ipl-logo

Hamlet Appearance Vs Reality Essay

1537 Words7 Pages

William Shakespeare’s tragedies comprise of a tragic hero, who contains a tragic flaw, and conflicts, that lead to the hero’s demise and the demolition of others. Hamlet is a revenge play that has enwoven the significance of appearance versus reality. Shakespeare’s Hamlet encompasses a tragic hero, Hamlet, whose internal conflict of contemplating the intricacies of what is real versus fake, is his major flaw. Throughout the play, the components of appearance versus reality are crucial to the plot of the play. The venality, deception, and troubling intentions that enshroud the play cause the disastrous demise of every main character. Several complex characters in the play drastically modify their appearance in order to involve themselves in …show more content…

With the decease of his father and the marriage between his uncle and mother, Hamlet begins to hate the way things are around him. Gertrude asks Hamlet, "Why seems it so particular with thee?" Hamlet replies, "Seems Madam? Nay it is. I know not seems” (I.ii.77-8). Hamlet’s black clothing is an exact reflection of the deep sorrow in his heart. With this line, Shakespeare utilizes the theme of appearance versus reality to emphasize Hamlet's devotion to the truth in comparison to appearance. Hamlet believes that Gertrude and Claudius are appearing to be sad about the King’s sudden death, when in fact he is the only one who is truly mourning it. Claudius, who seems to be a very capable king, is in reality a murderer and a usurper. While talking to Hamlet, the ghost of his father says that “by a brother’s hand” the taking “Of life, of crown, of queen” is the cause (I.v.79-80). Claudius’ lack of the truth and the concealment of the reality of his traitorous deed leads Hamlet to become irrational. Hamlet struggles to believe if the appearance of the ghost was that of “a spirit of health or goblin damned”, due to the anguishes of the deceit he is a bystander to (I.iv.43). The shrewd deception of his uncle causes Hamlet to alter his appearance to a crazy young prince. Hamlet's insanity is a phony appearance in order to lure attention away from his peculiar endeavors while attempting to acquire evidence against Claudius. Thus, the cycle of deceit breading more deceit in the play

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Indecision In Hamlet

    544 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Hamlet, Shakespeare recounts the story of a prince who is given the task to avenge the death of his father. The play is centered around Hamlet, a student whose studies are interrupted by his father’s death. After returning to the kingdom, Hamlet encounters a ghost claiming to bear the soul of his father. Upon this confrontation, Hamlet is faced with evidence that his uncle, Claudius, murdered his father, Hamlet I. As a result, Hamlet strategizes to perform revenge on Claudius for his malefaction. Hamlet, the main protagonist, displays a multitude of dynamic traits that emerge as the play develops.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Despair In Hamlet

    394 Words  | 2 Pages

    At this point in the play, Hamlet discovers that Claudius is only putting on a show and is "a villain" who is only "smiling" to disguise his murderous actions with happiness. This foreshadows the rest of the play when Hamlet makes the sudden decision, fueled by his despair, to perform the same act as Claudius. He takes Claudius's deception and twists it into his own, where Hamlet pretends to go into a manic state of despair to distract the court from the revenge plan that Hamlet is planning to both expose and dispose of Claudius. Hamlet's lines through these passages show the despair he feels by discovering the true nature of his father's death and

    Read More

  • Lying And Secrets In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    621 Words  | 3 Pages

    Claudius doesn’t confess and puts on quite a show during the murder scene that one would be puzzled as to why no one could see past his fake, friendly exterior. Claudius failing to confess just illuminates his truly malicious spirit. The ghost is also a character that sparks many questions within the play. Hamlet himself questioned whether the ghost was actually his father or the devil in disguise, trying to tempt Hamlet in committing a crime just as wicked as his step-fathers. However, Hamlet quickly dismisses that thought and convinces himself he needs to murder Claudius for revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Movie Vs Play Essay

    567 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet is a powerful story of love, life, revenge, and death. The themes within the play are written to live on for eternity. It is difficult to fully and accurately represent a play as great as this one. The movie that we watched in class did not wholly represent the wonders and the magnitude of the themes within Shakespeare’s work.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflict In Hamlet

    1702 Words  | 7 Pages

    Prince Hamlet is an irresolute person who always falls in the choice between action and inaction, he fears about the possible unfairness of the afterlife, and his inability to act. Hamlet decline to take action against Claudius because he saw the King is praying for his guilt of murdering his brother. Hamlet feels a responsibility to avenge his father's murder by his uncle Claudius, but Claudius is now the king and thus well protected. Moreover, Hamlet struggles with his doubts about whether he can trust the ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate thing to do. His hatred is contrary to his belief or religion, so he chooses to escape from the revenge to release himself.

    Read More

  • Kenneth Branagh Hamlet Analysis Essay

    1481 Words  | 6 Pages

    He also seems to suggest that it is Hamlet’s anger and desire for revenge that lead him to his ultimate demise at the end of the story. The first way Branagh does this throughout the film is by using very traditional sets and costumes that portray the time period in which the play was set. These visual details were especially emphasized because today’s audience isn’t as familiar with the clothing and styles of that time, so they are able to pull the audience in and make them take notice of symbolic details. The main symbol utilized by Branagh was the color schemes of each character. He made Hamlet wear all simple, black clothing while having the rest of the characters wear colorful outfits with extravagant details.

    Read More

  • Abuse Of Power In Elizabethan Era

    1534 Words  | 7 Pages

    Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Why Was Hamlet's Madness

    901 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet wanted to be one hundred percent sure that he knew who his father’s killer was before he made any wrong decisions. Hamlet’s mind and conscience will not let allow him to go ahead with the murder of Claudius without making completely

    Read More

  • Hamlet Power Analysis

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clearly, it is in this instance of such bitter distaste towards Claudius that Hamlet is not as galvanized by the death of his father, as most people would be. But rather towards the fact that Hamlet’s passage to

    Read More

  • Grief In Hamlet

    1635 Words  | 7 Pages

    Could he possibly trust a ghost? What if its origins are of Hellish descent and not of Holy? These are the questions Hamlet asked himself and in the end decided to take that question out of the equation and find out for certain if Claudius is guilty of this spectral allegation. From this point Hamlet sets out on a quest to discover the truth and take action accordingly. This interaction between Hamlet and his father set the entire tragedy in motion, accentuating his father importance, while only appearing once.

    Read More

  • Insanity In Shakespeare's Tragedy

    964 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlets Insanity in Shakespeare's Tragedy Hamlet is a story of existentialism and obligation ethics, which is an anomaly in tragedy plays such as these, in a small nutshell; one element, however, proves how deep a play can go. In Shakespeare's tragedy play Hamlet, prince Hamlet, the protagonist, pretends to be crippled by insanity after his father, King Hamlet, mysteriously dies. Because of this, prince Hamlet decides to feign madness to prove his father was coldly murdered by his uncle, now stepfather. Through the play we get a glimpse into both sides of the great Hamlet. The side who is, presumably, his real self, and the facade of the insane man he shows everyone.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Hamlet

    979 Words  | 4 Pages

    He starts to believe that the spirit may be the devil or some sort of demon that was sent to tempt young Hamlet into a destructive existence. The appearance of the ghost causes Hamlet to mistrust his own perceptions of things and doubt the validity of his father’s ghost and the malicious claim that he states. Hamlet decides to stage a play in which the plot very closely resembles the events that the ghost describes as his death. Hamlet feels that if King Claudius is indeed guilty, it will be written all over his face. “The play’s the thing/Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (II, ii, 566-567).

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Delay In Killing Claudius Analysis

    983 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet wants to believe that the ghost was actually his father, but he begins to fear that it was an evil spirit trying to lead him away from his beliefs. “The spirit that I have seen may be a devil...abuses to damn me,” (2.2.610-614). This questioning leads to Hamlet wondering if Claudius really is guilty or if it is just the evil force trying to convince him to commit a sin. In order to prove Claudius’ guilt, Hamlet asks an acting troupe to perform a modified play in order to get a designed reaction, “I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle, I’ll observe his looks...the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King,” (2.2.606-617). Hamlet chose the play “The Murder of Gonzago” and made alterations to the script in order to draw a specific response from Claudius.

    Read More

  • Appearance Vs Reality In Hamlet

    1053 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hamlet was a wonderful drama that undoubtedly entertained the reader. One theme in particular played a major role in the outcome of many peoples lives. There is a major difference between the appearance of something versus its reality. There are many points throughout Hamlet that show this to be true. Some examples include, the appearance of the ghost, Gertrude, Claudias, and a few others.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Essay

    575 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet had heard of his fathers ghost coming to the kingdom and Hamlet finally sees it for his own eyes. The ghost had told Hamlet how Claudius was the one who actually killed King Hamlet. Telling Hamlet to get revenge on Claudius but not his mother. From that day Hamlet had been plotting on how to get revenge on Claudius. Hamlet planned to act as if he’s become mad so he would not get any attention of him knowing about Claudius being a murderer.

    Read More

More about Hamlet Appearance Vs Reality Essay

Open Document