Student Question
Who utters the words "Remember me" in Hamlet?
Quick answer:
The words "Remember me" are uttered by the ghost of Hamlet's father in Act 1, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's play. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who has since become king and married Hamlet's mother. The ghost implores Hamlet to remember him and avenge his death, while sparing his mother from harm. This request sets the course for Hamlet's subsequent actions and internal struggles.
It is actually the ghost who utters the words “Remember me” in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Let's look at the context of those words.
It is act 1, scene 5, and Hamlet is meeting his father's ghost. The ghost is “Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, / And for the day confined to fast in fires” until his sins are “burnt and purged away.” But he has a revelation and a command for his son. The ghost died as a result of murder, and the murderer is his own brother, Claudius, now king in his place and husband of Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude.
The ghost tells Hamlet how he was killed. He also tells his son to avenge his death. Yet Hamlet is not to harm his mother or even think ill of her. He is to let God judge her for her acts.
As the ghost leaves, he says, “Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me.” And Hamlet does remember everything the ghost has told him. He struggles with the command for revenge, yet in the end, he takes it, only to lose his own life in the process.
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