Betrayal.It's the only word running through Hamlet's mind throughout the courseof Shakespeare's most famous play. His father,
the king of Denmark, isdead and his mother has already moved on. Hardly two moths after theking's death, she married her
brother-in-law; the very king's brother.Hamlet thinks it a disgrace on his father's honor and is upset with hismother for not mourning longer. However, with the support of his bestfriend Horatio, Hamlet finds a way to deal with his frustrations andgrief. It just so happens that while Horatio was out on watch, he sawthe ghost of his father, the king. It seemed approachable, but onlywilling to speak with Hamlet. Upon hearing the news, Hamlet rejoicesand plans to wait for his father's apparition that night.Once Hamletand his father are reunited, the ghost speaks through hushed tones andwords heavy with metaphor to portray his distress. The first signs ofcontempt the ghost displays comes when he describes his death as not anaccident, but a murder. This is where metaphor comes in to play. Theghost artfully twists the rumor of his death with actual fact andincludes a deserved title for his brother when he says, "the serpentthat did sting thy father's life now wears his crown." Not only do theghost's words contain contemptuous metaphor, but they are dripping withimagery. The mental picture of Claudius the snake wearing his father'scrown was ever present in Hamlet's mind. Through this use of metaphor,he was able to inspire his son to seek
revenge on his brother. In fact,he tells Hamlet that if he isn't inspired to take action, he'll be"duller... than the fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe Wharf."However, Hamlet fully understands the situation and has enough emotionand fervor to partake in his father's quest. After the kingdescribes his murder, he vents off many names for his brother,Claudius. "Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast with witchcraftof his wits, with traitorous gifts..." is just one of the ghost's manyrants. He then describes how his brother seduced the love of his lifewith "shameful lust". This colorful language and imagery moves Hamletand he becomes even more motivated to do something about Claudius. Hethought he had reason enough to hate his new father-in-law. Now he hadsolid proof that everyone in Denmark, including his mother, should havea reason to hate Claudius.As Hamlet listens to his father retellhow he died, he finds himself in a rage that stays with him throughoutthe play. He finds it hard to digest the fact that Claudius poisonedhis brother to death just because he was jealous of him. He wasn't asgraceful, intelligent, or regal enough in comparison to his father'squalities in life. Jealousy must have been a dominating factor inClaudius' decision to kill the King. And, most disturbingly for theking, he left his brother to die even before he could confess his sins.The distress Hamlet hears in his father's voice over this matter isenough to motivate him to seek revenge on Claudius.Through thisscene in which Hamlet and the ghost of his father converse, it isobvious that they share the same feelings about Claudius. However,Hamlet's father does not feel as betrayed by Gertrude, his wife, asHamlet does. He tells Hamlet to "leave her to heaven," so that's justwas he tries to do throughout the play. He decides not to take directaction against her, but instead, on Claudius. In the scenes followingthis act in the play, Hamlet's actions and feelings are dictated by hisfather's words beyond the grave. His instructions are to leave hismother "to heaven" and seek bitter revenge on Claudius, king of allsnakes.