Hamlet - Act I, Scene V

Act I, scene V wraps up the first act with Hamlet discovering the truth of his father's death via his father's ghost! This is one of the most surreal events in Hamlet. The ghost raises a lot of new information. The most important being that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle with the use of ear poison.

I notice there is a lot of reference to the Judea-Christian God, and the Catholic religion. The ghost tells Hamlet he is:

"Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night
And for the day confin'd to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purg'd away.."

Since Old Hamlet died without receiving the sacrament of confession to forgive him of all his sins, he is serving a term in purgatory for his sins while God decides whether he will go to heaven or hell. I found it interesting that the ghost requests that Hamlet avenges his death by killing Claudius, but requests that Gertrude be left to suffer with her conscience.

"If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her."

I believe that this would torture Hamlet. While Claudius is the main concern of Hamlet, he still remains very angry toward his mother for her actions and failure to appreciate his father's death. I know personally I feel that Gertrude has allowed the rape of Old Hamlet's dignity and legacy, and she should face some form of punishment for it. Although, living with this knowledge in the back of your head may turn out to be the ultimate punishment depending on your personality.

The ghost then disappears and Marcellus and Horatio enter the scene. The scene and act closes with Hamlet deciding on his course of action: he will put on an "antic disposition" in hopes to get others to reveal information he wouldn't have otherwise obtained regarding his father's pre-mature death.

- Tyler Scott