in his head

Hamlet- Shakespeare

Act III, Scene 4: Return of the Ghost. But is it really? Unusual though it seems, the appearance of the ghost in the first act seems to be real. It is seen by multiple people on multiple occasions and all of them confirm his presence with each other, even talking about what the ghost is wearing to make sure they are all seeing the same thing. Furthermore, when Hamlet speaks to the ghost, the ghost gives him a very specific story as to how he died. The claim that Claudius was the murder was later substantiated by Claudius’ confession that he had committed the crime of “a brother’s murder.” Even the method of murder that is described by the ghost gains credibility, but isn't completely proven, in Claudius’s reaction of abruptly standing up and leaving the play when it is revealed that the murderer “poisons him in the garden.” The accuracy of the ghost’s statements and acknowledgment by many of his existence lead to the conclusion that the ghost did really appear.

However, his appearance in Act III is not as definite. For one thing, unlike the ghost’s first few appearances, in Act III, the ghost only appears to Hamlet. The ghost appeared multiple times to people other than Hamlet (Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo, etc.), so it seems unusual that all of a sudden only Hamlet sees and hears him while Queen Gertrude sees nothing and worries that Hamlet truly is crazy. This is not the only difference between the ghost of Act I and the ghost of Act III. Their attitudes toward Hamlet also differ. When the ghost of Act I speaks to Hamlet, he is filled with anger, his sole purpose in appearing being to demand that Hamlet “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” He has no consideration for his own son, telling him he would be a “fat weed” is he didn't do as his father instructed. This harsh personality is completely turned around in Act III when the ghost is described as “piteous.” Given these difference, one begins to wonder if the ghost really appears or if he is merely brought to life by Hamlet’s mind.

If the ghost really is Hamlet’s creation, then Hamlet’s discourse with the ghost would be a conversation between Hamlet and his own subconscious. So what is the purpose of this conversation? Considering the ghost’s main concern, Queen Gertrude, it seems to be Hamlet’s attempt to free his mother from judgment. Throughout the play, Hamlet judges everyone morally, especially his mother. He calls her no more than a “beast” and accuses her of “[killing] a king.” However, if the ghost is Hamlet’s own subconscious, he seems to be battling himself. He’s torn between being the “scourge and minister” that “heaven” has called his to be and being simply Hamlet, son of Gertrude. Unwilling to condemn and hate his mother yet unwilling to abandon his morals, he depends on his father’s ghost’s words, to “taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught” to justify his wish to let his mother go. It is this wish that manifests itself in the form of his father’s ghost in his mind to relieve the stress of his inner struggle. So maybe Hamlet doesn't actually hate as mother as much as he says he does.