In the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is William Shakespeare’s most well-known and analyzed work. Many things can account for this tale of tragedy, but of those many only one thing is vital to this famous story: the ghost of King Hamlet. The ghost of Hamlet’s father is so significant to him on so many levels, directly or indirectly accounting for most issues that are involved in the drama. The incorporeal being creates many things throughout the play, first and foremost being the plot itself, Hamlet’s procrastination, and the image of Hamlet’s madness. The mystery from the beginning of the play with the appearance of the ghost was resolved in Act I Scene V when King Hamlet’s ghost speaks to Hamlet, saying not the most famous words of the play, but the words with the most meaning. When the ghost of King Hamlet cries “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 1.5.12) we learn that the death of King Hamlet was not a tragic accident, but an act of murder. We learn that King Hamlet wants his untimely demise avenged and Hamlet willing to do his bidding, “Haste me to know't, that I, …show more content…
As we discovered earlier in the play, Hamlet’s mother remarried his not long after King Hamlet’s death making his Uncle Claudius the new king. With this new found knowledge another aspect of Hamlet is brought to light; Hamlet’s procrastination is revealed with the phantom’s accusation, “The time is out of joint. o cursed spite, that I ever was born to set it right” (Shakespeare 1.5.65) Hamlet had planned on avenging his father but here he begins to rethink his decision and wonders how he became stuck with the task. Then he starts to over think and realizes the severity of killing someone so he then decides to prove that validity of the spectrum’s words before he moves forward with his plan of revenge