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Examples Of Spying In Hamlet

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In William Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, the motif of spying is seen frequently throughout the play. It shows the distrusting nature of multiple characters, most prominently, King Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet, ultimately leading to tragedy. Throughout the play, Claudius utilizes spying to divulge information about others. The first example of this we see in the play is in Act II. Scene II, lines 1-30, after Hamlet starts putting on an “antic disposition” Claudius, along with Gertrude, enlist Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet to find the reason why he is acting “mad” all of a sudden. Claudius’s distrusting nature is first revealed to us because he believes there has to be a bigger reason for Hamlet’s behavior, rather than …show more content…

Additionally, another occasion of Claudius spying is in Act III; scene I, colluding with Polonius, they enlist Ophelia to meet Hamlet and they will spy on them to see if Hamlet’s love for her is genuine. By surveying this encounter, Claudius’s distrust of Hamlet and his actions is strengthened. By roping Polonius into this scheme, Claudius’s resemblance to a drug addict is reinforced because a drug addict usually gets their close friends and/or family into addiction. Altogether, King Claudius' utilization of spying shows the reader his distrust of Hamlet. Another character who utilizes spying to acquire information is Polonius. Not only does Polonius collude with Claudius by spying on Ophelia and …show more content…

Another instance of Polonius spying is in Act III; scene IV, lines 1-30, as he and Gerturde are conversing in her “closet”. Polonius hides behind a curtain when Hamlet enters to eavesdrop on their conversation and gather intel. This endeavor strengthens the reader's view of Pollinious’s intrusive nature. Polonius could have easily waited for Hamlet to come in and then left and heard about the conversation later on from Gertrude, Polonius chose to spy on Hamlet and hear what he had to say for himself. But unbeknownst to him, this was a grave decision and led to his slaughter from Hamlet. From just these two instances, Polonius proves his distrust of Hamlet and Laertes and also reveals to the reader of his nosy nature. Lastly, another character who spies on others is Hamlet. Hamlet is still grappling with the information that the Ghost revealed to him about Claudius killing him, and Hamlet is trying to figure out whether the Ghost is telling the truth or not. In Act II; Scene II, lines 54-95, to discover this Hamlet has the actors portray a scene like King Hamlet’s death and Hamlet along with Horatio will observe Claudius’s

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