the ghost of the dead king has returned to haunt the land He says Something is rotten in the state of Denmark So Shakespeare uses this supernatural scene to immediately create mystery and suspense in the play The Ghost Demands Revenge When Hamlet himself meets the ghost the supernatural becomes the turning point of the story The ghost speaks and tells Hamlet he was murdered by his own brother Claudius who has now taken the throne The ghost says The serpent that did sting thy father s life now wears his crown The ghost demands revenge This gives birth to the entire plot of revenge Without the ghost there would be no action no conflict and no tragedy From this moment Hamlet s main purpose in the play becomes to find justice for his father s murder Hamlet s Doubts and Indecision However Hamlet is not a conventional revenge tragedy Instead of quick revenge Shakespeare focuses on the mind of Hamlet The ghost of King Hamlet only begins a long journey of doubt in Hamlet s mind He is confused about whether the ghost is truly his father or an evil spirit trying to mislead him He thinks The spirit that I have seen may be a devil So Shakespeare uses the supernatural element the ghost to focus on Hamlet s mind We understand that Hamlet is full of doubts and indecision He thinks and overthinks but is unable to decide whether to kill his uncle or not He suffers from mental pain Hamlet wonders whether it is better to live and suffer or to die and end all pain He says in his famous soliloquy To be or not to be that is the question This focus on the psychological depth makes Hamlet one of the most human characters Shakespeare ever created Cause of Tragedy The ghost appears one last time when Hamlet is talking to his mother Queen Gertrude in her chamber The ghost reminds Hamlet of his duty to take revenge Hamlet talks to the ghost but Gertrude cannot see it She thinks Hamlet has gone mad Finally the ghost s demand for revenge starts the chain of events that ends in death and destruction Everyone including Hamlet dies Thus the ghost s appearance becomes the seed of tragedy that grows into death and sorrow In conclusion Shakespeare treats the supernatural in Hamlet with great depth and intelligence The ghost is not just a ghostly figure it starts both the action and inaction of the play It controls Hamlet s thoughts as he goes on to take his revenge