Analysis Of The Empire Of Illusion

trickery, Hamlet’s deception is quite possibly the cruelest out of everyone because it causes the

Polonius played a vital role in Hamlet even though he was not one of the main characters. He continued to reinforce the theme of corruption and displayed the social and ethical collapse of Denmark. His deceitful actions show the reader that he is one of dishonesty and chicanery. In the play, Polonius was portrayed as someone who is a deceiver and pretender that betrays people he is supposed to be devoted to; and who only cares about things that will benefit him. These characteristics of Polonius are seen through his interactions with Ophelia, Hamlet, Laertes, Reynaldo and the King.

Based on Hedge’s iconic statement that “the most essential skill… is artifice”, one can infer that politicians use narrative as a strategy to increase their following. This causes controversy among the audience who may only decide their candidate through a subliminal message therefore empathizing with the candidate rather than voting based on their intellect and opinions. While it may seem as regular propaganda, it is a tool to deceive the viewer. Although it may be a compelling strategy, artifice creates a barrier between the politician and the audience making the politician unable to connect with his followers.

The art of deception is an essential skill, especially in moments such as political debates and commercial promotions. In today's society, artifice is a widely utilized skill to persuade the public. The commercial market connects producers to consumers through propaganda which appeals to consumers through elements such as pathos, ethos, and logos. Utilizing these elements, the audience is immediately drawn into the viewpoint of the deceiver. Politicians tried to appear as ordinary and modest as possible to seem more appealing to their audience. But, it can be a deception. As Chris Hedges said in his Empire of Illusion, a story is the best form of artifice because the “consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.” Often politicians tell stories to create a persona making themselves look more trustworthy.

Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. Polonius sends Reynaldo to to spy on Laertes in France. This causes both characters to be sneaky because they know they are being spied on. Claudius expresses his feelings by saying “Some little time, so by your companies to draw him on to pleasures, and to gather so much as from occasion you may glean”(Act II. Scene ii.14-16). Claudius states this to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because he wants them to spy on Hamlet and gain any information that they can. However, Hamlet sees through the trap and gives them false information to report back to the

“An image-based culture communicates through narratives, pictures, and pseudo-drama” In this quote Chris Hedges describes our pop-culture and how our culture prefers narratives, pictures and pseudo-drama over other means of communication and information. This point shows that the that our culture is based on entertainment through popular demand. Artifice is “clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others.” In the passage from the novel Empire of Illusion by Hedges, The author makes the claim that “Artifice… is the most essential skill.”

One of the ways Hamlet illustrated deception is, how he acted crazy to uncover the truth of his father’s death. Everyone thought he was mad because he would say he loved Ophelia and then he would say he loves no one and would never marry. Hamlet makes it seem as if he knows nothing of the truth but in reality he knows what Claudius did to his father. An example of this is how Hamlet made up a whole play showing how his father died on the hands of his brother. Hamlet made the whole play to figure out if Claudius would react to the Kings death, and then Hamlet would know the truth.

Appearances can be deceiving, and people may use the appearance of normalcy to hide underlying mistruths and misdeeds. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, nothing is as it seems, and deception is a commonly used strategy many of the characters utilize. Some of the characters in the play go to great lengths to speak the truth, while others will stop at nothing to assure their true intentions stay hidden. Many of the characters in Hamlet alter their appearances, or use pretense, throughout the play to deceive and manipulate others. While some deceptions expose hidden truths, other deceptions burry the truth so deeply the characters may never find it. In this play, Hamlet appears to go mad, Claudius appears to have loved his brother

Although some people may enter a life for a short amount of time, they have the power to teach valuable lessons. Despite their brief presence, these people have the ability to help others initiate their ideas or discover their true being. Just as this happens in everyday life, this happened to many characters in the play Hamlet. When Laertes, Polonious’s son, made his appearance towards the end of the novel many people were affected. Laertes’s brief presence in the play is significant because his role in Hamlet sets different plans into action and aids in character development.

As with many plays, actors in Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, are at liberty to alter the portrayal of their characters. Because of this, the significance and subtleties of various characters can be lost in varying adaptations of the play. This holds true for the character Polonius, who is often incorrectly portrayed as a oblivious and foolish yet caring father. Rather, Shakespeare implicitly and explicitly establishes Polonius as a character in full control of his wits. Polonius’ interaction with other characters throughout the play highlights his cunning, wit, and selfishness.

Shakespeare juxtaposes the trust and respect implied in familial relationships with depictions of father figures repeatedly betraying the supposedly inherent trust between them and their sons to demonstrate the pervasiveness of dishonesty and the inherent evil of man. Newly crowned King Claudius claims he professes a “nobility of love” for his nephew Hamlet as a “father bears his son,” but is not faithful to his claim and sends spies after Hamlet (1.2.114,115).A typical, selfish human, he is willing to betray the trust implied in their relationship to stay in power, since Hamlet is the main challenger to the throne. The relationship between Hamlet and Claudius is one of mutual mistrust, since neither can trust the other to be acting in the other’s best interests. From Act I, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be the murderer of his brother, a perpetrator of the greatest betrayal of trust. Usually, family members implicitly trust each other, but Shakespeare demonstrates that the opposite is the grim reality. Deception within the family is so pervasive that it trickles down to the king’s advisor, Polonius, who sends spies to follow his son, Laertes. Polonius instructs a servant to imply to those who might know Laertes in France that he is of dubious moral character, to not hesitate to use “a bait of falsehood” to besmirch his son’s reputation

“Marry, well said, very well said. Look you, sir, Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris, And how, and who, what means, and where they keep What company at what expense; and finding By this encompassment and drift of question That they do know my son, come you more nearer Than your particular demands will touch it. Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him, As thus: “I know his father and his friends, And, in part, him.” Do you mark this, Reynaldo? (A.II.sc.i.ln 6-15).” Polonius wants to know what is Laertes doing and has sent Reynaldo to do his spying for him. We can see how these actions and character traits will continue throughout the play and will lead to his poetic death. Even though his death is an accident, he gets what he deserves because he is where he shouldn’t be: the King and Queen’s chambers. Hamlet thinks he is Claudius and that is why he kills him. When Hamlet finds out that it is, in fact, Polonius he says, “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. (A.III.sc.iv.ln 32-34).” Polonius’ death is the most notable act of poetic justice in the play. Shakespeare uses this character’s death to show the audience how snooping and meddling into other people’s business is morally wrong and you will be punished for it accordingly.

Laertes, a foil to Hamlet in the play, faces similar problems as Hamlet. Laertes learns Hamlet is responsible for the death of his father, Polonius by Claudius. But, in Act III Scene iv, Polonius was hiding behind the arras of the Queen Gertrude’s room and Hamlet killed him accidentally. Claudius took the opportunity to use his manipulative skills and convince Laertes he should kill Hamlet for what he did (Cruttwell). Claudius’ speech to Laertes implies that not acting would show no love for his father, “Not that I think you did not love your father, but that I know love is begun by time, and that I see in passages of proof”(IV. vii. 111-113). Claudius’ tone influences Laertes to immediately seek revenge on

One of the more subtle elements of corruption in the play is the manner in which the court of Denmark functions. It is a game of favors, a constant play, with the director as the King, his subjects the players, and none more prominent than Polonius, the royal advisor. Polonius' two main faults lie in his ingratiating manner and his incessant spying. While he tells his daughter Ophelia that Hamlet is not true in his affections, he explains to the King that he warned Ophelia against Hamlet because the Prince it far above her station in life. Polonius perceives himself to be witty and tries to weasel his way around with actions and words to best fit the situation and above all benefit himself. His inclination to spy on people is obvious for he sends a man to France to find out how his son is behaving, he spies on his daughter while she is with Prince Hamlet, and he hides behind the arras to listen to the confrontation between the Queen and Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also try to win favor with the King, foregoing any friendship they once had with Hamlet, to 'play upon [him] . . . pluck out the heart of [his] mystery,' acting as little more than spies for the King, feigning friendship to obtain Hamlet's secrets (3.2.372-374).

Hamlet uses Polonius’s initial interactions within a domestic setting and the royal court to establish Polonius’s character. When Polonius notarizes Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, Polonius lauds his method with such rhetorical flourishes as “wisdom and of reach” and “with windlasses and assays of bias,” to ensure that his ‘grand’ scheme is not lost on Reynaldo (2.1.61-62). The text chooses to show Polonius strutting such ornate rhetoric to commend himself, even when there is no one to impress beyond his own servant, to illustrate how Polonius is by his very nature pompous. When Polonius subsequently hears Ophelia relay her encounter with a deranged Hamlet, Polonius’s first instinct is to “go see the king,” rather than to comfort Ophelia beyond simply saying he’s sorry (2.1.114). Polonius’s primal instinct to serve his lord reveals a servile disposition baked into his very being. These intrinsic tendencies are hyperbolized through Polonius’s interaction with the royal family. Upon entering the court, Polonius immediately professes to “hold my duty … both to my God