He is a scholar and so probably can speak Latin, although it is Hamlet who actually says a line in Latin ("Hic et ubique")
He is a student. "Horatio, thou art a scholar. Speak to it!"
He tells Horatio to "draw his breath in pain," to tell Hamlet's story.
Horatio, a character from Shakespeare's "Hamlet," survives the events of the play. At the end, he is left to tell Hamlet's story after the tragic deaths of the royal family and the fall of Denmark's court. In his final moments, he is urged by Hamlet to live and speak of the truth, ensuring that the tale of corruption and revenge is known. Horatio's survival serves as a testament to the enduring nature of truth amidst chaos.
"Never to speak of this that you have heard", by which he means the appearance of the ghost, although Horatio heard nothing from the ghost's lips. Also, "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself . . .that you, at such times seeing me, never shall . . . note that you know aught of me." Horatio and Marcellus are not to suggest even that they have an idea why Hamlet is doing what he is doing.
At the end of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," Horatio promises to tell Hamlet's story and ensure that the truth of the events leading to the prince's tragic demise is known. This commitment reflects his loyalty to Hamlet and the desire to honor his friend's memory by revealing the corruption and betrayal that plagued the Danish court. By promising to speak, Horatio also takes on the role of a witness to the tragic consequences of ambition and revenge, emphasizing the importance of memory and narrative in understanding the past.
He is a student. "Horatio, thou art a scholar. Speak to it!"
Horatio
Marcellus thinks that Horatio may know how to speak to a ghost because he is a University Man. I guess Marcellus assumes that's the kind of thing you learn at a University.
He tells Horatio to "draw his breath in pain," to tell Hamlet's story.
Horatio was brought to Elsinore by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, who appeared to him and two of his fellow soldiers while they were on watch. Horatio was called by the ghost to tell Prince Hamlet that the ghost was his father and that he had been murdered by his brother, Claudius. Horatio was then tasked with convincing Hamlet that the ghost was telling the truth. Once Horatio had told the prince what the ghost had said, he suggested that Hamlet should act as if he were insane in order to ensure his safety and to help him uncover the truth of his father's death. Horatio also advised Hamlet to feign madness and use it to his advantage to find out the truth about his father's death. He also suggested that Hamlet should not act too hastily as he could be putting himself in danger if he made the wrong choices.
Yes the ghost only speaks to Hamlet. The others can see him but cannot hear him. When the ghost visits Hamlet in his mother's closet, his mother can neither see nor hear him.
"Never to speak of this that you have heard", by which he means the appearance of the ghost, although Horatio heard nothing from the ghost's lips. Also, "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself . . .that you, at such times seeing me, never shall . . . note that you know aught of me." Horatio and Marcellus are not to suggest even that they have an idea why Hamlet is doing what he is doing.
Hamlet is under a lot of pressure to hide his emotions and put on an act for people. Ophelia pushes his buttons in such a way that he explodes and all of that emotion is set loose, causing him to speak to her in a vulgar manner. This scene was put in the play to show how well Hamlet can hide his true feelings, but also illustrate that it is a matter of time until he snaps.
Marcellus and Barnardo assume that Horatio, being an educated man, will have studied Speaking to Ghosts 101 at Wittenberg University and will know how to talk to it.
They have no reason to speak Yiddish. It is or was the main language of most Ashkenazi Jews and is largely based on archaic German.
There is no 'narrator of the play". In some plays we see actors doing the actions while a narrator tells us what is going on. Our Town, for example, or anything written for Grade Two students. Hamlet is not that kind of play. Hamlet does have a special friend in Horatio, in who he confides, which makes him a confidant (unless he is being played as a woman, in which case she would be a confidante) and who he asks, as he dies, to "tell my story". Horatio asks Fortinbras to "let me speak to the yet unknowing world how these things came about" and Fortinbras says "Let us haste to hear it", but the play ends before Horatio narrates anything, mostly because we have seen everything which has happened and it would be boring to hear it all again. (That didn't stop Shakespeare in plays like Cymbeline or Twelfth Night, however.)
Hamlet - questioning the meaning of life