The Ghost

[Janine]

I love the Horatio character. Great idea! He definitely foils the erractic behavior of Hamlet at times - the contrast is evident and had to be intentional on Shakespeare's part. I have thought of his role often. Will you start a whole new thread, Virgil?

You might be right. In my huge heavy dictionary, I can only find words like the root word "rutty" -ruttier, ruttiest, ruttish, ruttiness, ruttily
and under this root word "rut" - rutted, rutting.
Maybe L or the author of this book mispelled "ruttier" and spelled it "rutter" - that is the nearest to it. I will check the reference in my other book to see if that is the case.

[msdirector]

You might be right. In my huge heavy dictionary, I can only find words like the root word "rutty" -ruttier, ruttiest, ruttish, ruttiness, ruttily
and under this root word "rut" - rutted, rutting.
Maybe L or the author of this book mispelled "ruttier" and spelled it "rutter" - that is the nearest to it. I will check the reference in my other book to see if that is the case.

The second definition of "Rut" is periodic sexual excitement in certain animals. It is used colloquially to refer to rather brutish sexual relations and to those who enjoy them much like "f*ck" is used. A "rutter" is therefore, one who ruts, or who acts in a brutish or barbaric or unsophistocated or common way. It is not used in a positive way.

I love the Horatio character. Great idea! He definitely foils the erractic behavior of Hamlet at times - the contrast is evident and had to be intentional on Shakespeare's part. I have thought of his role often. Will you start a whole new thread, Virgil?

Oooh... I have some questions about Horatio too... I find him one of the most intriguing characters in Hamlet because we know so little specific about him. There are lots of implications, and a number of things that seem to be not true about him, but we are give very few actual facts of his life. I would love to know just WHO everyone think Horatio is - not his place in Hamlet's life or in the structure of the play, but who Horatio is as a person. Does that need a new thread?

[Magdalene]

Why couldn't Gertrude, the queen, see the ghost? The guards, Horatio and Hamlet saw it. This is puzzling me.

The Queen couldn't see the ghost because she was the only sane person there, Hamlet and the others were all mad.

I'm not sure what i'm doing on here. I am not a technical person, but can write. How do i do that on here? Well, i'll answer myself, i don't know.

How do i post anything on here? Please I NEED a reply. I feel very frustarted. I want to write, but can't write.
Help!! Please help!!!

[msdirector]

I'm not sure what i'm doing on here. I am not a technical person, but can write. How do i do that on here? Well, i'll answer myself, i don't know.

How do i post anything on here? Please I NEED a reply. I feel very frustarted. I want to write, but can't write.
Help!! Please help!!!

Hi Magdalene,

You did post, both this and your post about Gertrude and the Ghost. Just because no one answered you yet doesn't mean that you didn't post. People are busy and sometimes take a while to answer... please be patient. You can see your own posts on the thread that you posted to. Simply refresh your screen - it doesn't refresh itself each time someone posts. You have to keep checking it - or you can set your profile for the forum to send you an email every time someone posts to a thread you are watching.

I'm not sure what you mean by you want to "write". If you mean ask questions and discuss topics, you are as welcome as anyone else to post and join the discussions on this forum. If you mean you want to write your own stories, then I don't think that this is the place to do that.

I'll be happy to respond to your Hamlet post in a separate answer...

[Janine]

Hi Magdalene, Welcome to the forum! I was the same way about a week ago - frustrated. I was not sure how to format anything. I, too, found the forum by accident. If you ask Logos - that is a monitor - she can help you with anything. She steered me the right way. What seems to be your problem? You formatted fine. You write something and then you press the "Go Advanced" and you will see a tool bar and better options on posting your message, such as "Preview Post". After using this button you will see your post as it will appear. At that point you can edit if you want to.....this is very useful. Are you looking for a certain author? At the top of the page are menus and one is "Authors" I am not a tech person either. Maybe go to Main page first to find the authors option. Hope this helps you some. Don't be nervous - everyone on here is so nice and so helpful, too!

[msdirector]

The Queen couldn't see the ghost because she was the only sane person there, Hamlet and the others were all mad.

Hi Magdalene,

I'm curious how you come to this conclusion. You seem to be implying that the Ghost is a figment of the imagination of all who saw him.

Since Hamlet is the only other person in the room when the Ghost appears to him in the closet scene, it is possible to assume that he is mad and that the Ghost's appearance in that scene is simply a product of his own mind.

While I don't believe that Hamlet was mad at all (he specifically states in the text that he will "put on an antic disposition" - that is, pretend to be mad so that he can learn the truth of the Ghost's allegations), it is certainly possible that he has gone over the edge by the time of his confrontation with Gertrude - many people do believe that he was, indeed, mad. If so, that is a possible interpretation.

However, you say "the others were all mad." That assumes that everyone who saw the Ghost was mad. I see no evidence in the text whatsoever to imply that either Horatio, Marcellus or Bernardo were in any way mad. Horatio is the very epitome of the educated, scientific, rational man - in fact, that is why he was asked to be a witness to the Ghost's presence, because he could be trusted to be rational. And Marcellus and Bernardo are a simple officer and soldier of the guard. There is no indication at all of any madness in them. And they all DID see the Ghost.

It seems in your statement that you are also implying that ALL the other characters in the play other than Gertrude are mad. Does this include Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and the other characters in the play as well? If so, do you have any evidence in the text to support this or is it simply a general concept that you have adopted. And if that is the way you see the play, then I'm curious how Gertrude escaped this general madness...

[Janine]

msdirector, hi, - you did your research - good. I was not sure how to answer this distress call. Maybe it was a navigational problem. I am still trying to figure it all out. Takes time. True, I am still waiting for people to answer some of my threads. That takes time, too.

[msdirector]

Hi Janine - not sure what research you are refering to, but if you mean for Hamlet, I've been researching him for years!

If you mean as far as writing on the forum is concerned - I've been writing on forums for ages and I can navigate them pretty much without trouble. But I do know that it can be confusing and frustrating the first few times until you figure out since each forum seems to be a little different.

[Janine]

Arlene, Please forget I said anything. I should have kept out of it. Was just commenting on the posting questions, but it was too obscure.

Hope I gave your some bit of direction Magdaline. I still have trouble finding things on certain pages. It all takes time.

PS:Arlene, left you 2 PM's. Hope you found them. Imagine you have been so busy....understandable. J

[msdirector]

Arlene, Please forget I said anything. I should have kept out of it. Was just commenting on the posting questions, but it was too obscure.

PS:Arlene, left you 2 PM's. Hope you found them. Imagine you have been so busy....understandable. J

No problem, Janine. You had valid points as far as how Magdalene can approach the forum. I just wasn't sure which research you were refering to - forum, Hamlet or "rutter" - that's quite a variety and I've managed to comment on all of them

And yes, I did see your PM's. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you on them yet. I still haven't gotten a chance to look through my CD's to see what I have. You're right - it has been a really busy time for me... but I will get back to you shortly...

[Janine]

Arlene, don't rush. I am busy, too, but sure you must be busier with two concentrations right now. Hey, this forum is addictive, also! I do love it though! Have to go do things in the real world now. Will read your post on the Lawrence word first.

PS: no wonder Magdaline is confused - the post is Ghost and we hopped all around - now to Lawrence. Yes, M, this is still "Ghost in Hamlet" thread!

Now I see what's going on. Arlene, we must be posting the same time. I missed your other posts. Now I have read all of them - the word definition - great - thanks! .....
and the other post to M about the ghost. I have something to add to M. I agree with Arlene and wondered how you came up with the thought that the other people in the play were all mad? I don't think that Hamlet is mad at all, I never did. Distressed, maybe, but never mad.

[Virgil]

I will start a thread on Horatio.


Go Here: http://www.online-literature.com/for...099#post282099

[Janine]

If anyone pops over from "Hamlet's Father" - the discussion can continue on the "Ghost". It sort of came to a standstill a week ago but there are some good points on this thread to read. We started a new thread - "Horatio", if anyone is interested in that. The debate there rages on!

[Hamletta]

Why couldn't Gertrude, the queen, see the ghost? The guards, Horatio and Hamlet saw it. This is puzzling me.

Is it love for King Hamlet that allows the guards, Horatio, and Hamlet to see the ghost?

This is an outdated topic, but I want to see if anyone agrees or has some insight. I'm not a literary folk by any means, and my feelings get hurt easily. Please use care when replying.

My quandry is exactly as stated in the quote above...I'm trying to figure out why only the select characters were chosen to see the ghost of King Hamlet. I read A LOT of the other posts and they were deep!! So deep that my professor would look at me cross-ways and ask me, "Who are you and what did you do with my student?"

P.S. I realize that Hamlet is a revenge tragedy and that it's not about love, but I'm searching for meaning why Ghost is only shown to the select few.

[Friederike]

This note is for Jamesian: Where is your Thoreau quote from? Your help would prevent me from much time devoted to its source. Thanks so much!!