ms before Claudius finally does; and Denmark itself will be put in the hands of the reckless young marauder whose hostile approach the sentries anticipated at the beginning of the play. (John Hunt, pp. 35) The source of all these problems is the Ghost. Therefore, the Ghost is evil because it has caused the demise and tribulations of all these characters. The spirits original intention was this and has fulfilled his private revenge through Hamlet. The second way to determine if a Ghost is evil is good spirits associate with light; evil with darkness. When the Ghost appeared to Hamlet, the environment in the play was dark. The darkness is not only associated with the environment but also to the Ghosts words about scripture. But that is what we are warned the Devil will do: in order to disguise himself as an angel of light, he will clothe his naked villany with a piece of scripture. Catholics and Protestants both agreed that the mere repetition of Christian doctrine proved nothing. Both warned that we must be alert to the speakers ultimate purpose. (E. Prosser, pp. 137) The Ghost said Leave her to heaven.(I,v, 93) By using scripture words, the spirit may be trying to disguise himself to get Hamlet to perform his evil deed. If the Ghost was good, it will not use any words from the scripture to convince Hamlet to kill Claudius. To fool men, a spirit will often return in the guise of ones parents. The spirit uses the body of Hamlets father to carry its purpose. It is hiding its villainy behind the great King Hamlet to convince him to kill Claudius. The third way to determine the state of the Ghost is evil spirits command that which is counter to the church. In the Renaissance revenge was forbidden as belonging to God The private revenge, which the Ghost had planned, directly counters the church. He saw vengeance and punishment as an imprisonment of the will in concentrating on the past in an effort to undo what could not be undone. ...
