FREE ESSAY ON THE GHOSTS OF HAMLET AND MACBETH

THE GHOSTS OF HAMLET AND MACBETH

Shakespeare's Ghosts 1
Running Head: SHAKESPEARE'S GHOSTS
Shakespeare's Ghosts:
The Ghosts of Hamlet and MacBeth
Mrs. Margaret Guy
Parklane Academy
Shakespeare's Ghosts 9 
References
World Wide Web (1999) http://www.members.tripod.com/~spgraphics/index.html
Encarta (1998) CD-ROM Encyclopedia
Groliers (1997) CD-ROM Encyclopedia
Shakespeare's Ghosts 2
Shakespeare's Ghosts:
The Ghosts of Hamlet and MacBeth
Shakespeare used ghosts in his plays to add flavor to them. He especially emphasized on
the super naturals in the plays Hamlet and MacBeth. The ghosts in these plays were used
to build up the structure of the plot. 
In Hamlet the ghost is King Hamlet, Hamlet's murdered father. The ghost appears four
times throughout the play and is seen by many characters. Hamlet is the most influenced
by the ghost, because it is his father and he is telling him to avenge his murderer. This
influence by the ghost keeps the play going by becoming Hamlet's driving force to
vindicate his father's murderer. The ghost infuriates Hamlet's anger of his father's
murderer by telling him who it is. The murderer is Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and new
stepfather. The ghost also tells Hamlet of how the murder was done. The ghost tells
Hamlet to speak to his mother, but in this he tells Hamlet to be gentle and not to make
any judgments because that is God's job.
In MacBeth, Shakespeare used several super natural occurrences, for example a floating
dagger, witches, prophetic apparitions, and Banquo's ghost. These are a few examples to
show the importance of super naturals in Shakespeare's plays. In MacBeth the ghost is
Banquo. Banquo was a general in MacBeth's army. The two see three witches who tell them
of there future. MacBeth's future consist of becoming a king, but having no heirs to the
throne. Banquo will not be king, but one of his descendants will be. MacBeth gets scared
that Banquo's sons will be kings. He hires murderers to kill Banquo and his sons. The 
Shakespeare's Ghosts 3
murderers kill Banquo, but his son manages to escape. While the murders are taking place
MacBeth is hosting a banquet for Banquo. During the banquet Banquo's ghost comes into the
party and sits by MacBeth and says nothing. MacBeth sees this ghost and completely losses
it. MacBeth cannot take the ghost's presence any longer and yells for him to leave. none
of the other guests see the ghost, therefore leading them to believe that MacBeth has
gone insane in the membrane. 
The differences in the ghosts in MacBeth and Hamlet differ greatly, as do the actions and
reactions in which they cause. In Hamlet the ghost appears a few times and is seen by
many people, it also makes requests for things to be done. In MacBeth the ghost is only
seen by MacBeth and is never heard, it is there merely for intimidation. The reactions
caused by the sight of the ghost differ. In Hamlet the ghost appears in full body armor
dressed for battle and puts thought into young Hamlet's head. His first thought is that
the ghost is sent by an evil force, but soon disregards that idea. Hamlet then proceeds
to carry out the ghosts request. King Hamlet's ghost does not cause Hamlet to go insane
as does Banquo's ghost did to MacBeth. 
The resemblances of the two ghost were mainly that both of the people represented by the
ghosts had been wrongfully murdered. They both mainly influenced the main character of
the play, kept the plot inline, and gave insight to the character. 
In conclusion, the ghost in each play were one of the most important characters. The play
would not have been as clear without there insight. Therefore, one should always listen
to ghost, because they provide useful information.