[Muir analyzes the Ghost in Hamlet in several ways, first by proposing several attitudes an Elizabethan audience may have held regarding its nature. The apparition may have been viewed as an illusion, undone, a spirit come from purgatory with divine permission, or adevil who assumes the form of adead person to lure mortals to their doom. According to the critic, Hamlet tests each of these perspectives during the plays course of events, most notably in his production of "The Mousetrap." Muir also discusses the Ghost's two warnings to Hamlet, namely not to taint his mind and to leave Gertrude "to heaven." In addition, the critic explores Hamlet's reaction to his meeting with the Ghost by studying the nature of the prince's depression and his assumption of an "antic disposition. " For further commentary on the Ghost's.....
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