Hamlet #3

     In this reading, the ghost enlightens Hamlet regarding his eerie and looming presence around the castle. We learn that Claudius poisoned King Hamlet while he was asleep in his garden (hence the prior metaphor about the weeds growing in the kingdom). Additionally, it is learned that Claudius seduced Gertrude into lust before the departure of King Hamlet. Because King Hamlet was killed before he could repent, he will remain in purgatory until his sins have been forgiven.
    Hamlet is enraged to hear about the betrayal of Claudius and Gertrude to his beloved father. Before he departs, the ghost asks Hamlet to seek revenge upon Claudius for his murder. Hamlet says that he will remember the plea of the ghost: "Yea, from the table of my memory / I'll wipe away all trivial, fond records [...] all pressures past [...] And thy commandment all alone shall live" (I.v.105-09). The table that Hamlet is referring to is a data table, one filled with information of his childhood and perception of the Kingdom. Hamlet is going to wipe the data clean from his charts and redefine his actions and opinions based on this new knowledge from his supposed father. Later in his soliloquy Hamlet adds, "My tables-meet it is I set it down / That one may smile and smile and be a villain" (I.v.114-15). Here, the table closer resembles a dinner table, and Hamlet is setting the places. Claudius is a deceiving dish that appears delectable and wholesome on the outside, but he is comprised of a corrupted and rotten core. The multiple ways in which Hamlet utilizes the word "table" demonstrate his clever ability, and it shows how one concept can be so heavily layered.