Both Uses of
apparition
in
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy, And will not let belief take hold of him Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us: Therefore I have entreated him along With us to watch the minutes of this night; That, if again this apparition come He may approve our eyes and speak to it.†
Scene 1.1apparition = a ghostlike figure or its appearance
- This to me In dreadful secrecy impart they did; And I with them the third night kept the watch: Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time, Form of the thing, each word made true and good, The apparition comes: I knew your father; These hands are not more like.†
Scene 1.2 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(apparition as in: a headless apparition) a ghostlike figure or its appearance
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) More rarely, apparition can refer to any strange, other-worldly, thing or its appearance. Even more rarely, apparition can by a synonym for appearance. The Harry Potter series uses the word both ways.