Critically
examine Shakespeare’s handling of the supernatural in Hamlet.
Ghost or
supernatural plays an important role in the plays written during Renaissance or
Elizabethan age. The Elizabethan age greatly believed in the super natural. The
presentation of ghosts, fairies, witches, portents, omens uncommon happenings,
disturbances in nature was quite and common phenomenon on the Elizabethan
stage. It was a traditionally recognized instrument in the dramatic art. People
liked to see the supernatural elements on the stage and fully enjoyed them.
Shakespeare possibly yielded to the demands of the people and gave them what
they wanted. Shakespeare makes an effective use of these popular superstitions
and beliefs of his time. But unlike his contemporaries, his use of the
supernatural is neither crude nor gross, nor is it extraneous to the action of
he plays.
According to
Moulton, “Supernatural agency has a place in the world of Shakespeare.”
In “hamlet”
the supernatural appears in the form of the ghost. In the first act, five
hundred and fifty lines out of the eight hundred and fifty lines are concerned
with the ghost. Therefore, it may be said that if we remove it, the play falls
to pieces. The ghost in Hamlet has at least a threefold dramatic significance.
It contributes to the general tragic atmosphere of the play, it motivates the
entire action of the play, and it shows up the character and derives home a
certain moral effect.
First, in this play, Shakespeare has
introduced the supernatural element in order to create atmosphere of mystery,
horror and suspense. It diffuses an atmosphere of awe through which tragedy
becomes more impressive. The appearance of the ghost in Hamlet chills our blood
with horror, or to be more correct, with, terror. Horatio does not believe in
ghosts but the appearance “horrors him with fear and wonder.” This introduction
of the dead king in the first scene immediately creates an atmosphere which is
a forewarning that un-natural deeds are either to take place or to be
disclosed. Hamlet himself comes to believe in some calamity or evil about to be
faced when he says:
“My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well,
I doubt some foul
plays.”
