Horatio – Hamlet's dearest friend In Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet there are many characters who can be accused of many sins – but not Horatio. Hamlet rightly compliments Horatio on his nobility and dignity; he is truly a faithful friend. This essay will highlight this ideal friendship as part of a general consideration of Horace. Cumberland Clark in “The Supernatural in Hamlet” describes Horatio's reaction when the prince intends to follow the ghost: Hamlet turns to the spirit, which beckons him to follow him. Horace tries to dissuade the willing prince, since the ghosts were attributed with the vile intention of leading men to their self-destruction (I.4.69-74): And if it tempts you towards the flood, my lord, or towards the terrible peak of the cliff that falls into the sea from its base and there assumes some other horrible form, which could deprive your sovereignty of reason and drag you into madness? . . .Hamlet obeys the Ghost's command to follow him, ignoring the protest of Horatio, who is greatly relieved to find him safe and sound later (101). Who is the historian of the work? None other than Horace. In the first scene Horatio gives a detailed history of what came before concerning King Hamlet: Our last king, whose image has appeared to us even now, was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, then stung by a more emulated pride , dared to fight; in which our brave Hamlet - for so esteemed this part of the world we knew - slew this Fortinbras; who by a sealed pact, well ratified by law and heraldry, lost, with his life, all those lands of his of which he was seized, up to ... half of the paper ...... on: Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1964. p.14-16. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/essayson.htm#demag-ess N. pag.Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprinted from Shakespeare's Women. Np: np, 1981.Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.htmlWest, Rebecca. “A Court and a world infected by the disease of corruption”. Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardò. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957. Wilkie, Brian, and James Hurt. “Shakespeare”. Literature of the Western world. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.