Hamlet Group

Question:

notwist
notwist
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What is the significance of the scene between Hamlet and the Ghost in Act I?

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Posted by notwist on Friday May 29, 2009 at 2:27 AM and tagged with act 1, characters, ghost, hamlet, themes.

Answers:

  1. mbomengen
    mrsmonica Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    When the guards tell Hamlet that they have seen his father's ghost, he fears that nothing good can come of the appearance of the spirit: "My father's spirit in arms! all is not well;/I doubt some foul play."

    The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that Claudius murdered him and the story that a snake bit the king is a coverup for the poisoning. This information puts Hamlet in the quandary of having to seek revenge against his own uncle and his mother's new husband. The words of the Ghost set in motion the rest of the action of the play.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-scene-5-summary-analysis

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    Posted by mrsmonica on Friday May 29, 2009 at 7:09 AM