The Hamlet Project

Always, this is played as a sort of ghostly disappearance sound.
I hear it as “Remember Meeeeeeeee!”
But reading it here, now, it strikes me as poignant.
As far as any character in the play knows, these are the ghost’s last words.
And said to his son, they have a sort of “No, duh” quality –
In that How could a ghost possibly be forgotten? How could a FATHER be forgotten?
I think this is what we fear most about death, though,
That we will be forgotten. We want someone to keep us in his memory,
At the very least. We want to leave something behind of ourselves.
This ghost has left a great deal. He has a son.
He leaves a kingdom, subjects, a real legacy
A place in history, stories of his heroism.
He likely leaves coins stamped with his image,
His tomb, decorated with his likeness,
His name listed in the history books of Denmark
And all his actions and deeds, recorded
But all he wants, as he leaves, is to not be forgotten.
He entreats his son to remember him.
What exactly he wants him to remember
We can’t know. It could just be the sound of his laugh.