Vision, Perception, and Belief in Act I, scenes i and ii of Hamlet

Just from reading the first scene of the play we can already tell the ghost of Hamlet’s father is going to play a major role in the plot and progression of the play. I think that it is very strange and eerie that the ghost appeared twice in one night and did not speak to Horatio, Bernardo, or Marcellus when it was addressed. This goes to show that ghost may have been waiting but wanted to make it known that he was in fact still upon the Kingdom. The only thing that I can say would affect comprehension and understanding of this play is whether or not one believes in ghost and apparitions themselves. But honestly I don’t think that may alter a person’s opinion of the play when you have all three people who saw the same ghost at the same time in the same place. So it is evident that a person’s or peoples perception of the same thing whether they may be similar or contrast one another are very important in approaching an issue such as the one we see now in the beginning of Hamlet.
I think the timing and arrival of the ghost is also very ironic. The very next day Claudius, the brother of the late King Hamlet and uncle of Hamlet, addresses everyone about his marriage to the late Hamlet’s wife (if that makes sense). The book gives a different opinion as to why the ghost may have come at the time that it did, one being to warn or a war, but I believe that it leans towards a warning of corruption. Its just to weird when Hamlet come into the picture still in a state of mourning when Claudius suggests that hamlet look to him as a father, when In reality he has taken the throne of Hamlets father by force.
Now Hamlet is in a way out of whack at this time and when he is approached by Horatio and the others, but he does not turn a death ear to them when he learns about the possible sight of his father’s ghost. This goes to show that maybe Hamlet does actually believe in apparitions and ghosts, or maybe he is actually so emotionally stricken by the death of his father that he is willing to find out if this is really the ghost of his father and search for answers.