Ghostly Manifestations

Earlier on my blog I discussed the nature of the dead king's ghost. I would like to return to that, but compare it to the portrayal of the ghost inThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

As a quick recap the ghost in Hamlet first appears to the night guard of the castle. Since other people see him we assume the ghost is real (but also begin to question that later). We are told that the ghost is "In the same figure like the King that's dead.". But that is all we know, and so a director really has a lot of room to play with what to do with the ghost.




However in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the portrayal is very set in stone, and I believe to be quite elegant in the way David Wrobleski decided to portray him.

And for a second time that night something moved in front of the double doors. It took a moment to makde sense of it. A change in the falling of the rain. Something about the way it fell....He squeezed his eyes shut....When he opened his eyes again, the way to see them all together had clicked into place.
Instead of raindrops he saw a man.

That's right the ghost is made of rain. Not only this but Gar only appears to Edgar. Trudy never sees her husband's form. However the dogs do and they obey the signed commands the figure gives them to prove his reality.

I just think this whole new way of portrayal is so effective and it adds to the story because whenever it rains Edgar goes rushing outside to try to see his father's form. It also adds the element of trying to discern if the ghost is real or just something Edgar has concocted to get through tragedy.

Personally, I believe the ghost is there.

Spectral Encounters

Why does Hamlet alone see the Ghost in Act Three and not Gertrude who is in the same room? I've been thinking about this since class and I have another idea. Perhaps the Ghost appears in Act Three not as an actual spirit, but as a projection of Hamlet's conscience.

Ever since Hamlet discovered the cause of the late Hamlet's death, and came to acquire the charge for revenge from the ghost, he has been conflicted. He wants to kill Claudius but when the opportune moment presents itself he refrains from doing so. This had to make him feel guilty, and once again like coward hiding behind his words. So in order to get rid of some of this guilt he begins to berate Gertrude in her chambers. But Hamlet is not an evil character, he is a young man who is in turmoil over what life has handed him. When he realizes the effect his sharp words are having on his mother, indeed cutting her to the core, I think he begins to feel guilty. But since he is so passionate he can't just apologize. So his conscience brings forth an excuse to restrain himself, something that had morally led him before, the ghost of his departed father. The ghost tells him that

This visitation
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.
But look, amazement on thy mother sits.
O, step between her and her fighting soul

By projecting the ghost from his mind, Hamlet finds a reason to reel back his attack without once again appearing to be a coward. Since the ghost is in fact in his head this time, Gertrude is unable to see it.

Again this is just another thought that I had. There are of course also the possibilities that the Ghost chooses to appear to certain people, Gertrude's feelings of guilt prevent her from seeing the Ghost and of course, the idea that Hamlet has finally completely snapped and is simply hallucinating for no apparent reason.

We will never know why, unless of course Shakespeare's ghost is kind enough to appear and tell us...