And now it’s time for questions about Danish architecture – or rather questions about English architecture with a Danish lens. I think of a portal as being:
First: a submarine or cruise ship sort of window
Second: an inter-dimensional space/time travel door
But this portal is obviously neither of those. Unless it’s sort of the 2nd.
I assume it’s a window – or a gap in a wall – but it’s a very specific word to use –
Not one of Shakespeare’s regularly used window/door references.
It’s not even a casement.
There is only one other use of portal in all of the plays – so I feel like it’s a little bit unique. It’s not just a regular door. I think it MAY be that Shakespeare’s suggesting that the Ghost has made a rather metaphysical exit here. (The portal In Venus and Adonis has a similar flavor.) It could be that he’s floating out a window or a special Danish castle door or somewhere that’s just a bit more specialized than just a bit more specialized than just turning a handle and walking out.
The Hamlet Project 