ipl-logo

Examples Of Hypocrisy In Hamlet

438 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The personality of Hamlet

“Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.” —- Wes Fesler. No character in Hamlet supports this statement more than Claudius. In one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, Hamlet, the theme of betrayal and revenge is persistent throughout. The play explores the human psyche through several characters and their personalities. Claudius is an excellent example of poor characteristics present in everyone, such as hypocrisy and the ability to lie. One of Claudius’ most obvious traits is hypocrisy. “But we will ship him hence; and this vile deed….” Claudius wants to send Hamlet away for killing Polonius. However, Claudius killed Hamlet’s father which makes sending Hamlet away hypocritical considering the one who is ordering
Show More
Related
823 Words | 4 Pages

One thing that exists omnipresently in all of history and will almost certainly remain forever is greed. A theme that manifests in Hamlet through various people related to the royal family, albeit in different ways, is greed. Greed presents itself as something that exists all throughout the upper echelons of Victorian society. By the end of the play, greed ended up causing the end of an entire royal lineage and that of a separate noble family. Among the characters in Hamlet, there are none more surrounded by corrupt people than Hamlet.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Claudius is then compared to the internal organs of slaves and a man without morals, remorse or kindness (Ham.2.2.607-608). The powerful metaphors and adjectives used to describe Claudius not only express Hamlet’s intense contempt and disdain towards him, but also serve to convince Hamlet to commit murder. However, Hamlet depicts himself as a whore, a prostitute, and a swearing kitchen maid (Ham.2.2.614-616), reiterating the notion that he is worthless, as well as weak for expressing his emotions through words rather than actions. The shift from metaphors to similes indicate Hamlet’s failure to move past his cowardice and proceed with an act of revenge that would inflict

Read More
254 Words | 2 Pages

“Rikki-tikki-tavi” is a story by Rudyard kipling that has a very helpful,murders, and happy mongoose. His name is Rikki. rikki he is the main character of the story. He is ready to murder snakes that stand in his way.

Read More
1358 Words | 6 Pages

The death of a loved one can be one of the hardest things someone will have to overcome in their lives. It seems unbelievable that someone can suddenly cease to exist, that there is an end in store for all of us and no one knows what it is. It’s the greatest unknown and has haunted humans as long as humans have existed in any meaningful sense. In Doran and Olivier’s adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the madness that infects this play is an inherent part of grief, more specifically the stage of denial, seen through the complex character dynamics in act 3, scene 4; the Queen and Hamlet’s relationships with Claudius, the breakdown of the Queen and Hamlet’s relationship, and the Ghost’s appearance in this scene. To begin, Hamlet

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

9). He immediately challenges her, accusing her of having offended his father, showing an act of arrogance as he assumes the moral high ground. Throughout the conversation, he displays entitlement and self-righteousness, believing he knows what is best for Gertrude, while remaining insensitive to her feelings. In the peak of his arrogance, Hamlet denounces Gertrude's relationship with Claudius, labeling it vile and immoral. He accuses Claudius of being a murderer and shows no restraint in his judgment.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

Where hamlets actions justified? Did he really avenge is father? Well I don’t think so. Because of him Gertrude was treated very poorly and because of the got her killed, the treatment to Ophelia was not justified and it made her go crazy, he delayed the killing of the king which caused a lot of bad stuff to happen, but the killing of Claudius was justified because he avenged his father. So, the question are his actions justified?

Read More
1517 Words | 7 Pages

In great literature there are often characters who are deceitful to others to carry out a greater purpose. By doing so the character often compromises relationships with friends and family but it can also compromise the safety of the character and others around them. In the play Hamlet Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s character to elaborate on this situation, Claudius is deceiving his family and friends for a greater purpose which at times seems to do more bad than good. Claudius deceives many people in the tragedy Hamlet.

Read More
407 Words | 2 Pages

One of the major themes in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is deception. In Act I Scene IV, one of the characters, Marcellus, claims: “Something is rotten in the State of Denmark” (1.4.100). This is referring to the act of deception, where everything may look fine to the naked eye, but there are underlying problems occurring in the state of Denmark. In utilizing diction and metaphors, Shakespeare adds more depth to one of the major themes of the play. Metaphors are used by Shakespeare to compare Claudius to a deathly creature, while nobody realizes his mal intentions.

Read More
1327 Words | 6 Pages

When betrayed, one usually has negative emotions towards the people who have betrayed them. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare this idea is well illustrated, it is shown that betrayal affects the actions of Hamlet towards his friends and family, which indicates that the pursuit of vengeance often can cause one to forget the value of life. The betrayals that Hamlet suffered at the hands of his close friends and family, revealed important parts of Hamlet’s character, such as his intelligence, he is a very meticulous thinker that looks at situations from all angles, he is cunning, he has the ability to manipulate everyone into believing that he is insane, and he is skeptical, he does not believe any information until he finds it out for

Read More
1544 Words | 7 Pages

Many works of art, especially literature, has a large focus on deception and how deception pushes a plot and story along the line to completion. This had been used in the long history of literature an uncountable amount of times by a lot of different authors, but one of the most popular works which has a heavy focus of deception and the consequences thereof is the drama, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare. This drama, often just called Hamlet features incredibly heavy themes of deception as almost every character is being deceitful in someway, which all has varying effects on the advancement of the main story and plot. Arguably the most deceitful character in the entire drama is the namesake Hamlet. Hamlet has

Read More
1170 Words | 5 Pages

Though Hamlet may earn love from the people of Denmark, Claudius earns respect. Some may argue it is better to be loved than feared as a leader, but Claudius’ resilience in his quest to murder Hamlet proves

Read More
672 Words | 3 Pages

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Act 1 Scene 5 line 90). Corruption, if left unchecked, will continue to spread, shattering the social order. This is true in William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet. Greed and the thirst for power become the invitation for corruption.

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

First of all, King Claudius’s ambition to become the next King of Denmark causes him to lose his conscience. As King Hamlet’s ghost reveals the truth of his death, he anguishes, “Thus was I [King Hamlet], sleeping, by a brother’s hand, Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched” (1.5.81-82). The throne of Denmark motivates King Claudius to slay his own biological brother to succeed King Hamlet’s “crown”. His desire to gain power has overwhelming covered up his moral values.

Read More
396 Words | 2 Pages

Shakespearean Misogyny In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, are repeatedly manipulated and exploited by the men in their lives. They submit to male authority and oppressive societal customs because they have no other options. Gertrude and Ophelia are placed in this situation because of a male-dominated society that blames women for sexual immorality and corruption. Hamlet’s views about women are consistent with the commonly-held views of his peers.

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

The morality of murder stretches further than whether someone feels bad or not about their actions. Morality is what makes us human. It separates us from every other being in the world. Hamlet by Shakespeare exhibits many different types of mortality. It is not only in the story of Hamlet that the ethics of death are discussed but in the real lives of our soldiers that are fighting for our country.

Read More

More about Examples Of Hypocrisy In Hamlet

Related Topics

Open Document