Shakespeare's Definition Of A Ghost

Shakespeare's Definition of a Ghost         The American Heritage Dictionary, published in 1973, defines a ghost as, 'the spirit or shade of a dead person, supposed to haunt living persons or former habitats.' Unfortunately, this simple definition does not explain where a ghost comes from or why it haunts. When used in the context of Shakespeare's Hamlet, this definition seems to suggest that the ghost who visits Hamlet truly is his dead father seeking revenge. To …

…is really the devil, Hamlet has been tragically tricked into relinquishing control of his soul; sadly Hamlet knew better, but his reasoning and intelligence were no match for the devil's guile. Finally, the hallucination view of the ghost presents Hamlet as a tragic character whose obsession with his father's death and his mother's incestuous marriage lead to his downfall. Regardless of the reality or validity of the ghost, Hamlet's death and thus his tragedy, remains.