The supernatural in Shakespeare’s ‘hamlet’ : the ghost’s challenge to Elizabethan beliefs in the afterlife

Abstract

This dissertation is an analysis of the Ghost in the Shakespearean play Hamlet. It investigates the Ghost’s nature and origins as well as its importance and contribution to the plot of the play. The first chapter looks into the Elizabethan audience’s reaction towards a figure that seems to be raised from the purifying fires of Purgatory. The Ghost’s language suggests that it is a suffering soul from Purgatory, an unusual detail to add to a play in a time when the majority of the people were Protestant and thus rejected the doctrine of Purgatory. The development of the Protestant Reformation and the rejection of the doctrine of Purgatory in Elizabethan England will be looked into detail. Considering the hidden Catholicism within the play, the second chapter questions the claim asked by some scholars as to whether Shakespeare was a crypto-Catholic, hiding his religious beliefs in a time of persecution and hostility. His works, upbringing and known facts about his life will be analysed and compared with books of those who believed that Shakespeare was a Catholic and those who did not. The third chapter is an in-depth analysis of the language of the Ghost and how he is perceived by the characters within the play. The Ghost’s words and of those who speak about him will be compared to the traditional beliefs of Purgatory. The third chapter will thus bring forth paintings, mediaeval texts, writings of the Catholic Church as well as the Saints concerning Purgatory. This in turn will be contrasted to the traditional revenge plot of Elizabethan plays, including Seneca the Younger’s Agamemnon. The final chapter will examine the Ghost’s function within the play, how its presence affects Hamlet’s psyche and the action of the play. A critique of the revenge tradition and the pagan code of honour that was accepted in Elizabethan times will also be given.