Ghost:]But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul - Hamlet, William Shakespeare In this passage, the ghost speaks to Hamlet. Which definition best fits the word lightest as it is used in the passage? weighing the least palest gentlest brightest

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Derick Wells

6 April, 11:23

Ghost:]But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul - Hamlet, William Shakespeare In this passage, the ghost speaks to Hamlet. Which definition best fits the word lightest as it is used in the passage? weighing the least palest gentlest brightest

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Amy Walsh · Answer 1

gentlest

The use of the word lightest in this passage is to emphasize how horrific the ghost's secrets of his prison house are. When he says the "lightest word Would harrow up thy soul," he's implying that things were so bad that telling even the least scary events in order to be gentle to the listener would still be extremely scary. Some of these choices can be eliminated with some common sense - words don't weigh anything and they are also not a color when coming out of a person's mouth.