...metaphors in Hamlet. The main focus was on the Cup of Sovereignty, which is the metaphor for the cup King Claudius drinks from during the marriage proposal. Even though I read information from this source I am not going to use this because it does not relate to my thesis. However, it does explain the significance of the cup referencing to corruption and the poisons that ruined many lives. This article helped me understand the symbolism of deception in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Barron’s. Hamlet. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2002. Print This book contains the Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and a modern interpretation of the script. This source was used to read the play and fully understand exactly what action was taking place. I am not using this book to quote any material because it is a form of cliff notes; however it was helpful in interpreting scenes and breaking down Elizabethan sentences. Boyd, Brian. “Literature and Evolution: A Bio-Cultural Approach.” The Johns Hopkins UP 29.1 (2005): 1- 23. JSTOR. Web. 4 December 2013. This article is about the “sophisticated concealment and deception” Shakespeare incorporated in Hamlet (Boyd 16). I am using this source because it relates to my thesis. It explains how Shakespeare uses deception to exaggerate life-and-death issues. This was helpful because it analyzed the deception within Hamlet and how Shakespeare used counter-deception to prevent predictability. Gorfain, Phyllis. “Play and the Problem of Knowing in Hamlet: An Excursion...
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...tragedy Hamlet, deception is an essential part of the play. Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius are deceitful. Hamlet uses his madness as a way for deception. He feigns his madness in order to gather information about Claudius. Claudius deceives everyone as he murdered his brother and took his spot on the throne. Claudius uses many people, most notably Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. He sends these two with Hamlet to assure he lands safely in England. In actuality these two are holding a letter for Hamlet’s execution. Polonius is extremely dishonest as he wishes his son Laertes the best as he departs for Paris. Then turns around and asks Reynaldo to watch and follow him. Polonius also deceives Hamlet as he has him meet with his mother in her room. During this meeting Polonius hides behind the tapestry. Trying to fool Hamlet and use deception to gain information. This leads to Polonius paying the ultimate price. Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius all are deceiving and use deception. Deception in Hamlet revolves around Claudius murdering Hamlet Senior. The ghost of Hamlet Senior visits Hamlet telling him of Claudius’s horrible deed. Hamlet vows to seek revenge. Only he needs to figure out if the ghost is a figment of his imagination or if Claudius actually did it. Hamlet feigns madness and deceives everyone, through Hamlet’s deceitfulness he tries to gain substantial evidence on Claudius. With his madness he draws the attention away from his plot to kill Claudius. After Hamlets encounter...
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...found in Hamlet Honesty and integrity can both be described as good qualities, but they are interpreted in different ways, honesty is quality of truthfulness and sincerity. While integrity can be described as the possession of a strong moral principles, and the righteous acts committed by a character. William Shakespeare uses multiple forms of deception and immoral acts in almost every scene in the play Hamlet. Proving that there is neither honesty, nor integrity in the play. Different forms of deception are present in the play Hamlet. Including dishonesty, and manipulating the truth. The first major point to contradict honesty, and prove deception in the play is Hamlet’s antic disposition, and all the lies that were made following it. “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet, to put an antic disposition on” (I, v, 172-173). After he was informed that Claudius was the killer his father, Hamlet decides to put on an antic disposition (a cloak of madness). Hamlet is therefore deceiving everyone into believing in an act that he had created in order to learn more about his father’s death. A second example to oppose honesty in the play Hamlet is Ophelia’s deception towards Hamlet. “Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where's your father...At home, my lord” (III, i, 130-131). Hamlet asks Ophelia where her father is in the previous quote, but she replies with a lie when she said at home. In reality, Polonius was hiding with Claudius behind a door. Therefore, she agreed to deceive Hamlet so Claudius...
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...In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the image patterns such as an unweeded garden, rot, and deception conveyed by Hamlet demonstrate how his impelling sense of justice and inability to act on his decisions doom him to his fate. The image pattern of an unweeded garden exemplifies Hamlet’s melancholy view of Denmark's monarchy and his hesitation to uproot the metaphorical weeds. Hamlet’s use of rot imagery manifests his dissatisfaction with life and inability to vie for his throne. The pattern of deception imagery delineates how Hamlet’s impotence to avenge his father’s death furthers the deterioration of his life. Image patterns used by Hamlet demonstrate his nobility and that his desires are incongruous with his reality. As Hamlet depicts the flaw in Denmark’s monarchy through the use of unweeded garden imagery, his ethics and consequent disillusionment emerge. Prior to Claudius’ usurping of power through murder and incest, Hamlet’s nobility resides in him being the immediate heir to the throne. "’tis an unweeded garden, / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely" (Shakespeare, I.ii.6). Hamlet accurately portrays the flaw in Denmark’s monarchy: incest. As a weed destroys a garden by spreading rapidly and impeding the penetration of sunlight onto the beautiful plants, Claudius, the biggest “weed” of all, impedes the instillment of morality in his inferiors and encourages evil. Disgusted by Claudius’ duplicitous antics and Denmark’s subsequent political...
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...Hamlet Theme of Appearance vs. Reality A major theme that encircles the play "Hamlet" is the disparity between what something appears to be, and what something is in reality: In otherwords, to distinguish between what is fake (a lie) and what is truth. This theme is so heavily enwoven in the play due to the fact that most of the central characters in the play hide behind a mask to conceal their true intentions while as trying to figure out what the other characters are thinking. For example, with the case of Hamlet he chooses to appear mad in front of the others (whether or not he actually turns mad is a whole other debate entirely) so that he may better conceal his true intentions (he does a poor job in this part) and gain the opportunity to kill Claudius (perhaps with the defense that he is insane?). Thus, Hamlet exaggerates and shows tremendous hatred and disgust towards Ophelia so that he may convince Polonius and Claudius that he has gone mad due to Ophelia's rejection of his love. On the other hand, there is Claudius, the duplicitous cowardly, and conniving politician. Claudius, in comparison to the rest of the characters in the play, is the master at deception and hypocrisy. Claudius hides behind a veneer of being a gentle, just, and concerned King, that grieves for his dead brother and who cares for his people and in particular, his stepson. However, in reality, Claudius conceals a very dark secret and fears Hamlet's apparent madness not because...
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...Lies, deception, and corruption can destroy a man mentally and physically. Hamlet by William Shakespeare shows how lies and deception go against one another as well as rejection to self doubt. Shakespeare uses various forms of conflict to project his opinions and explanation of his ideas relating to the themes of the play. Internal conflict, as well as external conflict are dominant features in the narrative. Shakespeare merges the ideas of lies, deception and self doubt resulting in shall we say a “domino effect” of moral dilemma and personal complications. This gives way to the continuous concept of revenge, broken family relationships, and the questioning of life. In the form the play is written it assists in creating tension and raising questions about revenge and lies. Shakespeare uses external conflict in order to explore the theme of revenge in this play. This leads Hamlet into a state of internal conflict as he agonizes over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Using the idea of external conflict, the play is able to demonstrate the aftermath of a difficult decision, leading to personal moral dilemma. Hamlet is presented as thinker who takes a lot of time contemplating how to avenge his father’s death. He plots against Claudius and schemes to kill him. We see that Hamlet is a man of logic; we also see his weaknesses such as his procrastination and his self doubt. The play, like many tragedies concludes with the death of many of the characters...
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...Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet as a result of his suspicious madness and dramatic change of behavior. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to check up on Hamlet because they bear respect and long-time friendship with him. In spite of Claudius’s expression of grave concern for Hamlet’s change, he, however, summoned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for self-promotion. After sending away Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius enters and exclaims that he believes he has found the cause of Hamlet’s madness. Before speaking, he insists that the ambassadors may speak first. They then reported that the King of Norway figured out that Fortinbras’ had intended to invade Denmark; but, the King rebuked Fortinbras and...
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...Hamlet, a tragedy about how Prince Hamlet of Denmark seeks to and eventually exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius for murdering his father King Hamlet, explores a number of themes, each contributing to the flow of its overall plot in one way or another. Some of the predominant themes in the text include revenge, treachery, deception and gender. The idea of revenge first comes up in the text when the ghost of the dead King Hamlet appears to Prince Hamlet, discloses to the prince that he was murdered by his brother King Claudius and demands that he avenges him. Prince Hamlet agrees to this and even though he is hesitant about fulfilling this, as he struggles with the idea of murder, he finds a solution when a group of actors arrive at Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, and decides to use them to stage a play, with his uncle King Claudius among the audience, about the murder of his father as told to him by the ghost. This was meant to determine Claudius’s guilt or innocence by observing his reaction to the play. As the murder scene was presented, Claudius abruptly rose and left the room where the play was being staged and Prince Hamlet saw this as proof of guilt. Queen Gertrude, Prince Hamlet’s mother who was also among the audience, summoned his son to her closet to demand an explanation. While they were in her closet, Polonius, Claudius’s counselor, who was spying on the scene from behind an arras, cried out for help when it seemed as if the prince was about to murder the...
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...By dissembling or disguising, it allows one to be someone they are not and do things they don’t normally do. In plays such as Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice are just some of Shakespeare’s works in which he utilizes the concept of disguise. Shakespeare uses disguise of behavior and dress in his plays Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. In Hamlet, Hamlet himself feigns madness in order to seek the truth of...
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...Hamlet Essay Nicole Schinke Truth is seen differently through different people, for example in Hamlet people appear as one way, where in reality they really aren't like that (Claudius), as well as others in the play who just hide behind a mask. They differentiate between what is a lie/ fake and what is the truth. Some people think that the truth hurts so they try and avoid it. Other people may think that the truth can set you free. The pursuit of truth is a challenging and satisfying affair. In this play, Hamlet is more looking for the pursuit of truth rather than revenge. He’s been looking for his father’s killer. He wants to know who killed his father just so he can act upon it and get revenge. He ends up finding out that the killer was his uncle who ended up marrying his mother. Truth can cause so much curiosity that can really make or break some people in life. Claudius is a big liar and coward in Hamlet, he is a master of deception. He shows that he is grieving and sad about his dead brother but in reality he is very dark and is the killer. We know since the beginning of the play that Hamlet does not like his uncle being married to his mother which is another reason to get rid of the king. The ghost of Sir Hamlet gives him a plan that seems like a great idea. “ The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/Now wear his crown” (1.5 39-40) This was still at the point where he didn't know the truth that Claudius did kill his father so he waited and didn't jump to the idea...
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...Hamlet is a revenge tragedy written by William Shakespeare in which Hamlet is depicted as Shakespeare's tragic hero due to his flaw of indecision and inability to take action along with deep self-doubt, these are significant factors which ultimately lead to his downfall. The characters and the plays events significantly impact Hamlet constantly pushing him towards vengeance. Hamlet’s uncertainty between action and inaction are a direct result of the character’s sense of obligation and convenience. Hamlets toying with madness and indecision resolve in tragedy. Hamlet and his behaviours that are neither actions or inactions symbolise the fundamental flaw in his character, indecision. The beginning of Hamlet’s journey for revenge is displayed through the use of death imagery in Act 1, Scene 5, when the Ghost tells Hamlet, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”. Hamlet’s instructions to avenge his father's death represents an essential moment in the plot as the play then begins to focus around revenge and justice. Hamlet’s most honest and fatal character weakness is exposed. That weakness being his major inability to take decisive action. This inaction is shown in Hamlet’s first conversation with the Ghost, Hamlet shows his persistence to pursue revenge for his father’s death “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (1.5.29) This supports the concept of a determined Hamlet corrupted with desperate human...
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...CRITICAL ANALYSIS In Act II Sc.1 Polonius talks to a man named Reynaldo and sends him to spy on his son. Ophelia reports to her father Polonius the strange behaviour of Hamlet. Polonius immediately concludes that Hamlet is 'madly in love' with Ophelia: “That hath made him mad." He wants to report it to the king immediately, because Ophelia says he just stood there staring at her for five minutes covered in mud and looked insane. Polonius at first thinks that Hamlets love for Ophelia is a fake act, but soon finds that his love is actual true. But he then believes he has gone mad, he believes he has gone crazy. This creates dramatic irony, Polonius cannot tell the truth, he is misreading Hamlet and it leads to his death. We the readers know that he is wrong about Hamlet. This scene creates a beginning of Polonius end. He’s actions lead to his eventual downfall. This scene shows that Polonius is not trustworthy because of him spying on his son, it shows the deception that Hamlet has and that Ophelia really does care for Hamlet. The main theme that it develops is acting, because both Polonius towards his son and Hamlet towards Ophelia trick them with false words and emotion. In this scene we learn that Polonius makes false judgements, and Hamlet can be very deceptive with his actions and emotions. We learn that the theme of acting is very present in the play. Through this acting many characters in the play don’t not know what the true intentions of other...
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...crazy; however there is a reason to them. Polonius also says: "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't" (2.2.203-204). This quote clearly shows that Hamlet is crazy, but there is reason behind his craziness, and sure enough there is. The question always remain whether Hamlet is crazy or not, but there is no denying Ophelias madness. Both of them have tragic events occur in their lives. Ophelia is asked to stay away from Hamlet from her father; she then gets rejected by Hamlet, tricked into giving up her virginity, and worse of all her father is killed by her ex lover. Ophelia starts singing about her father's death, Hamlets trickery and all the tricks of this world. To be singing after the death of your father shows there is something wrong with you: "A document in madness" (4.5. 175-176). Hamlet does not completely lose it after the death of his father but keeps his calm and mind focused on his plan. Also, Hamlet constantly talks about suicide throughout the play: "To be or not to be, that is the question" (3.1. 156). But he never actually goes through with killing himself, unlike Ophelia who does end up committing suicide. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to illustrate the complex workings of the mind, and how one must use deception in order to deceive others to get to the truth. In a way we all can relate to Hamlet. We decide on our own unique methods to overcome whatever problems lie in our way, maybe the methods may not be right, but we believe them to be right. That...
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...Hamlet Aristotle once wrote, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour”. William Shakespeare wrote the play, Hamlet, as a revenge tragedy to entertain the Elizabethan audience. In act IV scene IV, Hamlet questions his courage and lack of ability to make a decision to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet compares himself to a military leader who demonstrates great bravery while questioning what defines honour. Shakespeare strategically utilizes his characters flaw to create deception, greed and ultimate revenge within the play. Therefore, Hamlet’s final soliloquy causes the Elizabethan audience to connect to the emotions the play evokes while simultaneously engaging them. To begin with, Hamlet’s final soliloquy allows the audience to elicit feelings of empathy over the personal conflict and struggle Hamlet is facing over avenging his father’s death. Firstly, Hamlet is overcome with grief and sadness at the loss of his father and recent marriage of his mother, which causes him to question his inability to act out his revenge. Hamlet states, “How stand I then, that have a father killed, a mother stained, excitements of my reason and my blood, and let all sleep” (IV.IV.55-59). This conflict of conscience would cause the audience to sympathize with Hamlet as he mourns the unimaginable loss of his precious family and the realization that the world he knows will never be the same again. Additionally...
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...Hamlet as the Tragic Hero Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne. Hamlet thinking this trait was genetic, speaks of his father’s tragic flaw that would ultimately lead to his death. So, oft it chances in particular men, That for some vicious mole of nature in them, As, in their birth, wherein they are not guilty (Since nature cannot choose his origin), By the o’ergrowth of some complexion, Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, Or by some habit that too much o’er-leavens The form of plausive manners—that these men, Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, Being nature’s livery, or fortune’s star, Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace, Shall in the general censure take corruption From that particular fault. The dram of evil Doth all the noble substance of a doubt Hamlet makes reference to the one deficiency that is his specific fault. Here again, Shakespeare attempts to justify Hamlet’s inability...
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