Hamlet Justification Of Deceit

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

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s many tragedies. Common themes in these works by Shakespeare are murder and deceit. Hamlet is full of each. The protagonist of the play, Prince Hamlet, is a young man whose father was murdered two months before the beginning of the story. Early on in the play Hamlet is approached by the ghost of his father. He explains to Hamlet that his brother, Claudius, murdered him. Before he returns to purgatory, he asks that Hamlet take revenge on Claudius, who, since the murder has taken the Crown of Denmark and taken Hamlet’s mother as a wife. Hamlet then makes a vow that he will avenge his father, but as the play progresses Hamlet passes up multiple opportunities to kill Claudius. This begs the question, Why does

To learn the truth of Hamlet's actions, Claudius entreats upon Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (two of Hamlet's oldest friends) to investigate the situation: "Some little time; so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasions you may glean, Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus That, opened, lies within our remedy." (II:2, ll 14-18) Claudius, at this early point in the play, is slightly nervous of Hamlet's state of mind. Although Hamlet has not yet done or said anything that distinctly proves that he knows of Claudius' wrongdoing, Claudius is still suspicious. Ironically, he is worried about being deceived by Hamlet, so he sends two of his friends to spy him to learn what is bothering him. Laertes expresses a further example of the fear of deceit in his conversation to Ophelia regarding Hamlet: "His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own; For he himself is subject to his birth. He may not, as unvalued persons do, Carve for himself, for on his choice depends The safety and health of his whole state," (I:3, ll 17-21) Laertes fears that Hamlet is not sincere in his love for Ophelia. He tells her that since he is of royal blood, he is not free to choose his own wife. The court and other royals must decide who is the best choice to be queen, for the safety of Denmark. Hamlet knows this to be true, and therefore, any sign of love that he gives her must be false.

Lies and deception are some of the many actions that have disastrous consequences. For the most part, they destroy trust and leave the people closest to us feeling vulnerable. In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's many plays, the theme of lies and deception is very significant. This play shows that every character that lies and practices the act of deception is ultimately punished for doing so by their treacherous deaths. Hamlet has lied and practiced deception several times which has prolonged his primary goal and also causes his death. Additionally, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s unskilled acts of dishonesty and disloyalty towards Hamlet have all backfired; as a

Does love exist when someone is intentionally out to hurt their loved one? There is nothing more vulgar than betrayal and exploitation from family. In the tragedy, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare sometime in between 1599 to 1601, false love spirals around the kingdom of Denmark. Betrayal in the royal family causes death and distrust. Darkness spreads around the kingdom as King Hamlet dies and everything falls apart for his son, Hamlet. Revenge adds to the conflict that occurs between the parents and their children. All of this contributes to the misery of the main characters of the play and their lack of forgivingness. Love causes corruption rather than peace within the people of the kingdom. Through disloyalty and deception, families in the play, Hamlet, have a negative influence on the main characters of the play.

Claudius also seems like a respectable king because he mourns the death of King Hamlet and tells “[the] whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe” (21). Although Claudius seems to be a good king who is deeply saddened by the death of the late King Hamlet, he is actually a horrible man who murdered King Hamlet in a way “most foul,...strange and unnatural” (57). He took his crown and acted as if his death was an accident. Claudius makes it difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth behind his actions because he constantly acts like nothing is ever wrong. After many different plots against Claudius, Hamlet prevails and the real Claudius is exposed. Claudius played an important role in the play because he reinforced the motif Seems Versus Is and showed the reader that although people can come across as honest and respectable, deep down they can have an evil side.

Hamlet is an interesting character who is mourning the recent death of his father, as well as the recent marriage of his mother to his uncle. So, in his grieving mind, when Hamlet hears news that some guards have seen the ghost of his father, he curiously investigates with them. To his dismay, the news is true, and Hamlet confronts his fathers ghost, who claims he was murdered by his own brother and asks Hamlet to avenge his murder. After calming down, Hamlet reasonably thinks that the ghost could be an evil spirit, so he sets up a test to prevent himself from blindly killing an innocent man. He sets up a play that mimics the murder of a powerful monarch in a way similar to the details of his father's death. Upon viewing the play, the king stands up and yells to stop the play and leaves quickly. Hamlet accomplishes his goal of finding out the truth without raising flags about him knowing the truth. Unfortunately Claudius suspects him after some questionable events and Claudius orders a try on his life. Claudius sends Hamlet to England with orders in a letter for the King to execute him stating “The present death of Hamlet. Do it England; For like the hectic in my blood he rages, And thou must cure me.” (4,3,69-71). When discovered by Hamlet in a passionate rage he replaces the letters with ones demanding his school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to be executed in his place. Condemning men oblivious to their transgressions to death, a casualty of innocence that

Hamlet seems obsessed with the concept of death. Along with his slipping sanity Hamlet is not able to find any hard evidence making him act rash where he stages a play to make his own evidence. Claudius seems to suspect Hamlet because of Hamlet’s plan to be mad with love and sends two former friends of Hamlet to spy on him. Hamlet believes he is in control though when he tells them, “I do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe” (III.ii.313). Hamlet realizes what Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are up to and tells them nothing. Feeling that his uncle s up to him, Hamlet uses the play to judge Claudius’s reaction and proceed from there. This scene could be considered the climax of the play where Hamlet knows for sure Claudius killed the late king and Claudius knows Hamlet knows. This scene might seem like Hamlet’s actions caused the mistake, but Hamlet’s inability to confront his uncle makes Hamlet to act with hesitation. The cause of Hamlet’s losing sanity is the king. Claudius seems to be the origin point for almost all of Hamlet’s problems: his dead father, his faithless mother, and the target for a revenge plan he do seems hesitant on. Even when Hamlet confirms the fact that Claudius killed his father, Hamlet does not act fast with a murder plan. It seems that Hamlet wants to avenge his father, but he does not want to murder for there

In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, the honesty behind the romance between Prince Hamlet and Ophelia is debatable. “Did Hamlet really love her?” they ask. Well, the true question is “Why would one question a love that is so real?” It is true that in some instances, the actions that Hamlet partook in is enough to make someone wonder if he ever loved her, but all of Hamlet’s action were deeper than the surface that the audience saw. Do not just look at Hamlet’s action, but think of why Hamlet did the things that he did. As we all know, Hamlet was going through a depressive state at that point in his life. His father recently died, his mother married his uncle, and to make things worst he found out that his father was murdered by his uncle, Claudius.

The antagonist in the play, Claudius, is an example of someone who is obsessed with obtaining power and manipulating people by portraying someone he is not. Claudius appears to be a caring person about his brother’s death at the beginning of the play: “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death/ The memory be green, and that it us befitted/ To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom/ To be contracted in one brow of woe” (Shakespeare 1.2.1-4). The caring person that he presents himself as is only present because he desires the respect of the kingdom to keep his power. Claudius wants to ensure that Denmark views him as a great man, so that any suspicion on King Hamlet’s death does not fall on him. When Claudius sends Hamlet to England, “Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety-/ which we do tender, as we dearly grieve/ for that which thou hast done- must send thee hense” (Shakespeare 4.3.40-43), he makes it seem as if he is doing it for Hamlet’s own good, when really he is protecting himself and sending Hamlet to his death. By placing Hamlet out of Denmark, Claudius is able to protect his high

Claudius’ deceptive nature is shown in the play when King Claudius deceives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into taking Hamlet to England. After every other character has left the stage, King Claudius tells the audience “Our sovereign process, which imports at full, By letters congruing to that effect, The present death of Hamlet.”(4.iv.72-74) King Claudius deceives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about Hamlet's trip to England, telling them the reason why Hamlet must leave is for public safety. In reality King Claudius plans for Hamlet's to be killed when he reaches England. Another example of Claudius’ deceptive nature is when he compares his lies to a harlot’s makeup. “O, 'tis too true! How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience! The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art, Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it Than is my deed to my most painted word: O heavy burthen!” (3.i.56-62) Claudius

The play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, surrounds the central idea of revenge and betrayal. Revenge drives the characters and determines their actions throughout the play, which results in several instances of betrayal. With revenge, the friendship and loyalty of characters are tested and conflicts are established between characters. Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, was helplessly poisoned by his own brother, Claudius. Hamlet, the protagonist, becomes aware of his father’s death and finds himself seeking revenge and starting a cycle of hatred. Hamlet embarks on his journey for revenge by displaying an act of craziness. Throughout the play, there were several moments where Hamlet’s actions caused confusion and made it difficult for

In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare plants the plot of revenge into Hamlet's head. In Denmark, Hamlet's father is murdered by Claudius. Claudius is the new king and Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet does not like Claudius because he marries Gertrude, his mother, and because Hamlet's father dies. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to Hamlet to tell him to seek revenge on his murderer. The ghost then tells Hamlet Claudius has murdered him by pouring poison into his ear. Hamlet loves his father and believes he needs to kill Claudius. The opportunity to kill Claudius appears when Claudius is in his room. Hamlet walks in on Claudius praying and is about to kill him. Hamlet refuses to murder Claudius in that moment. In Hamlet, Hamlet does not kill Claudius when he is given the opportunity because Claudius is praying, Hamlet is not ready to kill, and Hamlet is insane.

Hamlet discovers elements of false love in Ophelia as he relates her flaws with Gertrudes'. Ophelia is part of a plan to set up Hamlet which will determine whether he is truly mad in her love or otherwise. Her love is being used to play with Hamlet's emotions. "I will leave him and/ Suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him/ And my daughter" (2.2: 209-211). Polonius decides he will use Ophelia to manipulate Hamlet by getting her to resurface his feelings and repressed love for her. By setting up this meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet, Polonius has objectified her love in effort to anger Hamlet. This act goes to show that Ophelia allows her love to be used as a method to better understand Hamlet's madness. Ophelia clearly chooses to obey her father over her love for Hamlet. After learning that he was subject to Ophelia's false love, Hamlet becomes very rude in attitude towards her as he feels he has been chested. "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder/ Of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but

Claudius manipulates his speech through the use of flattery, condescension and empathy in order to persuade Hamlet to take his side and exploit him for his own purposes. Claudius first creates a false sense of compassion and unity with Hamlet, declaring that “Our whole kingdom [is] contracted in one brow of woe” (1.2.3 - 4), thus claiming to mourn the king’s death as deeply as Hamlet and uniting the two in a common passion. He further creates an illusion of equality by consistently using the “royal we” throughout his monologue, in particular when discussing marrying Gertrude: “Our sometimes sister, now our queen...have we...taken to wife” (1.2.8 - 14). Through this use of “we”, he implicates everyone in this kingdom as a part of this action and deflects potential criticism, as Hamlet and other people view this action as inappropriate and dishonorable. Because he wishes to further draw attention away from the king’s death, he encourages Hamlet to resolve his mourning period. He first patronizes Hamlet through the use of repetition so as to reinforce his new authority as king. Claudius reminds him, “You must know your father lost a father, that father lost, lost his” (1.2.93 - 94). He later scolds Hamlet’s extended mourning as “unmanly grief” (1.2.98) so as to emasculate and shame Hamlet’s actions. He then changes subject by urging Hamlet to