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Use Of Deception In Hamlet

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Deception is a common tool among people of the world. For as long as we have communicated, we have worked our way around truths. The art of deception is very intricate and fragile, having to be planned carefully. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, several characters use deception to get their own way. Three of them who made use of it are Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet. The characters’ motivations for being deceptive differ, but the act of trickery does not. In many ways, we can see how Shakespeare was fascinated by deception and the way it could drive a story. The first and arguably the most obvious user of deception is King Claudius. To start off his trickery, his entire title and position was gained with mischievous ways. He murdered the first King of Denmark in secrecy so he could usurp the throne and make the Queen his own. No one would suspect Claudius as the murderer due to his relation as the brother to the late King. Later on in the story, Claudius is suspecting Hamlet of not only being crazy, but possibly learning of the murder. With his words and power as King, he sent Hamlet to England to “get better” from his illness. Along with that he sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s old friends, to supervise Hamlet and confirm he would meet his doom. Claudius had arranged an execution for Hamlet, to get rid of him permanently. Behind these acts of deception, we can see Claudius had wanted power, and would do anything to achieve it. This makes
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