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Deception In Hamlet Research Paper

688 Words3 Pages

Every story is designed with an inspiring hero overcoming an iniquitous villain. The bonding between these two versatile characters enhance the meaning of the story around which the plot revolves. Throughout literature the antagonists are seen as individuals who are striving to astray others for their own benefits. Most often the audience pay more attention towards the antagonist, because their actions affect heavily on the lives of other characters. Similarly, William Shakespeare uses literature to explain the human nature of deceiving each other. One of his great works, Hamlet contains a central theme of deception, and betrayal. He demonstrated how an individual can secretly spy on others for their ambitions. In his play, Shakespeare builds …show more content…

However, the concept of deception is also a major part of the play and it’s mainly demonstrated through the character of King Claudius. Shakespeare portrays Claudius as manipulative character, who uses his intelligence to delude the nation of Denmark and queen Gertrude. In the beginning of the play, Claudius is shown as capable ruler who oath to support the people of Denmark. During his speech he uses the incidence of Hamlet's father death to create a unity and to get the people together as he stated, "to bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom/ To be contracted in one brow of woe" (Shakespeare 1.2.3-4). His speech demonstrates people’s devastated loss of their beloved king, and he advises them to be hopeful because prosperity will come under his reign. Claudius was aware that in this time of despair he can conquer the kingdom of Denmark. During the situation when Fortinbras was trying to attack, and the people of Denmark were already struck by the sudden death of their king. He knew that his false assurance could ignite the nation. Thus giving him the opportunity of becoming a king, and marrying Gertrude. The theme of deception lies in the heart of King Claudius where he tries to impress queen Gertrude and shows her that he’s responsible to handle the country. He also successfully misleads the nation into believing that he is a worthy

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