Appearance vs Reality “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, is one of Shakespeare’s most significant plays being based on tragedy. The young prince of Denmark, Hamlet, is on a journey to discover the inside track about his father’s death. The theme ‘appearance and reality” consistently occurred throughout the play. Various characteristics in the play appear to be truthful and real but in fact is full of evilness and deception. The outward appearance of characters in Hamlet is incongruent with their inner desires thus disguising truth and creating havoc where goodness and honesty could have prevailed. Hamlet contributes to the theme appearance versus reality throughout the play in frequent scenes. Hamlet appears to be acting quite crazy and unlike …show more content…
Polonius occurs to be faithful to his realm and is prepared to do anything he is asked, but in fact he is immoral and self-centered. In a way, Polonius shows that he adores and consoles his son, Laertes. He presents to Laertes some thoughts of his own and try’s to make him feel special, but in reality the things he says does not mean truthfully anything. As Polonius’s son gets ready to aboard the ship to France, Polonius gives him some advice about being there “And these few precepts in thy memory” (1.3.58). He additionally says to “Give thy thoughts no tongue, / Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. / Those friends thou hast, … unfledged courage (1.3.59-65). An important advice he gives to his son is when he talks about finding friends and making sure they are trustworthy, meanwhile, Polonius is not even reliable himself. Polonius being disguised and showing duplicity towards his son honestly brings out the true appearance in him. Polonius supposedly is an ethical father to Laertes, but actually lies about his faith for his son by doing something crucial. When Polonius is talking to his son, he delivers Laertes a blessing giving him his trust to go away to France but in fact he sends a spy to look out for him. After Reynaldo, Polonius’s attendant, agrees to bring money and letters to Laertes, “I will, my lord” (2.1.2), he suggests to spy on him while he is …show more content…
He exhibits the theme appearance versus reality regularly throughout the play. Claudius operates like he is upset and blameless towards Hamlet for the death of King Hamlet, but actually he is afraid Hamlet know’s about the incident. He attempts to give Hamlet advice about not carrying his dad’s death on his back for so long because it can be harmful and unhealthy. He tries to convince Hamlet in a way by saying that one day he may be the new king of Denmark. After Hamlet explains his reasoning behind being grief, Claudius speaks out to him saying, “Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, / To give these mourning duties to your father. / But you must know your father lost a father, / … Of impious stubbornness (1.2.87-94). Claudius, the so called honourable king, makes it difficult for Hamlet to reveal the truth behind his fathers death. He does not want Hamlet to know the truth behind all of this which uncovers his genuine appearance. Claudius still acts as if he is devastated for the loss of Hamlet's father but actually is stressing because he still panics Hamlet may know he is to blame. When Claudius sends Hamlet and the twins, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, off to England to collect money that they owed Denmark, in reality Hamlet is sent off because he knows too much of the incident and shall be killed. After Hamlet leaves the room from a heated argument with
Claudius feels much guilt about the death of his brother he also faces the desires of power. The guilt of his brother death drives Claudius to be on his toes around the kingdom. He remains very scared that someone like Hamlet Jr. might avenge his father’s death. Hamlet Jr. chooses to use a play to test Claudius’s guilt. He rewrites parts of the play to replicate the story voiced by the ghost. Hamlet Jr. watches Claudius carefully during the performance, and the king leaves during it (Gale). Claudius gets up and leaves because he cannot bear to see the reenactment of how he killed his own brother. The internal conflict of the guilt about his brother eats Claudius up and he goes to repent for the corrupt act he has done: “My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,/ And like a man to double business bound,/ I stand in pause where I shall first begin,/ And neglect; what if this cursed hand,/Were thicker than itself with brothers blood” (3.3.40-45). Claudius repents but knows his words will mean nothing to the heavens because Claudius is an insincere being whom
Claudius is responsible for the death of King Hamlet, regardless of this, he wants to portray himself as someone that is worthy of running the nation of Denmark. Claudius connects to the people of Denmark by demonstrating that they are all participating in the grieving of King Hamlet, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief” (I.ii.1-3). King Hamlet’s death is very recent, but Claudius places himself as someone that is part of the kingdom that will be mourning the death of King Hamlet. This is demonstrated through irony since instead of mourning he is actually enjoying what King Hamlet has left behind; the nation of Denmark and his wife, Gertrude. Through this, Claudius also demonstrates that he wants others to believe that he has not done anything wrong. In order to convey the image of being healthy, Claudius and his court drink merrily within the castle; making the excesses that the court enjoys apparent. Hamlet is not fond of the drinking but then comes to the conclusion that “His virtues else, be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, Shall in the general censure take corruption” (I.iv.33-35). Hamlet then foreshadows his own destiny. No matter how good a person may be, that person can become corrupt due to something that has ...
Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, there is a prevailing theme that is concurrent throughout the play. Throughout the play, all the characters appear to be one thing on the outside. yet on the inside, they are completely different. The theme of Appearance versus reality is prominent in Hamlet because of the fact that the characters portray themselves differently from what they really are.
The new king of Denmark, Claudius allows us to analyze this theme of appearance versus reality. As many do not know the actual way elder Hamlet died, King Claudius acts as though he seems to care deeply about his brother and grieves over his death. Claudius feigns sadness over the loss of his brother when speaking to others, “and that it us befitted/ To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom/ To be contracted in one brow of woe” (Shakespeare I.2.2-4 ), but to the audience his lies are obvious. We know Claudius killed his brother to take the throne, and he doesn’t actually care nor grieve for his brother. His goal has been achieved, but he pretends he grieves along with his new wife and the people. Claudius sees his brother’s murder as heavenly because it helped him achieve his goal to become King,“O, my offence is a rank, it smells to heaven/ It hath the primal eldest curse upn’t, A brother’s murder” (Shakespeare 3.3.36-38). He is proud of the deed, and he sees it as a necessary act. It is clear that Claudius has a dark interior that the audience can see clearly when other characters are not present. Claudius also fakes the love he feels towards his nephew and stepson,
Claudius is the king of Denmark, who is a very powerful and assertive man. He is the type of person that will do anything to get what he wants and everything in his power to stay king. He will do what it takes to get his way, even if that means betraying the person he is supposed to be committed to and love, his wife Gertrude. Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet, who she deeply cares for and loves. She is convinced that Claudius does as well. In order for Claudius to stay as king he must keep Gertrude happy and pleased. He accomplishes this by pretending to love Hamlet in front of Gertrude when in reality he wants to kill Hamlet. Claudius faces the truth that his secret got out and Hamlet knows he killed King Hamlet. Not wanting to ruin his reputation and of course stay king he plans to have Hamlet killed. He lets Gertrude believe...
... the only way to honour his father Polonius is by killing Hamlet. In addition, as Claudius reads the letter from Hamlet to Laertes he says “'Tis Hamlet’s character. “Naked” And in a postscript here, he says “alone.” Can you advise me?” (IV, VII, 52-53). This shows that Claudius takes advantage of Hamlet’s return alone as an opportunity for Laertes to kill him. Through Claudius’s actions the readers observe how he deceives Laertes into killing Hamlet for his own benefit without getting blood on his hands. Furthermore, Claudius’ desperation to kill Hamlet leads to him losing sight of what is important, which is being the king of Denmark, what he originally wanted, instead the lies he told and the manipulation he spread is now taking over. To conclude, it is evident through the play that the words and actions of Claudius have only lead to the spread of deception.
How does a person’s appearance affect the way you perceive them? Appearance can hide a person’s personality and their intentions, and can often create conflict. Appearance versus reality is a common theme used in novels to create conflict and help to evolve the plot. 1984 by George Orwell and Hamlet by William Shakespeare have similarities and differences in the way appearance and reality is used. The original purpose of deceit in each novel appears different but have the same meaning. The way the theme of appearance versus reality is conveyed through different mediums such as double lives, actions, and organizations are similar. In the end, the theme of appearance and reality has different outcomes
Hamlet was told by the ghost of king hamlet to get back at Claudius for his death, or his soul will travel on earth forever. Even before hamlet knew about Claudius killing his father he had problems. It made hamlet mad that his mother would marry so fast and with his uncle. What Claudius did was an outrageous, back stabbing, and unbelievable thing. It was clearly an act of jealousy for his brother's throne and the wife. Claudius did pay back for his actions. Claudius lost his wife, his messenger, and died and even after his death kept loosing because he lost his castle to Fortinbras.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
In addition to this internal struggle, Hamlet feels it is his duty to dethrone Claudius and become the King of Denmark. This revenge, he believes, would settle the score for his mother’s incestuous relationship and would reinstate his family’s honor. These thoughts are solidified in Act I, Scene 5, when his father’s ghost appears and informs Hamlet that is was Claudius who murdered him, and that Claudius deprived him “of life, of crown, and queen” (line 75). This information leads to Hamlet’s promise to kill Claudius, while not punishing his mother for their incestuous marriage. His statement, “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (lines 102-103), demonstrates his adamant decision to let nothing stand in the way of his promise for revenge.
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
One of the most popular characters in Shakespearean literature, Hamlet endures difficult situations within the castle he lives in. The fatal death of his father, and urge for revenge leads Hamlet into making unreasonable decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s sanity diminishes as the story progresses, impacting the people around him as well as the timing and outcome of his revenge against Claudius.
In Hamlet, the value of truth incorporates the theme of appearance as opposed to reality and it links ...