(Regained)
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When Hamlet went with Horatio and Marcellus to see the Ghost, and the Ghost beckoned to Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus tried to stop Hamlet from following the Ghost. Hamlet ordered them to unhand him, and said that each little artery in his body was as hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. Hamlet had already described his father as Hercules. Here is the Visconti-Sforza Strength/Fortitude card. It shows Hercules battling the Nemean lion. The lion on this card is rather disappointing, however. It's more the size of a bulldog. The great Nemean lion turns out to be puny here. The artist showed Hercules well enough, but he encountered a problem with the width of the card in depicting the lion. The lion has a suitably fierce expression, at least, I guess. When Hamlet cast the Ghost as Hercules, and himself as the lion, perhaps he did feel puny going up against the Ghost, despite his claim of hardiness. So, perhaps the puny lion is appropriate in that respect. Horatio mentioned the Ghosts's "truncheon," in the Scene where he first told Hamlet about seeing the Ghost. A truncheon is a club, and Hercules is wielding a club in the picture. That detail matches the Ghost being cast as Hercules-Hamlet Sr. Horatio mentioned the Ghost's facial expression as being more sorrowful than angry. Again casting the Ghost as Hercules-Hamlet Sr here, the expression is more one of sorrow than anger, I'd say. |
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