Hamlet and Guildenstern's belongings and replaced it with a forged copy indicating that his former friends should be killed instead. A foppish courtier, Osric, interrupts the conversation to deliver the fencing challenge to Hamlet. Hamlet, despite Horatio's pleas, accepts it. Hamlet does well at first, leading the match by two hits to none, and Gertrude raises a toast to him using the poisoned glass of wine Claudius had set aside for Hamlet. Claudius tries to stop her, but is too late: she drinks, and Laertes realizes the plot will be revealed. Laertes slashes Hamlet with his poisoned blade. In the ensuing
Ghost (Hamlet) Ghost (Hamlet) The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as "King" Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince. He is loosely based on a legendary Jutish chieftain, named Horwendill, who appears in "Chronicon Lethrense" and in Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum". According to oral tradition, the Ghost was originally played by Shakespeare himself. The Ghost appears three times in the play: in Act I, Scene i; in the continuum of Act I, Scenes iv and