The So-Called "Ghost" In Hamlet

      Upon reading even more Hamlet, I have come to the conclusion that maybe the ghost of the dead King is not actually there.  This may sound strange since we have not discussed it all that much in class, however after reading the closet scene between Hamlet and Gertrude, it is something I believe in.

      When a son’s father dies, the son immediately wants to place the blame on someone.  This is a coping mechanism used by most people.  Often in life do people need to know who to place the blame on in order to have someone to focus their anger and aggression at.  In an effort to place the blame on someone, I believe Hamlet subconsciously knew there was no true evidence against Claudius.  However, Hamlet had to have something to prove to himself that Claudius is the perpetrator.  In an effort to convince himself, he conjured up a ghost in his mind.  Yes, this sounds like a stretch, but then again does a ghost ordering his son to murder the new king sound plausible? I did not think so either.

      Yes, Barnardo and Horatio were there to show Hamlet the ghost, but maybe they were playing along with Hamlet’s grief.  After all, they have been claimed to flatter and suck-up to the King, so why not the prince, too?  They tell Hamlet that the have “found” the “ghost” of the king in order to play on Hamlet’s heartstrings and possible even to mess with Hamlet since they are his friends, too.

      Then it comes to Gertrude and the conversation she has with Hamlet in the closet.  When Hamlet sees the ghost, he begins to talk to it, however Gertrude sees nothing there which furthers her belief that Hamlet is insane.  But Hamlet is not actually insane, he is just mourning and this is the way his brain is coping.  A mother does not need to flatter or play with her son’s mind; she is meant to be in his life to tell him the cold hard facts.  So, when Hamlet begins to speak to something that is apparently not there, she speaks up.  Barnardo and Horatio might have not done this for the sole purpose of staying on Hamlet’s good side and continuing to be flatterers.  Gertrude states that there is no one in the room and she does not know who Hamlet is speaking to, but the idea of a ghost that has come for revenge on its murderer is too far engrained in Hamlet’s mind to believe that it was all fake now.  If he realized that this whole idea of his father’s ghost was not real, then this part of his life would essentially be ruined; Hamlet would merely be the insane man that was sent of to England.  It is inconceivable to think that something fake could go this far, so Hamlet continues on subconsciously knowing that his ruined reputation, ruined love life and ruined relationship with his mother were all for nothing.