“Knock Knock.”“Who’s there?” “Not who think it is.” From the very onset of Shakespeare’s Hamlet there is an obvious sense of disparity between the appearance of things and their true nature. This theme is engrained in the play by the fact that many of the main characters conceal their true intentions as they question the motives of other individuals.What deceiving does, as Shakespeare explicitly portrays, is that it creates an atmosphere of mistrust, guilt, and corruption.
Of all the main characters in the play, Claudius is the master of hiding treachery in his words and actions. In his speech to the court in Act I Scene II, Claudius uses words to express the grief he feels for his brother’s death; he acts as though he really cares for his brother, but later on Claudius is demasked for the murderer that he is. Additionally, Claudius pretends to care about Hamlet’s well-being, when in fact he is just looking out for himself. Claudius tells Hamlet to stay in Denmark, not out of love, but out of his desire to keep a close on eye on Hamlet and secure his own power. He uses poison literally and figuratively to kill as well as manipulate people into submission, as he has done with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Laertes. As one can easily tell, the play is filled with lies
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In the earlier stages of the play, Hamlet decides to put on a mask of “antic disposition” to hide his true intentions of killing Claudius. He acts with calculated hatred toward Ophelia to convince everyone that his madness is due to Ophelia’s rejection of him. In addition, the play that Hamlet planned parallels this idea. Claudius believes he is going to see a play that Hamlet would like him to see. However, Claudius is oblivious to the fact that Hamlet is using the the play to accuse him of murdering elder Hamlet. All in all, Hamlet truly showcases Shakespeare’s idea of disconnect between our actions and