Hamlet Theme of Appearance vs. Reality

Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of

Hamlet’s father died a tragic death. Shakespeare never clearly states the atmosphere and setting of where Claudius poisoned his brother but Branagh chose a clever way to show it. The scene started off outside of the castle on a snowy day. King Hamlet was taking a nap in a chair when Claudius snuck up behind him. Claudius poured poison in the ear of the king and that is when Hamlet awoke from his sleep and started choking. He looked his brother in the eye and died. Kenneth really made it apparent how evil Claudius is. He watched his own brother die and he felt nothing. He made Claudius act the same way as Shakespeare wrote his character to be. Shakespeare had chosen to have Claudius tell the people of Denmark that Hamlet had been killed by a snake. The snake is a perfect symbol of Claudius. Ever since the beginning of time snakes have been viewed as evil because of the story of Adam and Eve. G-d told Adam and Eve to not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. While Adam was elsewhere a snake, the devil, came to Eve. He used his sly ways to convince Eve to eat

There is a general understanding that appearances can be deceiving. This is one of the most fundamental questions in philosophy, appearance vs. reality. When we meet people and get to know them throughout our lives, we soon discover that there is a genuine side to everyone behind the appearance they show. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the characters Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Claudius use appearance vs. reality to manipulate and deceive, which ultimately leads to their downfall.

Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.

Throughout the tragic play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, there are a multitude of characters who seem to act one way but, below the surface, are completely different than they are portrayed. These characters hide behind their own disguise, masking their true identities. The motif Seems Versus Is is brought to the reader 's attention in Hamlet because it shows that although people might seem to be one way, they can be completely different on the inside. These disguises serve as obstacles for Hamlet to overcome throughout the play.

Claudius is not the only fraudulent character in the first two scenes where the theme of appearance verses reality is prevalent. When Hamlet’s mother tries to get Hamlet to accept the fact that all things in nature die she asks him, “If it be, Why seems it so particular to thee?” (I, II, 79) Hamlet responds with, “ “Seems,” madam? Nay, it is I know not “seems.” ” (I, II, 79) Hamlet accepts the fact that all things in nature eventually die, yet he refuses to believe the appearance of how his father dies. The queen is again applied to this theme when she addresses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet:

The Dichotomy of Truth and Deceit and its Effect on the Narrative of Hamlet. Human interaction lies on a plane wherein actions are continuously influenced by forces outside of conscious control. In order to find acceptance, humans submit to their tendency to fall into the realm of untruths, of deceit, and of the insincerity that comes with having to appear a certain way, rather than pushing forth their true selves. Since literature always reflects the nature of the human condition, it is therefore natural that this theme would cement itself within its many facets. A very famous example of this theme at play can be found within Shakespeare's work, Hamlet.

       Hamlet is organized around various pairs of opposing forces. One of these forces is the difference between that what seems and that which actually is, in other words, appearance versus reality. What is, and what merely appears to be? We can discern two principal angles from which this question is approached in Hamlet. First, we have the angle of inward and outward emotions, and the profound distinction that is drawn between them. In other words, the tranquil face that we all show to the world is never the same as the turmoil of our souls. In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores this both explicitly, through the device of the play within the play, and implicitly, through the ways in which he uses

forgiven. He wants to repent for his sin, but he knows that he can’t because he is not truly sorry.

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlet's mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by his decisions regarding his revenge and defining the outcome.

Shakespeare’s use of illusion shows that illusion is in fact the most dangerous thing. Its benefits are outweighed by the never-ending list of dangers that the illusionist, victim, and innocent bystanders suffer from. Although both Claudius and Hamlet can fool others convincingly, it became apparent that their illusions can just as easily backfire onto themselves. Claudius lost control of his ambitions and exposed himself through his passion for what he’s gained, while Hamlet’s personal drive for revenge led himself to similarly deceive the masses, eventually succumbing to his own deceptions. Ultimately, both characters lose everything because of the dangerous game they played, all the while causing the deaths of innocent individuals whose involvement had good intent. From a theatrical point of view, Shakespeare’s utilization of illusion is what makes Hamlet such a brilliant play. The constant allusion to possible resolutions and the dramatic irony that it creates gives the audience the unfortunate opportunity to feel sympathetic for an entire cast of characters. Yet, Hamlet’s most important quality is in its ability to demonstrate for all the disastrous effects of illusion and why it is truly the “most dangerous

William Shakespeare pessimistically argues in his tragic play, Hamlet, that humans’ evil predisposition towards disingenuity leads to the degeneration of the individual due to the severance of relationships and the demise of self-respect. According to Shakespeare, human nature is such that humans misdirect, scheme against, or outright lie to others to further self-serving ends that ultimately do more harm than good. Throughout the play, Shakespeare employs contrasts and metaphors to demonstrate how dishonesty destroys trust and results in the demise of vital human connections with both family and friends. When individuals use deception to satisfy selfish desires, Shakespeare argues that this results in the death of an individual’s peace of mind. He uses personification of the soul and condemning diction to depict how duplicitous practices result in oppressive guilt.

     The dead King appears to have been bitten by a snake. In reality, he has been poisoned. Everyone believes that the king died from snakebite, but once Hamlet knows the truth he is unsettled by the revelation. When Hamlet's dead father directs his son to,

The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Works Characters within one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic plays,

The necessity of balance within the human mind is addressed by the theme of action and inaction within the play. Hamlet, the protagonist of the play, must seek revenge for his father’s murder. However he suspects that his informant, the ghost of his father, could be the devil in disguise, so Hamlet requires proof that Claudius is guilty. In act 2, scene 2, Hamlet soliloquises, ‘I’ll have grounds / More relative than this. The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King’. The use of iambic pentameter, and the rhyming couplet at the end of the scene conveys the importance of the plan. Hamlet has asked the players to perform a scene, mimicking his father’s murder. If Claudius is guilty, he will react poorly to the scene. This example of careful planning illustrates the balance between thought and action that humanity seeks to exemplify. In act 3, scene 1, Hamlet declares, ‘Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, / And thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought’, soliloquising that natural instinct is inhibited by thought. The personification of fear and the connotations associated with the words, ‘sicklied’ and ‘pale’ depict action as strong and thought as weak. This power imbalance between action and thought foreshadows the climax of the play, where action without thought provokes chaotic consequences. In act 5, scene 2, Horatio says to Hamlet, ‘If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither and say you are not fit’. Hamlet replies, ‘Not a whit… If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to