"Hamlet" is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is about a prince named Hamlet who father makes a connection with him with intentions on getting revenge on his brother. The late King Hamlet's soul can not rest until his death is squared away; therefore, he appears as a ghost to express his feelings about the revenge his is seeking. The ghost of the Late Hamlet is the driving force of the play and is significant because he is the center of the plot which holds the play together.
"Of all the major characters in "Hamlet," The ghost is important because he set the plot of the play into motion. Throughout the tragedy, the ghost is alternately viewed as an illustration, a portent foreshadowing danger to Denmark, and a spirit returning from the dead." (http://allshakespeare.com/hamlet/36237) If it wasn't for the ghost of his father, Hamlet would not have any ambition to kill his uncle.
David Garrick in Hamlet, I, 4
English: Henry Fuseli - Hamlet and his father's Gh...
American actor Edwin Booth as HamletIn order to spark the conflict in Hamlet's mind, his father speaks of the shameful lust between Hamlet's mother and uncle. "Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wits, with traitorous gifts-O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce!- won of his shameless The will of my most seeming- virtuous queen" (Responding to Literature 266) When the ghost expressed his feelings about his wife and brother, Hamlet begins his journey to revenge.
"At Horatio's reply that the Ghost looked more in sorrow that in anger, Hamlet drops his hands, and clasps them at his girdle, and his eyes lose something of their Sheila energy(Pail or red)" ( The hamlet of Edwin Booth 134) Hamlet's realization of his father's presence was very significant to the play. If he had not done so, he would not have taken the revenge...