Hamlet's Haunts The Castle of Otranto: Shakespeare's Influence on Walpole

Abstract

Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto" relies on Shakespeare for more than aesthetic freedom for it contains numerous allusions to and echoes of a range of characters and themes from his play Hamlet. Shakespeare represents something more than a patron saint for Walpole, indeed the playwright is the primary spirit haunting Otranto. Hamlet's encounter with the ghost becomes for Walpole a template of terror. Hamlet's experience with the ghost serves to make the reader invoke the feeling of watching the play in self in three separate occasions. This thesis examines how Hamlets haunts "The Castle of Otranto" and show Shakespeare's influence on Walpole for conveying terror to the reader in both psychological and physical dimensions.