly the late king he would be a bit more upset about his wife sleeping with his brother so soon after his death. By arguing for Hamlet’s sympathy he gives away the fact that he is an imposter, after all, the greatest trick the Devil ever played was to convince us that he didn’t exist.
In some of his more sane moments, or arguably his more insane moments, Hamlet questions whether the ghost is truly his father or the devil come to snare him. Hamlet plants the idea that the ghost is the devil in the audience’s mind and once he has done so the earlier scenes with the ghost take on a whole new light. The ghost’s every word takes on a dubious meaning and every motive becomes suspect.
Hamlet’s revenge kills more people than he had anticipated, approximately seven more, and I don’t believe that there was any other way that it could have ended. The ghost gets him so incensed to kill Claudius again in Gertrude’s chambers that he mistakenly kills Polonius. Polonius’s death leads to Ophelia going insane and drowning herself, which leads Leartes to seek revenge for both his father and his sister. Claudius takes advantage of Leartes’ anger and plots to kill the now threatening Hamlet, which leads to the deaths of the Leartes and the entire Danish royal family. And in the course of events Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are killed in Hamlet’s place in England.
Not only does Hamlet’s revenge take away everyone who ever mattered to him but it also robs Denmark of its entire royal lineage. After the turbulent events of the “bloodbath” the king is replaced by a Norwegian. The outcome of Hamlet’s plot with the ghost only further convinced me that the ghost had a nefarious intent for the whole scheme because if he were truly Hamlet’s father he would have tried to stop the carnage of his young son’s vengeance. If the ghost is the Devil he profited nicely from the entire deal, he gained at least three souls for Hell in Hamlet, Ophelia and Claudius. The ghost was the only character to make it through the play unharmed, or as unharmed as a ghost can be, and in the end he got what he wanted no matter if he were the devil or not.
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5 comments:
I completely agree! Not only have I read many literary criticisms regarding this point of view, but I also wrote my blog supporting a variation of this topic. I especially liked the paragraph on the ghost's relation to Gertrude's eternal innocence. Good work whitey!
I am thoroughly convinced. Your first paragraph is great with the "emo prince" comment. It is true, if the ghost was not the devil, then he would have tried to prevent most of the deaths from occurring except for Claudius's. As you said the ghost is ironically enough the only one left standing because he is already dead. Great blog.
Andrew, nice job! You make a point, and then you go on to support it throughout the paper. What a concept! But seriously, I never really thought of it that way before, and it definitely elucidates certain aspects of Hamlet's character and of the plot of the play in general.
Andrew
First, Isabel? you read literary criticism on you're own time. Wow..
Anyway, Andrew, I thought you're blog was very informative and really enjoyed reading a blog that argued for the King's Ghost being the devil. You pointed out some very clear points and I can honestly say I'm almost convinced. Good work!
Zach
Other A--First, nice allusion to Charlie Daniels. Second, good use of the outcome of the play to justify a way of looking at the ghost's role. You didn't mention that everything the ghost told Hamlet turns out to be true, so I wonder if that fact changes your opinion any, or, if not, how it factors in to your reasoning. But a thoughtful and well written piece in either event.
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