Ghosts in Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy: A Comparison

Introduction

Throughout history, writers have used unusual methods to illustrate points in their work that they want the reader to understand. In two classic works of literature, a ghost is used to provide many of the details essential to each story — details that would otherwise remain unknown. In The Spanish Tragedy and in Hamlet, ghosts provide the foundation for much of each story's action. Without them, many of the events that occur would not make sense to the reader. While both works use a ghost for the purpose of information provision, the ghosts themselves — and the ways in which they are used — have both differences and similarities worth examining.

Thomas Kyd penned The Spanish Tragedy in the 1580s, a time when there was no electricity or technology to speak of, and when innovative storytelling relied heavily on theatrical convention. Perhaps the most innovative method of conveying certain strands of information came by way of ghosts, and the ghost Kyd used worked well within the framework of the story. In The Spanish Tragedy, the author invents a ghost called Andrea. Andrea was slain by Balthazar, and the story is built around this event and its tragedy. This is the first and most obvious difference between the ghost of The Spanish Tragedy and the ghost of Hamlet. In Hamlet, the ghost is a king who did not engage in personal combat but rather ordered his men into battle on his behalf during his lifetime.

In The Spanish Tragedy, the ghost of Andrea remains on stage for almost the entire play. The ghost serves the same purpose that the off-stage chorus of earlier theatrical tradition used to serve. In the days when only one or two actors were allowed on stage at the same time, the chorus provided information and details needed to advance the story from off stage. In The Spanish Tragedy, the ghost of Andrea is present on stage for almost the entire play so that certain needed pieces of information can be provided through occasional comments as the plot advances.

There are several similarities between the two ghosts. One of the most obvious is that each ghost's nemesis is offered the opportunity to wed the ghost's widow or lover. In both Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy, the ghosts were men of stature who led active and powerful lives. When they are killed, the person responsible for their death is then given the chance to marry or court the women these men left behind.

Similarities Between the Two Ghosts

Another similarity between the two ghosts is the idea of a play used to re-enact and portray the death of the ghost. Each of them uses a play to exact revenge, though the plays are used in different manners.

One of the most overlooked yet most significant similarities evidenced in the two works concerns the reason the ghosts are present at all: they want revenge. Each ghost is angry at having been killed by those who should not have killed them, and each wants to find revenge before letting go of this world and moving on to the next, as was believed by society at the time these works were written. That desire for revenge drives the entire story in each case, though it plays out differently for each ghost. The ghost of King Hamlet must endure the knowledge that his widow falls in love with and marries the man who killed him — because she had no idea that Claudius was responsible for her husband's death. The ghost of Andrea, by contrast, is comforted by the knowledge that Bel-Imperia not only knew who murdered the man she loved but also shared in his desire to exact revenge. As the text makes clear:

"But how can love find harbour in my breast, / Till I revenge the death of my beloved?" (1.4.64–65)

Conclusion

The fact that the ghost is present and able to tell the world what happened to the King is what leads the entire story to its conclusion. Without the ghost and his revelations, there would have been no impetus for Hamlet's return home from school, and there would have been no plot. The ghost's words make clear both what happened and who is responsible:

"A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark / Is by a forged process of my death / Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, / The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown." (I.v.35–39)

This passage also illustrates how ideas were expressed during the period — through hints, metaphors, and allusion rather than direct statement. The ghost of King Hamlet uses figurative language to illuminate what happened, while the ghost of Andrea tends toward a more direct manner. Though both ghosts speak during their respective plays, the ghost of Andrea functions more as a theatrical prop than as a main character. The ghost of King Hamlet, by contrast, is a chief engine of the actions Hamlet ultimately takes. His prodding and the guilt he imposes on his son cause Hamlet to make mistakes and to delay.

In The Spanish Tragedy, the ghost of Andrea provides foundational information and exists by permission of Pluto, explicitly for the purpose of revenge. The origins and mechanics of the ghost of King Hamlet are less fully explained within the play itself. Had the ghost of Andrea not been included in the play, many details would have gone unnoticed, but the core storyline would still have been capable of being conveyed. The same cannot be said for Hamlet.

The absence of ghosts in both plays would render them far less compelling. The use of ghost characters in literature was among the most thematically advanced conventions of the time, providing audiences with a "what if" scenario and allowing dramatists to develop themes that would otherwise be inaccessible. It is also worth noting that Hamlet was written during an era when society genuinely believed that evil spirits could appear in the form of deceased loved ones and use family members to carry out their unfinished desires. Ghosts could be benevolent or malevolent, and this cultural belief lent the device an immediate power that modern audiences must make an imaginative effort to appreciate. The revenge tragedy genre, of which both plays are key examples, relied heavily on such supernatural machinery to justify and propel its plots.

The works of these two authors share many similarities. Both revolve around the death of a man who returns as a ghost, and each ghost seeks revenge for his murder. Each uses a play to enact that revenge, though in different ways: one commits murder during the play itself while the other uses the performance to unsettle the new king and expose his guilt. Each play uses ghosts in ways that were dramatically advanced for their era. Without the ghosts, both works would be sadly lacking in substance and plot. The ghosts are not merely devices — they are the very heart of what makes each play what it is.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Barron's Educational Series, 1996.

Kyd, Thomas. The Spanish Tragedy. Theatre Communications Group, 1997.