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Deceiving Illusions In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

843 Words4 Pages

In the play Hamlet, deceiving illusions are often used to protect the truth from being a destructive force in the character’s lives. Many characters within the first two acts hide behind masks of corruption. In the first two acts, most of the characters make themselves seem good and honest, making it a difficult task for Hamlet to discover all the lies and people that have hidden objectives within them. Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet all appear to be sincere and trustworthy but the reality is they all have other intentions and plans. Because they give off the impression that they are trustworthy and sincere, it is difficult for those around them to know what truly is going on. Polonius has a particular obsession with appearance. He wants everyone to think he is a caring and doting father who has love for everyone. In the play, Polonius appears to be an honorable man with incredible love and adoration for his son, Laertes. Polonius gives his son advice, which appears to be heartfelt at first, but in reality it was a …show more content…

He betrays his people with lies about what happened to Hamlet’s father. Claudius is not the heroic brother of the deceased king who took over the throne to save the people. He speaks to the people and convinces them not to be afraid that their King has died. While pretending to grieve, he encourages the people to forget about King Hamlet and get on with their lives. Claudius says: "Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother 's death. The memory be green, and that it us befitted. To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom.” (1.2. 1-7). The people of the kingdom believed that King Hamlet died of natural causes and had no idea that Claudius murdered him. He asks Hamlet to stay at the kingdom so he can make sure he’s okay, but he really only wants to ensure he doesn’t find out the truth about his father. He does not care for Hamlet or the people, he only wants to ensure his plan stays

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Charles Dudley Warner said, “People always overdo the matter when they attempt deception.” Hamlet is a play that is filled with deception. Nearly every character within the play has lied to one another or committed a form of deception, making almost every character a master in the act. Lying and secrets are prominent from the very beginning of the play. When the ghost, said to be the late King Hamlet, is introduced, it is very secretive and kept quiet.

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Hamlet Character deception is a common characteristic that has and will be a reflecting characteristic in literature for centuries. In many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies, deception, whether positive or negative, is being used to mislead, to protect characters, or to hide a crime or future crime. Analyzing why the characters are using deception against each other is very important to the reader’s understanding of the work as a whole. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, He uses Hamlet’s deception of character and also the character’s use of deception towards Hamlet to carry out the overall theme of the tragedy. The theme that is represented, is that in able to get malicious revenge, you must be able to act as if you are someone different than your true self while in turn, being able to deal with others deceiving you.

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Shakespeare’s use of language helps to portray the major theme of deception in the play Hamlet. The utilization of diction helps to equate Claudius to an evil person, while metaphors help to make the comparison between Claudius and a deathly animal. By making comparisons and using specific word choice that help support the theme, Shakespeare is able to portray the deceitful antics of King

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In the drama Hamlet deception plays a key role in advancing the plot and more, this in most apparent in the character Hamlet whose motives for his deceptions are, the obvious, easily stated motive to kill King Claudius and take revenge for his father, but also the underlying motive of trying to find the true point of his life and whether or not to keep living or let himself Barton 2 go, and this contributes to the main plot by making everyone think he is completely mad and disregarding him as a vengent filled lunatic who has no real true control over his thoughts and actions. The first and primary motive of Hamlet’s deception is to take vengeance for his murdered father and kill King Claudius. “So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:/It is Adieu, Adieu, remember me./

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Redemption, is the action, regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing debt. In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, redemption is a common focus for the protagonist Hamlet, followed by Old King Fortinbras’ son, Fortinbras, and Laertes. These ambitious men embark on a quest for truth and redemption because of the loss of their father’s. In spite of the fluctuations in their quest, their journey for truth and redemption is successful because Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet all avenge their fathers’ deaths. Through Active Reversal, Fortinbras’ quest was successful, by Laertes’ Fear of Betrayal his quest to kill Hamlet was successful.

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As a result,Hamlet can never trust his uncle’s wicked ways to get into people’s heads. Hamlet was betrayed by his friends because they worked for Claudius and gave orders from him,which caused him to not trust them either. For example,when Claudius summons Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to spy on Hamlet,Claudius said,”see if you can make Hamlet feel better and see if you can get info on what he is up to”(Shakespeare 87). This behavior shows evil purposes and twisted words. Claudius sends Hamlet’s friends to make him happier but also use them to see if Hamlet is mad.

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His detailed plans and keen mental ability make him the most intelligent character in the entirety of the play. Hamlet is a very clever and motivated individual who creates extravagant plans to achieve success. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet creates a false persona to divert the kingdom’s attention away from his intention to kill Claudius. He tells Horatio that he will “put an antic disposition on,” (I.v.172) to create a sense of madness. This falsehood is created to ensure Hamlet will not be taken seriously and can follow through with his plans without being suspected.

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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.

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