ACT I SCENE V.

A more remote part of the Castle.

Enter Ghost and Hamlet.

HAMLET.
Whither wilt thou lead me? Speak, I’ll go no further. Are you leading me to the truth or to damnation?

GHOST.
Mark me.

HAMLET.
I will.

GHOST.
My hour is almost come,
When I to sulph’rous and tormenting flames Purgatory or Hell proper? The ghost could be lying.  
Must render up myself.

HAMLET.
Alas, poor ghost!

GHOST.
Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.  Satan is pitiless but then so is God when it comes to unrepentant sinners.

HAMLET.
Speak, I am bound to hear.

GHOST.
So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.

HAMLET.
What?

GHOST.
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. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house, Is the ghost lying about who and what he is? The truth or a tactic to keep from telling the truth?
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand on end
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. If I told you about where I’m from, it would terrify you. Why? What’s so terrible about Purgatory or is it Hell the Ghost is describing?
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list! Humans must not know of the afterlife. Similar to when Faustus asked Mephistopheles about heaven but Mephistopheles refused to tell him.
If thou didst ever thy dear father love—

HAMLET.
O God!

GHOST.
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

HAMLET.
Murder!

GHOST.
Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.

HAMLET.
Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love
May sweep to my revenge. Then why is he so reluctant to avenge his father? Doubt of the ghost as is prudent to a boy becoming a man or a prince about to become a king. Like a king he must measure out his actions and not act rashly. Justice as opposed to Vengeance. An eye for an eye of the OldT as opposed to Christian doctrine of turning the other cheek in the NewT and “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.” From the old way of thinking in the Dark Ages to the new way of thinking in the Renaissance, Superstition vs. Reason.

GHOST.
I find thee apt;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear.
’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, Under the veil of sleep, Clytemnestra threw a veil over Agamemnon before she killed him.
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark , Imagery of Eden again, along with the serpent of Eden leading an innocent into sin
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abus’d; but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown. Claudius is like the serpent in Eden…a seducer. Is the ghost really his father, or is it a demon, and by accusing Claudius of being a snake, is he deflecting from his own inherent evilness?

HAMLET.
O my prophetic soul!
Mine uncle!

GHOST.
Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, I’m not a beast; he is. I’m not evil; he is. The ghost doth protest too much.
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,—
O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. Shades of Eve seduced by the serpent, lust. Clytemnestra was supposedly seduced by Aegisthus, too, but I doubt he had to try real hard.
O Hamlet, what a falling off was there, He sounds a little proud of himself, doesn’t he? And pride is a sin, the sin of Lucifer, a devil.
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage; and to decline
Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor Is he bragging that he’s better than Claudius? Hamlet’s father is a better man than Claudius. Is the ghost playing into Hamlet’s own feelings about Claudius, so better to seduce him into committing evil? I.E., A con artist cannot scam an honest man. If Hamlet were a true Christian, he would forgive Claudius and let God judge his sins, not take revenge. At the very least, he would give him the chance to defend himself.
To those of mine. But virtue, as it never will be mov’d, One of the sins the Dane is to be punished for is excessive pride.
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven; The illusion of lust which promises heaven but instead gives you hell.
So lust, though to a radiant angel link’d, Lucifer was the most beautiful of God’s angels but his desire to rule and pride outweighed his love for God
Will sate itself in a celestial bed
And prey on garbage.
But soft! methinks I scent the morning air;
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard, garden with trees, like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, perhaps?
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, henbane (toxic witch herb used in flying ointments and producing hallucinations of flying) or hemlock (Witch poison also used in flying ointments and producing hallucinations,also the official method of execution in ancient Greece, Socrates) or ebony or yew (graveyard tree, also highly toxic bridges the realm of life death and rebirth in witchcraft) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live but the Bible actually says Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live.
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment, whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body;
And with a sudden vigour it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine;
And a most instant tetter bark’d about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust Like a leper
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand,
Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatch’d: He took everything I had when he took my life; it happened in an instant   
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, unabsolved, and didn’t receive the last rites
Unhous’led, disappointed, unanel’d;
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.     Reason why Hamlet refuses to kill Claudius when he finds him praying is that he won’t go directly to Heaven. Why would a father who loved their child, try to tempt them into committing a mortal sin? A true father would attempt to protect their child, but a demon would try to tempt them into doing evil so that Satan could claim their soul.
O horrible! O horrible! most horrible!
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest. Inciting Hamlet to commit mortal sin by claiming he is punishing other sins, sort of like killing someone for Christ
But howsoever thou pursu’st this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught; leave her to heaven, Why does she get a pass? It takes two to tango. She is just as guilty of “incest” as Claudius. She should be punished too. Or is it because she is weak like all women are and therefore unable to resist Claudius? Shouldn’t he also leave Claudius to heaven…if he were a true Christian he would the tenets of Christ and turn the other cheek. If this is true then is Eve not guilty of talking Adam into eating the apple…was she chosen by the serpent because she was younger than Adam and more innocent like a baby being handed a lemon and immediately putting it in it’s mouth? An adult man would know better.
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once! Reference to Clytemnestra’s dream of nursing a viper at her breast?       
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,
And ’gins to pale his uneffectual fire.
Adieu, adieu, adieu. Remember me.

[Exit.]

HAMLET.
O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, I’m dedicated to avenging my father’s murder. So why the delay? Because he seeks justice and doesn’t trust the word of a ghost, which may in fact be a demon trying to lure Hamlet into committing a mortal sin and thus sacrificing his soul. He wants to wait until he has proof of Claudius’ crimes before he acts.
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, Does that include the Bible?
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix’d with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!
My tables. Meet it is I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain!
At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.

[Writing.]

So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;
It is ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me.’
I have sworn’t.

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.
[Within.] My lord, my lord.

MARCELLUS.
[Within.] Lord Hamlet.

HORATIO.
[Within.] Heaven secure him.

HAMLET.
So be it!

MARCELLUS.
[Within.] Illo, ho, ho, my lord!

HAMLET.
Hillo, ho, ho, boy! Come, bird, come.

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

MARCELLUS.
How is’t, my noble lord?

HORATIO.
What news, my lord?

HAMLET.
O, wonderful!    Sarcasm?

HORATIO.
Good my lord, tell it.

HAMLET.
No, you’ll reveal it. You’ll spill your guts the first chance you get.

HORATIO.
Not I, my lord, by heaven.

MARCELLUS.
Nor I, my lord.

HAMLET.
How say you then, would heart of man once think it?—
But you’ll be secret?

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.
Ay, by heaven, my lord.

HAMLET.
There’s ne’er a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he’s an arrant knave.

HORATIO.
There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave
To tell us this. We figured it out for ourselves. Admonition for Hamlet to figure it out for himself and not rely on the ghost?

HAMLET.
Why, right; you are i’ the right;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we shake hands and part:
You, as your business and desire shall point you,—
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is;—and for my own poor part, You go take care of your business, I’ll take care of mine.
Look you, I’ll go pray. Praying for guidance about what the right course of action is?

HORATIO.
These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.

HAMLET.
I’m sorry they offend you, heartily;
Yes faith, heartily.

HORATIO.
There’s no offence, my lord.

HAMLET.
Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, St. Patrick, who rid all of Ireland of snakes, and like him, I will rid Denmark of that snake, Claudius.  Patrick was also said to be the keeper of the gateway to Purgatory
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you. Is the ghost truly honest or is he simply telling Hamlet what he wishes to hear?
For your desire to know what is between us,
O’ermaster’t as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.

HORATIO.
What is’t, my lord? We will.

HAMLET.
Never make known what you have seen tonight. Wishes for his interaction with the ghost to remain a secret, like Mephistopheles and Faustus’ interaction…because he fears what the ghost is or because he fears being condemned by the church because if he is caught consorting with supernatural creatures and he would be condemned by the church and who wants to be tortured and then set on fire for consorting with the Devil

HORATIO and MARCELLUS.
My lord, we will not.

HAMLET.
Nay, but swear’t.

HORATIO.
In faith, my lord, not I.

MARCELLUS.
Nor I, my lord, in faith.

HAMLET.
Upon my sword.

MARCELLUS.
We have sworn, my lord, already.

HAMLET.
Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.

GHOST.
[Cries under the stage.] Swear. Echo of a scene in Faustus where an invisible Mephistopheles speaks offstage, and is it significant that the Ghost’s voice comes from under the earth rather than from above? Under the stage, meaning under the earth, like Hell. Why would a soul in Purgatory be allowed to speak after the cock crows? But maybe a demon could.

HAMLET.
Ha, ha boy, sayst thou so? Art thou there, truepenny?
Come on, you hear this fellow in the cellarage.
Consent to swear. Is Hamlet having a hallucination, and Marcellus and Horatio just playing along with his delusions, and neither of them actually hears the ghost speak? Whichever, because the audience hears the ghost speak, so is that really a question that this is all in Hamlet’s mind? And why does he keep asking them to swear? They swear to keep silent about his interaction with the ghost, how many times in a short period?

HORATIO.
Propose the oath, my lord.

HAMLET.
Never to speak of this that you have seen.
Swear by my sword.

GHOST.
[Beneath.] Swear.

HAMLET.
Hic et ubique? Then we’ll shift our ground.
Come hither, gentlemen,
And lay your hands again upon my sword.
Never to speak of this that you have heard.
Swear by my sword.

GHOST.
[Beneath.] Swear.

HAMLET.
Well said, old mole! Canst work i’ th’earth so fast? A mole is a blind BEAST that lives under ground.
A worthy pioner! Once more remove, good friends.

HORATIO.
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange.

HAMLET.
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, But also Hell, and in Horatio’s understanding
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. But come,
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself,—
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on— In the future I may seem insane but it’s all an act?
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber’d thus, or this head-shake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As ‘Well, we know’, or ‘We could and if we would’,
Or ‘If we list to speak’; or ‘There be and if they might’,
Or such ambiguous giving out, to note
That you know aught of me:—this not to do. Do not speculate about what may have caused me to act crazy and attribute it to the Ghost
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear.

GHOST.
[Beneath.] Swear.

HAMLET.
Rest, rest, perturbed spirit. So, gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you;
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do t’express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together,
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right. Poor, poor me that I have to set this right. Hamlet, in many ways, would have been better off not knowing that Claudius killed his father. Everyone would have been alive in the end, but we wouldn’t have had a play.
Nay, come, let’s go together.

[Exeunt.]