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Gloria Lloyd
English 300
Professor Lori Newcomb
December 13, 2004

“Remember Me”: Hamlet’s Father Vs. Hamlet’s King

“Murder most foul, as in the best it is,/ But this most foul, strange and unnatural”—

with these words, in Act One, Scene Five of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost

of Hamlet’s father tells Hamlet the secret of his murder, and encourages him to kill

his murderer, the ghost’s own brother, Claudius. Hamlet must choose whether to

honor his king, Claudius, or honor the wishes of his father the ghost, by killing the

new king. In a speech to Parliament in 1610, King James I said, “Kings are justly

called gods for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon

earth” (James 329). Hamlet’s father maintains that he is the rightful king and that

only Hamlet can help him to restore the natural order, intended by God. However,

Hamlet’s situation is extremely complicated—his father was his king, and his father’s

murderer, whom his father wants him to kill in revenge, is his new king. By the end

of the passage and the encounter with his father, Hamlet realizes the complexity of

the decision that he will ponder for the rest of his life—whether he will follow his

father or his king. In her article “The Once and Future Kings: Four Studies of

Kingship in Hamlet,” Sara M. Deats concludes that Hamlet’s ghost is authentic. As

the ghost leaves, Hamlet makes this same decision, choosing to follow his father,

declaring that the ghost’s “commandment all alone shall live/ Within the book and

volume of my brain” (Shakespeare 1.5.102-3).

In 1610, King James I of England and Scotland gave a speech to the English

Parliament, in which he attempted to convince them that the king not only had a
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divine right to rule, but that the monarch had supremacy over all that he ruled,

including any government bodies, such as Parliament, that may try to overrule his

ideas. In trying to convince Parliament to grant his wish to raise taxes, James argued

that “monarchy is the supremest thing on earth” and that kings “are justly called gods

for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth” (James

329). As God rules over His people, so does the king rule over his people. As God

knows what is right and the best for His people, the king also has a duty to protect his

people and do what is best for them– James believes that not only is a king naturally

placed in charge by a higher power, but that the king also must serve his people on the

“grounds of policy and philosophy,” doing what is only in their best interest (329).

Just as the kings’ subjects serve the king, the king must also serve his subjects and do

what is best for them.

When Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to young Hamlet, the ghost evokes the aura

of his kingly demeanor, appearing in full armor, reflecting the glory that he used to

radiate as king over all of Denmark—part of his attempt to convince Hamlet that he is the

rightful king. He begins by associating himself with a kind of righteous war for God,

mentioning his “eternal blazon” (Shakespeare 1.5.21). The Oxford English Dictionary

defines “blazon” as “a shield used in war” or a “record of virtues or excellencies” (OED

1, 2). The ghost displays his shield along with his words, showing Hamlet that he is in

the right, attempting to convince his son to join his side in the battle against Claudius.

The “record” that his armor and “blazon,” or words show, display what a good king the

elder Hamlet was, in battle and in life. The old King Hamlet, dressed as he is in his

soldier’s uniform, is ready for battle— and Denmark is at war with Norway. The reader
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does not know if Claudius is a good soldier, but the palace guards, while watching for his

ghost, reveal that the old King Hamlet was an excellent warrior, who defeated Old

Fortinbras of Norway. In this way, Claudius’ murder of his brother the king even placed

the people of Denmark in danger—“So the whole ear of Denmark/ Is by a forged process

of my death/ Rankly abused” (36-8). The old king “was not only a valiant warrior but

also a just and popular sovereign” (Deats 17). Indeed, the descriptions of the late king

are only positive. Sara Deats holds the elder Hamlet as a “standard of kingship against

which the incumbent and the pretenders to the throne of Denmark may be evaluated”

(Deats 17).

Despite all this evidence in his favor, the ghost of the dead king must still beg his

audience of one to listen to him, which contrasts with the absolute command he once

held over his subjects as king—“List, list, O, list!” (Shakespeare 1.5.22) Hamlet is

his only chance for revenge. The prince must follow his instructions, the ghost says,

if he “didst ever [his] dear father love” (23). Since Hamlet is the “true heir of such a

father,” he knows what he has to do, and immediately says he will do it upon the

mention of murder: “I, with wings as swift/ As meditation or the thoughts of love,/

May sweep to my revenge” (Filmer 284, Shakespeare 29-31). He has only “thoughts

of love” at the idea of murdering his father’s murderer, until he hears who it is-- his

own uncle, and king, Claudius. As soon as old Hamlet died, it seems, he was

replaced on the throne by Claudius. And even in Hamlet’s mind now, Claudius is the

sole king. Killing him would be like killing God, in a way. Hamlet’s initial fervor for

revenge cools when he learns who the perpetrator is—and his reluctance to act

continues for the rest of the play.

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Hamlet must decide what the correct course of action is when the “Pater Patriae” is

murdered (283). What is the next step when the murderer then becomes king? Since

kings are divinely chosen, perhaps God chose the second king over the first. Or is

God upset over the usurpation? These are conflicts that Hamlet has to face after his

confrontation with his father, and none of them are easily addressed or solved. He

must decide between obeying his father, a good and honorable king, viciously

murdered, or his uncle the new king, an “incestuous… adulterate beast” (42). If he

chooses to obey his father, he rebels against the idea that kings are divinely chosen,

and therefore the very idea of kings in and of themselves: if a king is not divinely

selected, the only power they would possess is that bestowed on them by the people,

and kings are not chosen by the people. At the same time, Claudius has become

Hamlet’s father in many ways—he is now his stepfather, and according to the

definitions of the time, would be considered Hamlet’s father and guardian (OED 1.e.),

certainly much more than a ghost, especially considering how Claudius treats him—

in a “paternal, authoritative, or severe manner” (3.d.)

Hamlet finds himself in an impossible situation. His father and true king, Hamlet, has

told him to kill his uncle and usurper. Like Denmark before him, he must choose who

to grant sovereignty to. Do his loyalties lie with his father, his king, or his God? Was

the removal of old Hamlet from the throne an act of God, or “sinful and damnable”?

Should Hamlet wait to see how God wants to deal with the situation? Perhaps, as

Deats theorizes, God wants Hamlet to do His bidding by killing Claudius. The ghost

calls his own death a “foul and most unnatural murder”, implying that his death

violated the natural order of life, the laws of nature and God (Shakespeare 1.5.25) As
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Hamlet exclaims, “O my prophetic soul!/ My uncle?”, his concerns and worries over

the depth of the situation are already surfacing (41). His “prophetic soul” had in

some way sensed the situation, but the true horror of the circumstances are only now

fully revealed. James I told Parliament, “God has power to create, or destroy, make,

or unmake at his pleasure, to give life, or send death, to judge all, and to be judged

nor accountable to none; to raise low things, and to make high things low at his

pleasure, and to God are both soul and body due. And the like power have kings”

(James 329). By appointing himself the divine avenger for his father, Hamlet would

be assuming a king-like or god-like position himself, deciding whether Claudius shall

live or die. Even to discern whether the ghost of his father is divine or a demon is

assuming that he has some sort of superhuman powers, also. For Hamlet, a choice

must be made—whether he places his father at a higher, more divine level of kingship

than he places his uncle, and whether he is also willing to risk assuming this higher

level of kingship to take action.

In her article “The Once and Future Kings: Four Studies of Kingship in Hamlet,”

Sara M. Deats writes of this kingship question, and ponders “the king that was, King

Hamlet; the king that is, King Claudius” and “the king that might have been, Prince

Hamlet,” to decide which king is divinely chosen and which king is best for Denmark.

She explains how Claudius is almost always portrayed in a negative light when compared

to old Hamlet, especially in the scene in which old Hamlet’s ghost encounters Hamlet, in

which the ghost reveals Claudius that Claudius is guilty of “five of the most heinous sins

in the Elizabethan canon—fratricide, regicide, usurpation, adultery and incest” (Deats

18). Indeed, Claudius is often portrayed as a “stage Machiavel,” often shown

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manipulating others to achieve his will (Deats 19). But despite his efforts, Claudius

never rises to the level of success his predecessor, old Hamlet, did. Claudius becomes

“not only a source of disorder, but a source of corruption in the state of Denmark,” his

own evil actions imperceptibly corrupting the entire state. Deats asserts that when

Claudius murdered the king of Denmark, he also killed the whole of Denmark through a

“gradual poisoning of the state” (Deats 20). If he were divinely chosen by God as the

rightful king over old Hamlet, he would have been doing what is best for Denmark all

along, as James I said a good king should, and Claudius demonstrates throughout the play

that he rarely considers Denmark’s needs over his own. James also elaborates in his

speech, “So were he a foolish father that would disinherit or destroy his children without

a cause… And it were an idle head that would in place of physic so poison or

phlebotomize the body as might breed a dangerous distemper or destruction thereof”

(James 330). By killing the elder Hamlet, Claudius had only his own selfish desires in

mind—to rule Denmark and win Gertrude. He actually placed the people of Denmark in

danger by ignoring the divine order of hierarchy. He may hold the position of king, but

he did not earn it by divine right, and does not prove within the play that he deserves the

title over Hamlet’s father.

However, a second question that Hamlet faces is whether the ghost of his dead

father is an actual ghost or a fiend from hell sent to spur him to murder. Deats writes that

“since divine permission alone could release a spirit from purgatory, the ghost’s demands

must be not only a personal call for vengeance but a divine injunction appointing Hamlet

as God’s minister to punish Claudius and to purge Denmark of his polluting influence”
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(20). Because of this, she concludes that Hamlet’s father is the rightful king, both

divinely chosen and the best for Denmark.

James says that “kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon

God’s throne, but even by God himself they are called gods” (James 329). Kings do

God’s bidding on Earth, the same as Hamlet’s father’s ghost wants Hamlet to do. If

Hamlet’s father is divinely sent, Hamlet must follow his commands and kill the usurper

Claudius. However, if Claudius was divinely chosen to kill the king and assume his place

on the throne, Hamlet would be no better than he thinks Claudius himself is. Hamlet’s

ghost evokes and even usurps the role of God by insisting that Hamlet “[r]evenge his foul

and most unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 1.5.25). It is reminiscent of another Old

Testament admonition, to take “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, but Hamlet’s father

insists on an earthly revenge for Claudius, along with the damnation he will eventually

receive (Word 51). Gertrude merits no such treatment—he tells Hamlet to leave her

punishment to God. Hamlet’s father takes matters entirely into his own hands in this

situation, rather than leaving matters to the divine being—unless he is sent from God

himself, as Deats theorizes. The ghost provides more evidence to support his claim to

authenticity. By claiming that his murder was “most foul, strange, and unnatural,” old

Hamlet shows that his death went against the natural order of him who would “sit upon

God’s throne” (Shakespeare 1.5.28). According to the Oxford English Dictionary,

“unnatural” can be defined as “abnormal, monstrous” and “having no natural right or

claim” (OED 1.b., 4). Old Hamlet distinguishes himself from his murderer—Claudius is

the demon from hell, not the ghost. Claudius is “a wretch whose natural gifts were poor/

To those of mine!” (51-2). Unlike himself, wrongfully usurped as the rightful king of
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Denmark, the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius was never divinely blessed, and would

never have been chosen as a better king than old Hamlet. At the conclusion of the

encounter with his father, Hamlet seems to realize that the ghost is divinely inspired,

saying, “thy commandment alone shall live/ Within the book and volume of my brain”

(102-3) By using the word “commandment,” as God did with His Ten Commandments,

Hamlet places his father in the realm of divine being, rather than hellish, and vows to

follow his commands and kill Claudius.

James I made clear in his speech to Parliament that kings have divine powers as

“lieutenants of God” Himself. But in Hamlet’s encounter with his dead father’s

ghost, these issues become more complicated. At first, Hamlet is eager to avenge his

father’s death. But upon learning that he would also become the killer of a king,

Hamlet pulls back from executing a hasty revenge. Hamlet must decide whether his

father or Claudius is God’s choice as king, and therefore, whether kings are divinely

chosen at all, as James I declared in his 1610 speech to Parliament. At the conclusion

of the scene, the ghost convinces Hamlet—for the time being—that he is divinely

inspired and Hamlet decides to carry out the ghost’s—and therefore God’s—will. His

loyalty shifts from Claudius, his new king, to his father, the rightful king.