Significance Of Hamlets Ghost Scenes - Essay Example

Significance Of Hamlet’s Ghost Scenes Hamlet’s ghost is a rather elusive topic and has continued to defy analysis to date. This difficulty has been aggravated by the reality that most secondary sources that explore this topic do not at all times examine the Renaissance studies regarding demonology that have are affiliated to Hamlet (Eissler 13). This paper will give a detailed analysis of purgatory as well as mediaeval and Renaissance tracts and how these two are interconnected. It will then delve into the existence of Purgatory and if indeed the ghost a "goblin dam'd" was a tormented soul from purgatory. Hamlet’s ghost scenes need to be studied through multi colored lenses if only to allow for an expansive view of the same. It can be agreed that sprits possess intermediary potential between man and God but are enemies of virtue as well as chastity. Additionally, these deceitful and false mediators continually seek to separate us from profits of soul and at the same time showing total disregard for God. In addition, unlike Christ’s humility, devils lack clarity hence their knowledge is rendered corrupt. Indeed, it is important that it is believed that the devil himself might transform and become an angel of light. Generally, the existence of spiritual intermediaries has been confirmed. In addition, it has also been agreed that there is only one true God that should be invoked. The fallen angels that can easily deceive man, do so only in Divine Providence which in the end draws good from evil. The theological context that is found in Shakespearian tragedy is full of paradox and this is only one of them. Evil spirits will at all times lack equivocate, pervert knowledge and Christian Chastity. Purgatory, though denied by the Protestants has been used to argue that the ghost was not from hell. The Bible justifies the existence of Purgatory. It is believed that there must be a place in existence for those who die in sin. These people should not be damned due to Divine Justice. The torment found in Purgatory can be explained through two dimensions. Through that of ‘corporal fire’ and ‘beatific vision’ Torment in purgatory goes far beyond any torment on earth. It is the same fire that burns people in hell that is used to cleanse those in Purgatory. Aristotelian metaphysics and Aquinas’ metaphysics are fused with Platonic orientation by Augustine. These three have argued that occasionally God permits supernatural visitations. Aquinus explains that these appearances are authorized y Divine will that redirects evil to the service of God. Demons could actually ne the damned ones and may create apparitions of a soul that is damned in order to torment imagination. Specifically, the purpose would be to scare those who are unrepentant or the ones considered devout. The souls that suffer in Purgatory do experience pain but unlike hell, this pain is only for a time. It is important to note that there are different views regarding this particular Hamlet’s character. The character has at times been accepted as of a melancholic temperament although this study is skeptical of this view point. When ghosts appear to Richmond and Richard, Shakespeare acknowledges that these creatures may be looked at from either a subjective or objective view. In this scene, as directly quoted, the ghosts appear to King Richard (Greenblatt 14). However, immediately after the stage directions imply that the King arose out of the dream. It is clear that these are subjective manifestations of the King’s tormented conscience that prophesied his defeat later at Bosworth Field. The ghosts in Hamlet can however, be viewed as objective, as this paper continually tries to prove. At one point it is viewed as if the ghost is asking for relief from which it suffers. Id any ghost fails it is considered as evil spirit, that of necessity it then has to be for anyone who does not accept Purgatory. Another analyst, Lavater, insists that souls are either saved or damned and there is no in between. Then, it can be concluded that Purgatory could have been conceived by priests in order to perhaps financially exploit a rather gullible public. It is said that hell is not open to all soul, that it is expected to depart forever afterwards. Evil spirits’ souls use deceit to feign themselves as souls of the deceased. These souls are then explained to have to be forbidden from coming back as they do because they only end up seducing and hurting human beings. The ghost defines the kind of agony Hamlet goes through. The arrogance as well as irony of the seduction is directly proportional to the male ego that has been shattered because the former wife preferred a different man. However, is this enough to categorize the ghost as a soul that has been separated? Is it enough to say that the ghost assumes the guise of the dead king? At this point, Shakespeare would have thoroughly dramatized the affair but then this would mean the play lacking ambiguity, a trait most of his works have. Therefore, Hamlet chases the dialectic. (Lavender 20). Spirits though sent by God in order to punish, some have private motives, chief amongst them jealousy. Clearly, the ghost hates Claudius because of his motives and at the same time envying him because he possesses Getrude. When the dead reappear to the living, they do so in the form of air. Thus, they only represent to some extent a mere degree of reality. It has been noted that apparitions usually disclose the truth in order to lead the faithful only if for the salvation of man. When the ghost tempts Hamlet, by nature of the request, Hamlet follows probably to his own damnation. The most valid argument to show Purgatory can thus be seen when the ghost is told by Hamlet ‘Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature .. Are burnt and purg'd away’ (I,v,9-13)1 (Lavender 20). The limits here appear so fine tuned that the Catholic Purgatorial belief is reinforced. Therefore, the question ‘Is the ghost a "goblin dam'd" a tormented soul from purgatory, or something else?’ has several different interpretations. However, this study can conclude that indeed there is a Purgatory. The works of Shakespeare are so obscure that one can only be left to second guess. It is only through comparing several different works that somewhat concrete conclusions can be made. The goblin was most likely condemned to purgatory although the actual existence of Purgatory is yet to be confirmed. Notes 1For the purposes of this paper, this line had to be quoted directly on order to be understood in the direct context of the Paper. Works Cited Eissler, K. R. Discourse on Hamlet and Hamlet. New York: International Universities Press, 1971. Print. Greenblatt, S. Hamlet and Purgatory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print. Lavender, A. Hamlet in Pieces: Shakespeare Revisited by Peter Brook, Robert Lepage and Robert Wilson. Continuum Press, 2003. Read More