I love a good mystery; I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. And I'm also inerested in folklore, ghost legends etc. So *poof* ghost hunter (not really - I jest). To me, the biggest mystery in Hamlet is who the ghost is. Is it really his father or is it someone else? The entire play kinda rests on this one fact. It just so happens that I started to read a book titled Lore of the Ghost. This gave some really interesting insights into ghosts and I noticed some similarities to the play. So let’s start at the beginning – Why do ghosts haunt the living? According to the book ghosts “returned in England to request masses to be said for their souls [or they could not go to heaven]…because their personal affairs had been left in confusion when they died, legal injustices, revenge [ghost would often take the form of the victim of a murder seeking retribution] …those who had died tragically, especially suicides...” My next bit of discussion focuses on the legend of The Wild Hunt. For those of you that don’t know who or what the The Wild Hunt is, here’s a bit of background. “The Wild Hunt is the generic term for the apparition of a huntsman or group of huntsmen riding black horses and usually accompanied by a pack of phantom hounds”. The myth has its origin in Scandinavia, mainly Norway. It is usually not seen but instead heard from the sky. “Wherever it appeared the Hunt was an ominous sign portending death or disaster…” Because of its Scandinavian roots, the leader of the Hunt often shares the characteristics of the Norse god Odin. Anytime Odin is seen leading the huntsmen it usually preceded war, plague, and “death of all who witnessed the terrifying scene”. The leader of the hunt is generally someone of historical importance and depends on the culture or heritage. For Denmark, the head Huntsmen is thought to be Valdemar Atterdag (he was king of Denmark from 1340-1375 and brought it from the depths of great poverty to even greater prosperity). Much of what is believed about the lore is taken from Norway, Germany and England.
Okay…now for the connections. Looking at all the information here, it can be easy to argue that the ghost is King Hamlet. If we go on the assumption of Claudius killing the King (c’mon…Scar did it in The Lion King – if Disney can do it then why not…which stems another thought: Simba = Hamlet? I digress) then King Hamlet could be a ghost looking for legal justice due to his tragic death by ‘murther’…murder…intentionally killed by someone else, whatever suits you. So there’s one point. Upon his death King Hamlet could have become the leader of The Wild Hunt (though if Buffy the Vampire Slayer literature is correct, the leader must be killed and he who killed him is then the new leader – eh) and is now back to wreck some havoc on his kingdom that has wandered astray. He appears in the beginning and then everyone really starts to go crazy and everything goes to hell. He is “an ominous sign of portending death or disaster” and Hamlet is a tragedy. Point two.
Now for arguments against. The ghost could just as easily be a representation of all the tragedy that is to come; perhaps a leader of The Wild Hunt that has no connection to Denmark. The Norwegian army is waiting to invade the castle/Denmark, and we know this from act 1 scene 1 when the watchmen are discussing the current situation of Denmark. The origin of The Wild Hunt is based on Norwegian folk lore. Point one. The last argument doesn’t have much connection to lore. Sometimes people see things they want to see. Hamlet could desperately be wanting to see his father. So he sees a ghost (but why does everyone else?) and hopes the ghost will give him answers. Point two.
So there you have it. Based on the research I did this could be a debate of epic proportions…or not. Anyway, it was something interesting to think about. I’d love to know what you guys think or if you have any other ethereal connections you’d like to make (I haven’t got that far in the play yet to make any more connections). If you have any questions about ghosts or ghostly traits you find later in the play, I’d be happy to check the book. Or you can just tell me that this was extremely way too long. One last thing to add is that this isn’t the only place you could connect Shakespeare to The Wild Hunt. According to the book I’m reading, “In the Merry Wives of Windsor…Shakespeare has Falstaff impersonate Herne...” Herne the Hunter is one of the leaders of the Wild Hunt in English folklore. In Ireland and Lowland Scotland, The Wild Hunt is called the Fairy Rade. When I read this immediately thought of Oberon and his ‘brood’ that would hunt through the forest.
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I have to first off say that you're argument was very interesting. I enjoyed your explanation of the "wild hunt" and the possible connections that could be made with this idea. However, I have to say the thing that struck me the most intriguing about your information is when explaining the various reasons ghosts returned to England, you listed " they could not go to heaven", and "revenge[ghost would have taken the form of a murder seeking retribution]." These reasons, I think, could both be seen in this play. I think a big theme in Hamlet is confusion and uncertainty, for Shakespeare certainly leaves a lot of loose ends for us to sit and debate upon. I think who this ghost really is and what its true intentions are definitely are things that are left open to debate. When we first meet the ghost, it makes it plain and clear to Hamlet that it did not come from heaven, that it is from hell. Next off, the information that this ghost (or demon?) tells Hamlet ultimately is the news that brings about the destruction of the characters in the play. So... what did this ghost really want to accomplish? Did it really want retribution? Or did it want revenge? And if it did want revenge, was it simply against Claudius, or due to the catastrophic implications this message had in the end,was it against everyone else as well?
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