ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -However, the basic nature and intention of the Ghost remain mysterious. The Ghost claims that it is the spirit of Hamlet’s father, and that it currently spends most of its time in purgatory being purified before it can enter heaven, and that it has been released for a short time to deliver its message to Hamlet.

Detailed explanation-2: -Hamlet is quick to believe the Ghost because the spirit’s words confirm his worst fear: Claudius murdered King Hamlet. For the Elizabethan/Jacobean audience who attended the first performances of Hamlet, murder of a king was in itself cause for alarm.

Detailed explanation-3: -A physically impressive specimen in life, he is very pale, bearded, his hair graying, and wears the armor he was wearing at his greatest victory, carrying a truncheon. He is at times suspected of being an evil spirit who has taken on Old Hamlet’s shape to wreak havoc on Denmark.

Detailed explanation-4: -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.