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Hamlet Horatio Quotes

Horatio

Quote 4

HORATIO
Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimprovèd mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes
For food and diet to some enterprise
That hath a stomach in 't; which is no other
(As it doth well appear unto our state)
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands
So by his father lost. And this, I take it,
Is the main motive of our preparations,
The source of this our watch and the chief head
Of this posthaste and rummage in the land.
(1.1.107-119)

Horatio speculates that the Ghost's appearance, in full armor, on the castle battlements is related to Denmark's troubles with Norway. But he's wrong: Old Hamlet's Ghost actually returns to ask his own son to avenge his murder. It seems pretty clear that Shakespeare wants us to pay attention to father-son relationships in this play.