Ghost of Hamlet's father

King Hamlet is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, also known as The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He should not be confused with his son, Prince Hamlet, who is the central figure of the play. In the dramatis personae, King Hamlet is referred to as the "Ghost of Hamlet's father", and is listed at the very bottom of the hierarchy, even after the women and minor characters, presumably because he is dead. The stage directions... more

King Hamlet is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, also known as The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He should not be confused with his son, Prince Hamlet, who is the central figure of the play. In the dramatis personae, King Hamlet is referred to as the "Ghost of Hamlet's father", and is listed at the very bottom of the hierarchy, even after the women and minor characters, presumably because he is dead. The stage directions identify him simply as "Ghost." He is loosely based on a legendary Jutish chieftain, named Horwendill, who appears in Chronicon Lethrense and in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. King Hamlet appears as a Ghost three times in the play: in Act 1 Scene 1&4, Act 1 Scene 5, and Act 3 Scene 4. Each time, he strikes terror in the hearts of the others in the scene. The ghost arrives at 1:00 o'clock a.m. in at least two of the scenes, and in the other scene all that is known is that it is night. He appears first to a trio of soldiers—Barnardo,... less