5.167) to this may in actuality be for he himself to heed, playfully ordering the apparition to leave, and remaining blissfully ignorant of reality in his euphoric ecstasy. Had he kept his new-found knowledge to himself, and waited until he could assume the throne legally and naturally, he could have accomplished both of the ghost's primary orders, and without the blood and darkness he brought not remaining quiet. Through his self-centered focus on 'righting the wrong' he brought about directly or indirectly just about every death in the story, and even in his final kill, that of Claudius, he considers not anyone but himself. .
The idea that he should keep his revelations to himself, or at least solely within the circle of himself, Horatio, and Marcellus remains entirely over his head, or at least out of his conscious mind's reach. Even after the accidental murder of Polonius, he sees not a signpost warning him to turn back before more innocent deaths occurs, but a minor setback, a simple inconvenience. But when he finally succeeds in killing Claudius, it is done as more of an after-thought than anything else, even though it was the reason he had sacrificed so much of himself and of others. His internal disintegration complete, he fails to remember even that which has been such an integral part of his existence for the past few months, and recovers only the initial imperative to kill Claudius, with no reason or thought behind the action. It is as if some part of him were removed after the meeting with the Ghost, and its removal cursed him to a soulless, purposeless existence, to which he has miss-attributed the murder of his father as the reason for it. .
Upon the conclusion of the first act, one is met with a powerful, burning question that begs to be answered: Exactly who or what is this ghost? After the initial excitement of his encounter has worn off, even Hamlet is forced to confront the possibility that the ghost may indeed "be a devil.