“O horrible, O horrible, most horrible!”. Prince Hamlet is introduced to the truth of his father’s death towards the end of act I in the most impactful of ways. The ghost of old King Hamlet discusses his death by the hands of his brother, Claudius, while portraying the new King as an “incestuous” and “adulterate beast.” With a fast-paced and motivational speech, the ghost hopes that Prince Hamlet will refrain from being a “fat weed” and instead work towards avenging his father. The ghost also ensures that young Hamlet recognizes the potential conflict with a Claudius kingship and how it jeopardizes the whole nation of Denmark. Through the use of juxtapositions comparing virtue versus sin and the natural versus the unnatural, the Ghost is able to tap into Hamlet’s mindset and gear him towards this path of vengeance in a methodical way, all the while revealing the true disarray in Denmark. Within the ghost’s speech, juxtapositions of virtue and sin are embodied by …show more content…
The ghost describes his previous love for Gertrude as being “of that dignity” that would validate his “vow… in marriage” that he once had with her, placing his devotion to Gertrude on high grounds. In the very next line, he quickly brings up a “decline” to the “wretch” that Claudius is. Claudius has “natural gifts” that have the “power” to seduce Gertrude, suggesting that there is no genuine love between the two of them; there is only “shameful lust” that Claudius executed with this “power.” The ghost emphasizes this “decline” further by relating to young Hamlet how Gertrude quickly went from a “radiant angel” and a “seeming-virtuous queen” attaining satisfaction in a “celestial bed” to a lustful being preying on “garbage.” Referring to Gertrude as an angel implies that she and King Hamlet had a heavenly bond that soon turned to garbage when Claudius came around. Also, the fact that the ghost claims Gertrude was seemingly virtuous can be seen as an attempt for him to gain more