Hamlet's Failed Perception

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said. The art of reading between the lines is a life long quest of the wise,” explains the American author Shannon L. Alder. This statement illustrates that the better one is at perceiving people or situations without just the facts, one will be more wiser and receive rewards for their ability to perceive. Perception means to use one’s senses to understand certain people or situations without being told by becoming aware of hidden meanings. The way that people interpret either people or situations will ultimately affect their way of life, therefore, having knowledge of something that is not directly expressed will make one’s life much easier. Failed perception will result

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are childhood friends of Hamlet that are hired by King Claudius to attempt to find out the cause of Hamlet’s strange behaviour. Hamlet is pleased to see his old friends, but recognizes that the King and Queen have sent them to investigate him as he sees right through their lie that they have only come for a visit to see Hamlet. Later on, Hamlet even refers to them as a sponge as seen in the following quotation: “Ay, sir, that soaks up the king’s countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the king best service in the end. He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed to be last swallowed. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you and, sponge, you shall be dry again” (4.2.15-21). Hamlet uses this metaphor to illustrate that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are being used by King Claudius for information whenever he pleases. Hamlet’s perception of these two helps Hamlet perceive a situation later on in the play when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern escort Hamlet on a voyage to England as they have been instructed by King Claudius because he is afraid that Hamlet will find out his secret after witnessing the play that Hamlet put together that showed a reenactment of what Claudius did to his own brother. On the

As seen in Act 4 Scene 5, Laertes comes back to Elsinore and is angered with King Claudius over the death of his father, Polonius. Laertes becomes even more furious as he witnessed his sister, Ophelia, acting insane because of the death of their father. Claudius tells Laertes that he has every right to feel the need to avenge his father and convinces him to achieve justice by murdering the person that caused Polonius’ death: Hamlet. Laertes agrees, but much to Claudius’ dismay, at the end of the play during the sword fight in which Laertes fatally wounds Hamlet with poison, Laertes reveals to Hamlet that it was Claudius’ idea to kill him and it was his fault that Gertrude died as it as was Claudius that poisoned the goblet of wine. This revelation is in the following quotation said to Hamlet by Laertes: “Thy mother’s poisoned. I can no more. The king, the king’s to blame” (5.2.315-316). In a fury, Hamlet stabs the poisonous sword through Claudius and forces the remainder of the poisoned wine down his throat, ending the life of King Claudius. It can be seen through the misperceptions that Claudius had made that his actions resulted in his death rather than rewards had he perceived Laertes as a man that would not feel guilty for avenging his father’s death no matter