"Supernaturalism pervades Hamlet" Elucidate the idea

Supernaturalism is quite a common phenomenon in the Shakespearean tragedy. It is an ism that cannot be explained with the help of science. In Hamlet, the supernatural acts as a powerful divine force. There are many supernatural incidents  in Hamlet the play. These supernatural events have a special interest and special importance.

The Ghost in Hamlet has at least a three-fold dramatic significance. The Ghost, by introducing an element of mystery and fear, contributes to the general tragic atmosphere of the play. The Ghost motivates the entire action of the play by imposing a task upon Hamlet. The supernatural in the tragedy appears in the form of the Ghost. The Ghost has been seen twice by two officers of the guard, Marcellus and Bernardo.

There is no doubt that all this talk about the Ghost creates an atmosphere of tension and fear, and that the actual appearance of the Ghost on the stage would harrow the audience too 'with fear and wonder'. The atmosphere of the supernatural has effectively been created, and the sensation of astonishment and terror effectively aroused in the readers.

It is when Horatio says that the appearance of the Ghost is a bad omen for the country that Marcellus asks why the manufacture of weapons of war is going on at a feverish speed in the kingdom. The Ghost appears again when Hamlet is having a talk with his mother in her chamber.

Subsequently, Hamlet sees the Ghost of his dead father and learns a shocking secret. The Ghost reveals how Claudius had murdered his brother by pouring poison into his ear when the latter was asleep, and how the murderer had given out that the monarch had died of a serpent's sting. The Ghost now lays a duty upon Hamlet to take revenge upon the murderer of his father.

To sum up, we can say that Hamlet is full of supernatural elements. It is the Ghost which urges Hamlet to avenge the foul murder and which returns later in an endeavour to stir his irresolute soul to action. So supernatural elements are of great importance in the play.