1994 Essay Prompt

Prathit Kadam

Mr. George

AP English Composition and Literature

11 April 2013

1994 Essay Prompt

            The brief appearance of characters signifies an important presence in some works of literature. In relation to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Ghost is a textbook example of a character that barely appears in the text yet holds a firm, significant position. The Ghost’s short-lived appearance in Hamlet provides an external influence to Hamlet’s antic disposition throughout the text.

            The Ghost’s brief appearance within the text is deliberately placed in order to alleviate the theme of madness. At first, the Ghost notifies Hamlet about Claudius murdering Hamlet’s father for the throne of Denmark. By doing so, the Ghost influences Hamlet to conflict with his own thoughts. This cognitive dissonance that Hamlet experiences directly relates to the Ghost’s sudden appearance in the beginning of the text.  The disharmony between subjectivity and reality is one of the few influences the Ghost imposes on Hamlet’s interpretation of madness. Hamlet is unable to distinguish the Ghost’s presence as either real or subjective. By unable to distinguish the Ghost’s influence, Hamlet resorts to an antic disposition that convinces other characters, like Polonius and Claudius, that Hamlet’s madness is internally driven. However, Hamlet’s antic disposition creates a feigned madness; he convinces others that his madness is internally driven where in reality, it is actually externally motivated.

            The theme of madness is one of the few dominant themes within the text. The Ghost’s short-lived appearance in the beginning of the text provokes Hamlet to over-think the rationality of the Ghost’s deliverance. Prior to encountering the Ghost, Hamlet is retracted into a solemn state where he mourns about his father’s death. Once he realizes the legitimacy of the Ghost’s words, Hamlet is thrust into a position where he is unable to balance rationality versus irrationality and logic versus excessive emotion. Since one of the few predominant themes deals with madness, the appearance of the Ghost initiates this whole whirlpool of madness and confusion that floats in the text.  Although the Ghost does not appear as much as the other characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, his brief appearance yields significance. The Ghost’s appearance, in a way, jumpstarts the theme of madness by forcing Hamlet into an antic disposition where he convinces others that he is internally mad. By doing this, the Ghost is able to extenuate a great influence over Hamlet based on such a short-lived appearance.