Hamlet's Deception

While he muses to himself about Gertrude's conduct, Hamlet hears Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo arrive. Hamlet quickly says, "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (I, ii. 159). He realizes that it is best for him to keep his thoughts and plans to himself, because to do otherwise is to breach the rules of hierarchy. Soon, Hamlet does appear "mad" in his appearance by looking unkempt, and Queen Gertrude attributes this to her husband's death and to her "o'er-hasty marriage" to Claudius (II, ii. 56-57). Thus, when Hamlet rebukes her in public and in private, Queen Gertrude does not become angry. Instead, she feels sorry for him and feels somewhat guilty about her remarriage. When Hamlet suggests for her to take a look in the mirror, Gertrude admits that Hamlet has "turn'st [her] eyes into [her] very soul" (III, iv. 79). Had she thought that Hamlet was sane, Gertrude might not have been as tender towards her son as she was. Hamlet at this point is sane but also very bitter. He says, "I will speak daggers to her, but use none" (III, ii. 366). A madman would have used a real dagger and carried out the rash action of murdering his own mother. When Hamlet speaks to the ghost in Gertrude's room, the Queen believes that her son has truly gone mad. Gertrude pities Hamlet, but even if the ghost only exists in Hamlet's imagination, the apparition functions as his conscience. The ghost reminds Hamlet not to stray from his goal, which

Deception is defined as a misleading falsehood. One is usually deceitful when there is a need to conceal the truth, or create a scheme to reveal the truth. This statement can be applied to the play Hamlet, where Shakespeare creates a society that is built upon deceit. Each character in the play experiences or enacts on some form of deceit in order to expose the truth or obscure the truth. There are no characters in the play that feel the need to be straightforward and seek the truth. As a result, the characters feel the need to continually be deceitful to cover up their past errors. Shakespeare displays various examples of deceit in the play such as dishonesty, antic disposition and betrayal. Through these forms of deceit, Shakespeare

One must always be weary of the truth because it is quite often manipulated to serve the needs of any person who requires that the truth be on their side. Quite often, the only way to discern the truth from the fiction is by way of a deceptive act, because an act of deception always exposes both its self and the truth to be two quite different things. Nowhere is this more true than in William Shakespeare's, Hamlet. One of the major themes in the play is in fact, deception. This central theme is expressed throughout the play in three major forms: the fear of being deceived, the act of deception, and the ultimate result of the deceptive act. The first facet of the deceptive

In comparison to Hamlet’s refusal to kill Claudius before he knew whether or not he was guilty, Hamlet’s stabbing of the “rat” without even caring to double check who it was is unjust and irrational. The reappearance of the ghost during this scene also raises questions of Hamlet’s sanity. While the numerous witnesses of the ghost in the Act I allow the audience to reasonably conclude that the ghost is real, Hamlet is the only one to see the ghost in the closet scene. There are several accepted explanations for Gertrude’s inability to see the ghost. Certain arguments say that the reason lies in Gertrude herself; Gertrude’s innocence protects her from seeing the ghost or that her guilt made her blind to the ghost of her late husband but these are both

Lies and deception are some of the many actions that have disastrous consequences. For the most part, they destroy trust and leave the people closest to us feeling vulnerable. In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's many plays, the theme of lies and deception is very significant. This play shows that every character that lies and practices the act of deception is ultimately punished for doing so by their treacherous deaths. Hamlet has lied and practiced deception several times which has prolonged his primary goal and also causes his death. Additionally, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s unskilled acts of dishonesty and disloyalty towards Hamlet have all backfired; as a

       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

In the play Hamlet, deception is a major factor in the cause of the deaths of all those who die in the play, including Hamlet himself. The following paragraphs will outline the deception involved in the deaths of various characters including: Polonius, Gertrude, Laertes, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Old Hamlet; as well as the downfall of the antagonist and protagonist: Claudius and Hamlet themselves.

When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother. Gertrude was seduced by “that incestuous, that adulterate beast,/With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts” – Claudius himself – prior to his brother’s passing. “So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,/Will sate itself in a celestial bed,/And prey on garbage.” In the mind of Hamlet, this drastically reduces the goodness of womankind generally. Hamlet chooses to use an “antic disposition” to disguise his actions as he maneuvers to kill the one who poisoned his father in the garden. Wilkie and Hurt say that Shakespeare “is particularly fond of double-plotting.” (2156)

In the beginning of the play King Hamlet dies and is thought to have been bitten by a snake until his ghost returns and tells his son, Hamlet, that he was poisoned by present King Claudius. In order to gain revenge Hamlet must prove to himself first his father was murdered. To reveal the guilty, he acts insane. In “Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear” the author states, “He begins by faking insanity in order to punish the guilty (Bail pg. 3).” By faking insanity Hamlet is unpredictable, this makes the guilty person worry they will be discovered. Claudius is shaken by this and fears what Hamlet could do, therefore Hamlets deception is effective and reveals the truth. Claudius joins forces with Polonius to discover Hamlets true intentions. During this Polonius uses deception to learn information from Hamlet. Polonius sets up a meeting with Ophelia and Hamlet to look like an accident. In “Shakespeare’s Hamlet” the author states, “Polonius anticipates a strong reaction from Hamlet on seeing Ophelia with the purloined book, and hopes that it will result in a distracted Hamlet divulging more information to Ophelia than he had planned (Gooch pg. 3).” Deception is used in this instance because Ophelia’s actions are not pure they are meant to trick Hamlet into confessing. This proves that Hamlet is not the only one to deceive, but also Ophelia and Polonius. Deception fills “Hamlet”

In his attempt to "catch the conscience of the king" with The Mousetrap (2.2.558), Hamlet tells Horatio that if Claudius' "occulted guilt/ Do not itself unkennel in one speech,/It is a damned ghost that we have seen" (3.2.70-72). The significance of Hamlet's dilemma is that it shows Hamlet to be very vulnerable and he seems only subconsciously aware of it. It is this vulnerability that makes the character of Hamlet problematic to the reader/audience because it leads to the blurring of the boundaries of right action and wrong judgment.  On hearing of the appearance of his father's ghost, Hamlet exclaims: "My father's spirit, in arms! All is not well./ I doubt some foul play."(1.2.254-255). His expectations that something is wrong is confirmed when the ghost tells him of Claudius' treachery. In this sense, Hamlet is willing to believe in the ghost even before he hears the ghost speaks as he "waxes desperate with imagination" (1.4.87). Then, as the ghost starts to speak, he tells Hamlet to "List, list, oh list!"(1.5.22), pouring into the latter's ears the verbal poison that juxtaposes words like "foul", "unnatural" and "lust" with words like "virtuous queen" and "marriage", "royal bed"(1.5.25-83). It seems that the ghost is trying to place a constant and elevated value on the royal marriage only if it includes having him as the rightful king. Yet life, marriage and death are cycles and not fixed points and death of one spouse

Deceit and lies are rampant in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet. It can be seen in the characters’ actions and words, as well as what they fail to say and do. It comes in various types of relationships -- between husband and wife, parent and child, siblings, and between lovers. Nearly every character in the play either deliberately spins a web of their own lies, uses another person for their trickery, or is used in another person’s deceitful plot. Each has different motives for their deceit -- to maintain power, to achieve their goals, to attain vengeance, or simply because it is necessary to function in this twisted society -- but all of them face a tragic ending no matter their initial intentions. In this play, deceit is so uncontrolled, intertwined, and multidimensional that it becomes impossible for either the characters or audience to ascertain what is true.

Furthermore, by referring to Gertrude as a ‘most seeming-virtuous queen’, the Ghost suggests that Claudius has successfully corrupted her and that this may have occurred before her husband’s death. This constitutes another motivating factor for persuading Hamlet to avenge his father’s honor against his adulterous brother and wife. In addition, in his mention of Gertrude’s ‘falling off’ (1.5.54), the Ghost considers her relationship

Gertrude’s faded memory of her late husband caused her inability to see the ghost. Gertrude did everything in her power to forget the memory of King Hamlet, she remarried as soon after his funeral as possible, also, unlike Hamlet, Gertrude has a very realistic view on life, “Thou know’s ‘tis common; all that lives must die”, Gertrude’s realistic view caused her to move on much quicker than Hamlet. Likewise, her husband, King Claudius, was still facing an internal guilt for murdering his own brother, this guilt caused King Claudius to do everything in his power to forget his brother. Additionally, Gertrude was always very easily influenced by men, she remarried to Claudius very quickly, she then quickly agreed to help Hamlet cover up his madness from Claudius in Act 3 Scene 3, and finally she hastily told Claudius about Hamlet killing Polonius despite promising to keep that secret. Due to Gertrude being so easily influenced, Claudius could easily manipulate her into forgetting about King Hamlet. Finally, Hamlet sees the ghost the first time while he is depressed, and constantly reminiscing about his father. In Act 2, Scene 2 Hamlet questions the ghosts honesty, claiming that perhaps it “May be a devil”, Hamlet will be unable to see the ghost again until he is certain that the ghost is honest, when King Claudius shows his guilt during the play. Despite the play being open to

Throughout the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet learns the truth of his father’s murder. As the play goes on Hamlet swears to take revenge against his father’s murderer. During the play the theme of appearance vs. reality shows up a lot. Many expressions during the play appear to be honest but in reality they are filled with hatred. Particular characters in the play are Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and King Claudius. Covered by this mask these characters give the appearance of being honest but on the other side of the mask they are polluted with dishonesty.

Gertrude fools herself by thinking everything she has done is justified because of Claudius who influenced her thoughts. She needs Hamlet to show her all the wrong she has done, she cannot realize herself. While Hamlet and the Ghost of Hamlet’s father are talking, Hamlet’s father talks about Gertrude,