The Ghost Hamlet Quotes: top 31 famous sayings about The Ghost Hamlet (2023)

FAQs

What quote describes the ghost in Hamlet? ›

When they inform Hamlet of the apparition, one of the points they specially mention is that he was "arm'd." Horatio describes the ghost as, "A figure like your father, Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe."

'To be, or not to be: that is the question'. Arguably the most famous quotation in the whole of Hamlet, this line begins one of Hamlet's darkest and most philosophical soliloquies.

The Ghost tells Hamlet a tale of horror. Saying that he is the spirit of Hamlet's father, he demands that Hamlet avenge King Hamlet's murder at the hands of Claudius. Hamlet, horrified, vows to “remember” and swears his friends to secrecy about what they have seen.

Hamlet is appalled at the revelation that his father has been murdered, and the ghost tells him that as he slept in his garden, a villain poured poison into his ear—the very villain who now wears his crown, Claudius. Hamlet's worst fears about his uncle are confirmed. “O my prophetic soul!” he cries (I.v.40).

The Ghost wants only for Hamlet to kill Claudius. Although he previously expressed anger toward Gertrude, he wants Hamlet and Gertrude to reconcile. Hamlet struggles with his task of proper revenge, but the Ghost has a clear and constant desire for justice.

Old Hamlet is dead before the play begins and appears as a ghost in the play. He was the King of Denmark and Gertrude's husband. They had a son together called Hamlet. Old Hamlet appears to his son as a ghost and informs him that he's been murdered by his brother, Claudius.

“To thine own self be true.” “Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.” “Brevity is the soul of wit.” “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Polonius: "That he's mad 'tis true, 'tis true 'tis pity, and 'tis pity 'tis 'tis true. A foolish figure, but farewell it, for I will use no art."

In the middle of Hamlet's attack, the Ghost returns to remind Hamlet that his real purpose is to avenge his father's death.

What are the ghosts two warnings to Hamlet? ›

The ghost tells Hamlet that his brother, the new King Claudius, murdered him and married his wife, Gertrude. The ghost demands Hamlet take revenge on his behalf. Hamlet agrees, but by the end of the scene warns his friends that he will feign madness to buy time and determine whether or not Claudius is actually guilty.

Hamlet agrees to fight Laertes. During the duel, Gertrude drinks poison and both Hamlet and Laertes are fatally wounded. Hamlet kills Claudius before he dies.

I am forbidden to tell you the secrets of the afterlife; otherwise I would tell you a story, the tiniest bit of which would freeze your young blood, make your eyes pop out of their sockets like stars out of their orbits, and cause your stylish hair to stand straight up like the quills on a porcupine.

We also learn later in the play that the Ghost is telling the truth about being murdered by Claudius, because Claudius admits to the murder when he's talking alone in Act 3, scene 3.

Act 5 Scene 2 - The tragic climax

As they fight, Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine that Claudius had intended for Hamlet and dies.

Hamlet betrays his father's ghost by not killing Claudius immediately as he has promised, and how he keeps contemplating over whether or not he should actually kill him. He also hurts his mother's feelings, which were against the wishes of the ghost as well.

This comes to show Hamlet's inability to trust the Ghost because he didn't believe that the existence of the ghost of his father would be possible, he believed that the apparition might be a devil trying to lure him in to committing an unjustified act, and he needed to rely on Claudius's reaction to the play to ...

The ghost tells Hamlet that he is, in fact, the ghost of his dead father. And there's more: the ghost claims that Claudius killed him, taking his throne and his wife in the process. He wants Hamlet to kill Claudius in revenge. Shocked, Hamlet agrees and vows to avenge his father's death.

The ghost is a symbol that encourages Hamlet to get revenge for his father. The first appearance of the ghost sets the action in motion for the entire plot. Afterwords from the ghost turn out as a caution, Hamlet realizes the truth from the ghost and becomes angry enough to avenge his father's death.

Is the ghost actually Hamlet's father? ›

The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as King Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince, his son and the protagonist of the story.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophy. Brevity is the soul of wit. Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.

Hamlet Summary. The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge.

For variety, get a friend or relative to speak lines to you from a piece of paper, and repeat them. Try making an audio recording of yourself speaking the lines, and listen to yourself over. If you can't stand the sound of your own voice, try using free Text-to-Speech software like Balabolka, or listen to audiobooks.

It is not, nor it cannot come to good; But break my heart,—for I must hold my tongue. This quotation, Hamlet's first important soliloquy, occurs in Act I, scene ii ( 129–158 ).

"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world." "Frailty, thy name is woman!" "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue."

The question is: Should I live or should I die? Is it more noble to face up to life's hardships or to fight them head on and ultimately put an end to them. Hamlet uses the phrase 'to die, to sleep' twice in this speech.

How does Hamlet react to the ghost in Act 1 Scene 4? ›

Hamlet addresses the apparition, asking if it is his father's ghost and questioning its reasons for leaving its tomb and coming to Elsinore. The ghost gestures for Hamlet to follow, and despite his friends' warnings, Hamlet decides to follow the specter, claiming he has nothing to lose since he doesn't value his life.

Act 1, scene 4 While Claudius drinks away the night, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost. It signals to Hamlet. Hamlet's friends try to stop his following the Ghost, but Hamlet will not be held back. Act 1, scene 5 The Ghost tells Hamlet a tale of horror.

Hamlet begins speaking to the apparition, begging to know if it truly is the ghost of his father. He asks the ghost to tell him why it has chosen to leave its tomb and wander the grounds of Elsinore in full armor. In response, the ghost motions for Hamlet to follow it.

In Act 1 Scene 4, Horatio, Hamlet, and Marcellus are on the battlement of a castle overlooking the drunken feasting of Hamlet's uncle, King Claudius. The men are waiting to see King Hamlet's ghost again, which could tell the men (and audience) about the past or the present or predict the future.

Macduff tells them that rumor has it Malcolm and Donalbain were the ones who hired the servants to kill Duncan. Everyone suspects them because they fled Scotland so quickly after the king died. He also tells them the latest news: Macbeth is king. But Macduff is not too keen on attending his coronation.

Horatio warns Hamlet that the Ghost “might deprive your sovereignty of reason/And draw you into madness” (I. iv.). The Ghost itself instructs Hamlet: “Taint not thy mind” (I.v.). These warnings foreshadow Hamlet's descent into madness.

The last line is, “The rest is silence.” This is an ambivalent way to end a play that began with ambivalence. However, Hamlet knows what he means by the rest is silence and this is his final chance to act and he does, by telling us his final thoughts. He is not uncertain any more.

The biggest betrayal Hamlet suffered was done to him by his uncle, Claudius, which then caused the betrayal of his mother, Gertrude, who then convinced Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to betray Hamlet as well.

Ghost Hunters

The first time the Ghost of King Hamlet appears in the play is when Horatio and the watchmen are watching for it to appear. Horatio is shocked and speaks to the ghost, but cannot get it to respond.

What are three words to describe Hamlet's personality? ›

Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle's scheming and disgust for his mother's sexuality.

For the whole of the second act, Hamlet delays his revenge: although he trusted the Ghost at first, he has begun to wonder whether the Ghost might actually be a devil trying to tempt him into committing a terrible sin.

There is no reason to doubt the truth of anything the Ghost says; in that sense, Hamlet is quite right to describe him as honest (I. 5.138). But honesty is a matter of intention as much as the words spoken.

The ghost beckons Hamlet to follow it out into the night. His companions urge him not to follow, begging him to consider that the ghost might lead him toward harm.

Even though what he says does not help the situation, he does not lie. Even Hamlet, in Act I Scene V, describes the ghost as honest. The Ghost reveals to Hamlet the truth that his uncle Claudius poisoned his father in order to become the King of Denmark.

Act 1 scene 1

Horatio comes to investigate and Marcellus informs the other guards that Horatio has said ''tis but our fantasy, / And will not let belief take hold of him'. Suddenly, the apparition appears looking exactly like Old Hamlet, the dead King of Denmark. The ghost of the king is dressed in his battle armour.

Horatio in particular sees the ghost as an ill omen boding violence and turmoil in Denmark's future, comparing it to the supernatural omens that supposedly presaged the assassination of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome (and which Shakespeare had recently represented in Julius Caesar ).

In line 73, how does Horatio interpret the appearance of the Ghost? He saw that the ghost had a fair and warlike form, similar to the form of the dead King Hamlet of Denmark.

The presence of the Ghost early in Hamlet foreshadows death yet to come and begs the question of the fates of each of the title characters in the play. Hamlet's best friend and fellow-student Horatio is skeptical of the Ghost when it first appears; Horatio warns Hamlet not to go with it lest it make him mad.

What is the most important line in Act 1 Scene 5 of Hamlet? ›

In commanding Hamlet to avenge his murder, the ghost warns him: 'Taint not thy mind', foreshadowing the danger of madness (line 92).

Act 5, scene 2 In the hall of the castle, Hamlet tells Horatio how he discovered the king's plot against him and how he turned the tables on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Osric enters to ask, on Claudius's behalf, that Hamlet fence with Laertes. Hamlet agrees to the contest, despite his misgivings.

Murder most foul. Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5. The Ghost of old Hamlet tells his son that he was murdered in the most foul way. May sweep to my revenge.

Hamlet's first line is ''Who's there?''

Act 1, Scene 5

The ghost tells Hamlet that he is, in fact, the ghost of his dead father. And there's more: the ghost claims that Claudius killed him, taking his throne and his wife in the process. He wants Hamlet to kill Claudius in revenge. Shocked, Hamlet agrees and vows to avenge his father's death.

Horatio and Marcellus warn Hamlet not to go with the ghost.

And two, he's already in a relationship with Ophelia and despite him being an a-hole sometimes, the two are still in love with eachother. Furthermore, Horatio is gay and in love with Hamlet but can't pursue any relationship with him, due to the reasons above.

Horatio fears that the ghost might cause Hamlet to kill himself.

The ghost of the king appears before his son, Prince Hamlet, and tells him that his own brother, now his converted stepfather, has killed him, pouring into his ear the contents of an ampoule of henbane (Act I, scene 5).

The ghost is, in this way, at the center of several of the play's themes: appearance versus reality; action and inaction; religion, honor, and revenge; as well as poison, death, and corruption.