Comparing Hamlet And Forgetfulness In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Comparing Hamlet to Forgetfulness In Act One of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses allusion to compare Hamlet to the weed growing on the shore of the river Lethe. During the play, the ghost is speaking to Hamlet and wants to explain the cause of his death when he says, “I find thee apt, / And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed / That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf, / Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear.” (1.5. 31-34). In this passage, the ghost of Hamlet is alluding to Lethe, which in Greek mythology is the river of forgetfulness in Hades. (EBSCOhost, 1). It is believed that the deceased who drank from the river would forget their past experiences on earth. (Britannica, 1). The river Lethe has since been used to allude to forgetfulness. The ghost of Hamlet Senior is trying to say that Hamlet would have to be as dull as a weed on the shores of Lethe not to be hysterical as he is telling him that he is seeing his own father, and that his uncle is the person that killed him. The weeds that grow on the banks of the river symbolize the newly dead ingesting the water when entering the underworld. Once the water is ingested, the person forgets all, such as the feeling …show more content…
Thus, when the ghost mentions that Hamlet would have to be as dull as the weed growing on the shores of Lethe, the audience begins suspects that Hamlet would have to be really careless, forgetful and apathetic to not feel anything when given