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Why Does Shakespeare Use Deception In Hamlet

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There is no doubt that the tragedy of Hamlet is one of William Shakespeare’s most powerful and influential works of literature, the play was likely one of Shakespeare most popular works and still ranks among his most performed. It has inspired a lot of writers and readers just like me. There are various dominant themes like revenge and the mystery of death appears frequently throughout the course of the play. One of the potential reasons for the intense identification of this play is the way how Shakespeare uses Hamlet, Prince of Denmark to demonstrate the complicated workings of the mind, and how one must use deception to deceive others to get to the truth. In Hamlet, Shakespeare comprises the theme of madness to serve as a motive. Almost
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Hamlet Act Three Essay Question 5 What defines a rat is the fact that these creatures are subtle, reprehensible, and deceitful. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, no other characters define this description quite as well as Polonius. Being the main advisor to King Claudius, Polonius is in a high position of power and has a right to deploy any means to find what he wants from people, however, born from a lust for power, Polonius relies upon deceit to arrive at the truth. This use of deceit has been used as message by Shakespeare to convey several distinct themes about people who use these tactics.

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The question of whether or not Hamlet was insane is of a never-ending debate. Was he always crazy? Was he always faking it? Or was he somewhere in between? In this paper I will share three different views and provide my own interpretation of Hamlet’s sanity.

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A decision is the thought process of choosing between two or more outcomes that may or may not have a great impact. When thoroughly pondered, living life is fundamentally based on making the best decisions. Whether or not they are great or small decision making is critical. Often times, it is the smallest decisions one can make that impact the even bigger decisions later to come. Starting from the time people wake up in the morning, the will be surrounded by the most basic decisions until they go to sleep that night.

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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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What would one expect the personality of a man whose father was murdered by his uncle, who becomes his step-father? The personality in question points to Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark—who William Shakespeare depicts in his play “Hamlet.” A character analysis of Hamlet reveals that through his internal dialogue, his interpretation of his father 's murder, and his actions, his traits—bitterness, depression, and anger—emerge. Scholars have studied Hamlet for decades, and most have concluded that Hamlet 's personality indicated insanity. However, after observing Hamlet 's actions, his actions throughout the play do not resemble those of an insane person.

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Deception comes in many forms and can be seen in all kind of ways but mainly when someone purposely causes someone to believe something that isn 't true to gain a personal advantage. Many authors use this tactic in their plays books and other literary work like in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the author uses the technique of deception to mislead Claudius, Gertrude, himself, Ophelia and his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spare their feelings and to carry out a crime. Hamlet uses deception throughout the novel, but one way is to distract everyone from his true intention which is to gather information against Claudius to prove he killed his father. Shakespeare contributes all this back into his work by making each character in the play enact on some form of deceit to uncover the obscure truth.

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Michael Rothchild Mrs. Arch AP Literature 9 March 2023 Hamlet and Deception The tragedy of Hamlet by Shakespeare shows that the use of deception loses what it is meant to gain. It is human nature to want to lie and cheat to victory, but true accomplishment is only achieved by being straightforward. Additionally this play shows that when a character listens to their Ego and Superego, it accomplishes more than when they listen to their Id. Throughout the play, many characters attempt to succeed through dirty-handed tactics. King Claudius, the primary antagonist, gains a short reign over Denmark by secretly murdering his brother, the former king and Hamlet’s dad.

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In William Shakespeare’s well known play Hamlet, there are several acts of violence that often keep the readers on their toes constantly wondering what will happen next. It all begins with the death of King Hamlet and comes to an end with no royal family in control of the castle, Elsinore, in Denmark. Each character has their own unique motive for self gain throughout the play, but Hamlet has a strong drive for the dangerous game of revenge. Hamlet wants to earn justice for his father who had his kingdom, wife, and crown all stolen out from underneath him when his life is innocently taken by his greedy uncle. “To be or not to be?” is the question Hamlet often asks himself along his journey of revenge, where many emotional encounters and obstacles continue to test him.

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Hamlet’s Mind-Game, the Suspension of Disbelief and the Fictional Reality William Shakespeare composed in 1601 the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark which was considered as a masterpiece at the time and it is still considered as one till the present time. The reason for the great attraction of the play lies in Shakespeare 's unique writing techniques. In these writing methods he elevates the language from its fundamental facility to a level in which the language transfers from its abstract notion to a degree when it becomes materialized for the audience. Therefore, in Hamlet prince of Denmark, the audience in the theater experiences the elaboration of the words from its complex or intangible meaning into a material form; thus a form that is more comprehensible. Equally important, in the play Hamlet himself is able to occupy the liminal space between time dimensions of life and afterlife.

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In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet assumes the disguise of a man that has lost his mind. Hamlet uses this madness to masquerade around in such a way as to not draw attention to his true plan, to avenge his murdered father. Many readers debate as to whether Hamlet is truly mad, or whether he is fully aware of his actions and what he is doing. However, both sides of the debate can agree that Hamlet’s apparent madness is a key element of the play, Hamlet. There are many reasons as to why readers debate Hamlet’s madness.

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Deception is an essential element in any tragedy. Its' affects on the lives of the characters could be destructive or benign. In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark deceit proves to be the very foundation of the play. Shakespeare builds on this idea of deceit between the characters, from the very beginning. The deceit that is practiced is imposed on others as well as self inflicted ultimately leading to a tragic ending.

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In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there are a series of events that causes Hamlet to act abnormally. He has to deal with his father’s death, mother’s remarriage, and his lover Ophelia. However, it is often argued whether Hamlet’s madness is real or fake. Throughout the tragedy, he is over-exaggerating his madness for his plan of revenge.

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Deception: the act of deceiving someone. Throughout The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark deception is a prominent theme. Hamlet uses deception to get revenge on Claudius and restore his father’s honor. In the process of this Hamlet ends up deceiving and hurting the others around him ultimately causing the end of a family’s rule and existence.

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Hamlet uses his tactic of deception in order to distance himself from the other characters, whereas Iago uses his tactic of deception to create an intimate atmosphere. Throughout the play of Hamlet, Hamlet’s main strategy of deception is feigning his insanity. As he pretends to be a madman, he only shares his genuine ideas and thoughts with Horatio, in which Horatio proceeds to remain by Hamlet’s side. Although Hamlet tries his best to let Gertrude know about his plan, she still remains distanced from Hamlet—relationship-wise and location-wise—as result of his strategies. For instance, as Claudius latches on to Hamlet’s intentions, he attempts to send Hamlet to England—away from Gertrude and Claudius—because of his insanity plan.

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“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (I.v.90). Hamlet is about a young prince who is mourning the loss of his father. He then tries to seek revenge on his uncle Claudius because he poisoned his father. Throughout the play Hamlet’s behavior starts to change which causes him to become mad. The theory about all this is a Psychological Approach.

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