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Hamlet Deception Essay

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Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare in which nothing can be taken at face value: appearances are frequently deceptive, and many characters engage in play-acting, spying and pretense. What deliberate attempts are made at deception? Are the intended audiences deceived? While some deceptions are perpetrated in order to conceal secrets, others aim to uncover hidden truths. The play itself is built on deception, and can be seen especially through three characters’ words and actions— Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet. Thus, without the thrill of deception, there would be no play; it would be a meaningless, drab story. Lies and deceit will bring each of these men’s downfall. Throughout Shakespeare’s theatrical piece, many of the male characters …show more content…

He sent his right hand man, Reynaldo, to spy on his son, Laertes, in Paris by ordering him to “put on him What forgeries you please” (Act 2 Scene 1 Lines 21-22). Polonius is fine with discrediting his own son’s reputation if that means he would get what he wants, just to find out what his son is up to. It is interesting because earlier on, before Laertes left for his school in Paris, he gave his son a speech, “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man” (Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 84-86). He tells Laertes that it is of the utmost important to be truthful to himself and others, no matter what. If being sincere is so valuable, why does he not follow his own advice? This exemplifies his hypocrisy, which would cause his death later on, where he would be behind the tapestry to try to listen to Hamlet and Gertrude’s meeting and he would be stabbed. His death works well in that he lived a life in a disguise of a wise father, when he really was a fool who only wanted to a higher position in court and would do anything to get it. When Polonius was stabbed, Hamlet called him a “rat”, a fitting description for how he really

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