Alcala 1958

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at fir st bel iev esin the val idit y ofhi s spectr al vis itant. Even the inc ide nta l ref ere nce of the Pr inc eto St. Pat rickmu ch later in thi s scen e 18 has ofte n been link ed to the old leg end of St. Pat rick as the Kee per of Pu rg ato ry . Ye t, as time passes and Hamle t finds himself eith er unable or unwi llin gto tak e ac tio n aga ins tClaudius , the ori gin al dou bt returns as he pon der s: Th e sp iri t tha t I hav e see n May be the de vi l:an d the de vi l ha th pow er T'a ssu me a plea sing sh ap e; yea an d per hap s Ou t of my we akn ess and my mela n­ ch ol y, As he is ve ry pote nt with such spi rits, Ab use sme to damnme. 19 Th e abo ve pas sage sug ge sts a work on dem ono log y by Lava ter, ano the r book wi de ly read by uni ver sityme n in the 17t h cen tur y,but one with a dis tinc tlyPro tes tant po int of vie w. Th is seems to lin ge r wit h Ham let wh en, just bef ore the play -wit hin -the -pla y,he in­ structs Ho rati oin refe ren ceto ke ep ingclo se wa tch on the King: if his occ ult edgui lt Do not itself unk enn elin one spee ch , It is a damn ed ghos t tha t we ha ve see n, An d my imag ina tio ns ar e as foul As Vu lca n's st ith y. 20 Ass ure dlythe one cer tai ntyabo ut Hamle t is hi s unc erta inty . As a phi los oph er he pre sen tsan insoluble en igm a. But hi s ke en , ma ny- sid edmin d wou ld ind ica te tha t, as a un ive rsi ty stud ent, of hi s day or of our s, the met al most attr acti ve wou ld be phil ­ oso ph y. Th ere is yet ano the r sid e to the well- rou nde d studen t—the inte rest s beyond the cur ric ulum.Then, as now , drama ticgro ups were mo st active in the un ive rsi tie s,an d is i ,v, 136. 19I I, ii, 635-640 . 20III, ii, 85-89. 51 i es i ity of s ectral t. tal nce i e i e 18 i r atory. , l t il i g e i t , al s: i t vil: il t r e e; s f es . - ly, pirits, s s m . 19 e sts logy , ly sity y, tly t t t . is l , hin-the-play, - tio ce i g i g: lte lt lf el ch, ed , i ations l n's y. dly i ty l t t inty. l er s ts i a. , -sided m l i te t, i rsity t, , l active - y. r d t- the s riculum. , tic in i rsities, a 1 I, JI, .

man fam iliar with Re gin ald Sco t's Th e Di sco verie of W itc hc ra ft and who, ther e­ for e, cons ide rsa gh ost as the illu sion of a dis eas edmi nd. The ske pti cal Ho ra tio fir st assu res the off ice rs on gua rd tha t the Gho st is but a fan tas y and will no t ap pe ar ; then , over ­ come with fea r at the sig ht of the specte r, he cr ies out: I'll cr os s it thou gh it blas t me. St ay , illusionZ 14 Hamle t, howe ver ,is no t so po siti ve. He acc ept sHo rat io'sac coun t witho ut doub t but later wa ver s bet wee n the Cat holi c doc trin e of pur gat ory an d the then cur ren t Prot est­ ant bel ief in demo no log y. No te the Pr inc e's wo rds as hi s fath er's spi rit fir st appe ar s: Ang els an d min ist er sof gra ce de fen d us! Be thou a sp iri t of he alt h or gobli n da mn' d, Br ing w ith the e ai rs from he av en or bla sts from he ll, Be th y int en tswi ck edor ch ar ita bl e, Th ou com 'st in su ch a qu est ion ab le shap e Th at I wil l spe ak to th e eP It is the Gho st him sel f who aff irm sthe Cat holi c bel ief as, in hi s open ingword s, he seem s to rea ssur eHa ml et: I am th y fath er s sp iri t Do om 'd for a ce rta inte rm to wa lk the ni gh t, And in th e da yco nf in 'dto fast in fires Til l the foul cr im esdo ne in my da ysof na tur e Are bu rn tan d pur g'd aw ay . 16 Fo llow ingthi s cl ear allu sion to purg atory, the Gho st, late r in the sam e sce ne, me ntio ns the last rit es of the Chu rch ,the sac ram ent s of Ho ly Eu cha ris tand ext rem e un cti on . 17 As a spir itretu rned from purga tor y,Hamle t 14 1, i, 127. " I , iv, 39-44. 16 1 ,v, 9-13. 17 1 ,v, 77. verie f it hcraft , - e, i rs i n di ed . tical tio es rs t sy r; , - r, i s gh . e. y, lusion/ 1 l t, r, ive. s tio's a t without t s n lic i e tory t - nology. i e's 's ars: el i isters f d i t f lth lin n'd, i i e or . l , ts e ritable, 'st tio able e t e . 1 ' f s lic i g s, s e let: er's t 'd t in t, y i 'd i l es s f t e t away. 16 l ing t e r allusion atory, , ti ns , ents H l rist e ction.17 it tory, l t I, 15 1, i I, I,