Close Reading-Hamlet's Conversation With The Ghost

Hamlet Close Reading-Hamlet's Conversation With The Ghost This expert contains Hamlet's initial conversation with his father's ghost, in which he finds out the circumstances of his death. The Ghost reveals that his brother, Claudius, who is now king of Denmark, murdered him while he was sleeping in his garden. The Ghost gives Hamlet a task to get revenge on his Uncle Claudius, and to get justice for his death. This is considered to be the inciting incident in the play as Hamlet goes on to put together his plan for revenge, which ends up causing chaos throughout the play. The excerpt begins with the Ghost reciting the events that led up to his death. The Ghost tells Hamlet “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole/With juice of cursed ebenon in a

Personification is used by Shakespeare to convey the ghost's emotions in his death. Once the Ghost had been poisoned, it is described that his body started to be covered in layers of scabs “With vile and loathsome crust / All my smooth body” (72-73). The crust of scabs that encompassed his entire body have been given the human traits of being “vile” and “loathsome.” This personification describing the crust as being able to loathe refers to how Claudius had loathed his brother, and when he killed him, his body was covered in a “vile” crust. This line helps us to not only further understand how the Ghost was murdered in cold blood, but also how he died feeling so betrayed. In the same way that the scabs covered his body, so did the feeling of hatred that was inflicted upon him by his brother when he killed

The Ghost acknowledges the greediness of Claudius in listing off the things he has stolen from him “Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand/Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched” (74-75). The day he was murdered, not only was his life taken, but, so was his role as king, and the love of his wife, the queen. This section shows the Ghosts' anguish and gives insight into Claudius’ personality. It becomes clear from the beginning of the Ghosts dialogue that his brother is not a good person, as it is revealed that he is a murder. This line reiterates that fact by not only telling the audience that Claudius killed his own brother, but that he has been living in his spotlight. Claudius is proven to be a terrible and conniving king, which makes the audience wary of him for the duration of the play. The Ghost uses yet another metaphor to express to Hamlet how unfair it was for him to be killed without the opportunity to confess his sins. In the Ghost's speech he tells Hamlets that he was “Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,” (76). The word choice of “blossom” is used as a comparison for how his sins at the time of his death were in full