5. Discuss the different views taken of the ghost by Marcellus, Horatio, Hamlet.

Explain which is
revealed by the play to be most valid.
Answer: Before the ghost appears, Horatio, as an educated skeptic, sees it as a fantasy or
hallucination of the guards. Barnardo suggests that it is a good omenthe late kings spirit is
protecting Denmark, which must arm again for war. Horatio, on the contrary, draws precedents
from Roman history to show that it is an omen of evil. Both Marcellus and Horatio fear that it
may be an evil spirit intending to damn or destroy Hamlet. Hamlet himself seems to toy with this
idea at times; however, he accepts the ghosts story, at first cautiously and then unquestioningly
after the Play Scene. At the same time, though, he disregards its instructions, provoking its
appearance in his mothers room, which appears to calm him and help him accept his destiny. By
the end of the play, there is no question that the ghost was speaking the truth. Whether its advice
was good and heaven-sent, however, is unclear, considering the death and destruction to which
its desire for revenge has led.