Hamlet
Scene #3 · Act I, Scene 5
The Ghost reveals that he is Hamlet's father's spirit, doomed to walk at night and suffer in purgatorial fires. He discloses that Claudius murdered him by pouring poison (hebenon) into his ear while he slept in the orchard, killing him instantly and robbing him of life, crown, and queen simultaneously. The Ghost commands Hamlet to revenge this 'foul and most unnatural murder' but warns him not to taint his mind or take action against his mother, leaving her punishment to heaven. After the Ghost departs with 'Remember me,' Hamlet vows to wipe all other concerns from his memory and dedicate himself entirely to this commandment, writing down his oath and calling Claudius a 'smiling damned villain.'
This revelation establishes the central conflict and moral dilemma that drives the entire play: Hamlet must avenge his father's murder while navigating the spiritual, psychological, and practical complexities of such an act. The Ghost's dual command—to seek revenge but avoid corrupting his own soul or harming Gertrude—creates the impossible tension that will paralyze Hamlet throughout the tragedy. The murder method itself, poison poured in the ear, becomes a metaphor for the corruption and deception that permeates Denmark, where appearances (Claudius's smile) mask murderous reality.
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown.
Act I, Scene 5
I am thy father’s spirit, / Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night, / And for the day confin’d to fast in fires, / Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature / Are burnt and purg’d away.
Act I, Scene 5
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught; leave her to heaven, / And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, / To prick and sting her.
Act I, Scene 5
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
Act I, Scene 5
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole / With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, / And in the porches of my ears did pour / The leperous distilment,
Act I, Scene 5