Masks In Hamlet

First they think that Hamlet is lovesick over Polonius' daughter, Ophelia, but after the king spies on Hamlet and Ophelia in conversation, he comes to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad, a threat to his rule, and must be sent to England to be executed.  This is a sign of the king's uneasiness over the mettle of Hamlet's anger which is directed towards him.  The last thing that Claudius wants is for Hamlet to be unhappy with him, in fear that Hamlet will overthrow him, discover the murder, or possibly kill him.  The king becomes increasingly nervous as time passes, making him a bit paranoid over Hamlet.

The character that I have chosen to design a mask for is Hamlet. In my mask design I have chosen the colour blue, a noose and a dagger. I chose the colour blue because blue represents depression; throughout the play Hamlet shows many signs of being depressed. After Hamlet’s father’s death, Hamlet went into a mode of not having anything to live for. He himself would rather have died than live in a world where someone who is so corrupted ruled.

Almost every story involves a conflict between hero and villain. In some stories, there is a plot twist where the hero is also the villain—but in Hamlet, there are no heroes and many villains. In Hamlet, every character has lied, kept secrets or is seeking revenge that leads to a tragic ending at every corner, but what we fail to see is who the true villain is. Looking at the character of Hamlet throughout the play, it is easier to spot his many dishonorable actions than his few honorable ones.

Hamlet’s demeanor evolves to have scourge qualities as a result of his father’s ghost. The ghost allows Hamlet to decide how to approach avenging his father’s death, “But, howsomever thou pursues this act” (I.V.91). In Skulsky’s paper, he is baffled why the ghost gives Hamlet free reign to define revenge, “This evasive “howsomever” serves to point up the fact that the ghost has been disobliging enough to leave the task of defining revenge squarely up to Hamlet” (Skulsky 78). Hamlet is believed to be a young man who was not considered to take the throne, so it is confusing why the ghost would trust him to seek the proper revenge. The ghost’s unclarity promotes Hamlet’s negative and bloodthirsty thoughts, and corrupts his demeanor. After this point, Hamlet begins to deceive to people around him by acting differently to manipulate them while he decides how to seek revenge, but when he

Hamlet is a young man who has become crazy from his trials and tribulations in life. He lost his father due to his uncle murdering them and then had to watch his mother marry the killer. Hamlets insanity can be demonstrated by his crude language and disregard for the well being of his mother. It can also be shown by his depression, which causes him to second guess everything including his life and finally his love, Ophelia helps to justify his absurdness by acting as a mirror. His foolish behavior worries many in the kingdom and creates a hostile and paranoid environment for those around. While some in the castle may believe that Hamlet is putting on an act, he proves that he is mad through his violet actions, his mental health and Ophelia.

Throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, we follow Hamlet on his course to seek revenge for the death of his father. To do so, he puts on a mask of insanity and people start to question whether it was really only just a mask. He manages to convince even his mother of his act. However through his words, thoughts, and seeing Ophelia’s true breakdown we can see he was truly putting on an act to fulfill his quest of vengeance. When Hamlet speaks with the ghost and hears the tragic news about his father he begins to plots his revenge.

Coming immediately after the meeting with the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, Shakespeare uses his second soliloquy to present Hamlet’s initial responses to his new role of revenger. Shakespeare is not hesitant in foreboding the religious and metaphysical implications of this role, something widely explored in Elizabethan revenge tragedy, doing so in the first lines as Hamlet makes an invocation to ‘all you host of heaven’ and ‘earth’. Hamlet is shown to impulsively rationalize the ethical issues behind his task as he views it as a divine ordinance of justice, his fatalistic view reiterated at the end of scene 5 with the rhyming couplet ‘O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right’. These ideas are

“That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain…” (I.v.109). Throughout the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, many if not all characters put up their own facade. However as the play concludes, each and every one falls apart. Perhaps that’s the biggest lesson of the play. That nothing good comes from being fake.

First, Hamlet starts to go mad when he enters Ophelia’s room one night. Ophelia says, “My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled, Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle, Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosèd out of hell To speak of horrors—he comes before me” (2.1.87—94). Ophelia is explaining to Claudius that Hamlet showed up in her room one night as she was sewing in her closet. She describes him as looking pale and revolting. Why would a sane person show up to a young lady's room unannounced looking tattered? This is that begins to question Hamlet’s sanity. Then Ophelia states, “He took me by the wrist and held me hard. Then goes he to the length of all his arm, And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face As he would draw it. Long stayed he so. At last, a little shaking of mine arm, And thrice his head thus waving up and down, He raised a sigh so piteous and profound As it did seem to shatter all his bulk And end his being. That done, he lets me go, And, with his head over his shoulder turned, He seem'd to find his way without his eyes, For out o' doors he went without their helps And to the last bended their light on me” (2.1.99—112). Later in the same conversation with Claudius, the reader sees that Hamlet begins to act even stranger. When he grabs Ophelia by the wrist and begins to brush her face with the other hand, we can tell that Ophelia begins to get uncomfortable. She also states that he stays for a great deal of time without speaking a word. To the reader, this seems like what a madman would do. This instance, only furthers the

In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the thoughts of revenge are introduced early in the play. At the end of the first act, Hamlet meets the ghost of his deceased father. He is brought to see him by Horatio and Marcellus, who saw the ghost "yesternight" (Shakespeare 1.2.190). During this exchange of words between the Ghost and Hamlet, the Ghost tells Hamlet, "[s]o art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear." (Shakespeare 1.5.5). He is telling Hamlet to listen closely to what he has to say. Then he tells Hamlet to "[r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 1.5.23). When Hamlet finds out that it was his Uncle Claudius who murdered his father, Hamlet plots against him to avenge his father's

Hamlet begins to react upon his feelings and does away with his reason as he says to the ghost that he will do away with all knowledge and memory and keep within his mind the want to revenge his fathers’ murder. “Yea, from the table of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live”, (1.5.96-103). Hamlet begins to exhibit the argued theme that revenge causes people to act recklessly

Hamlet faces challenges throughout the play that try his inner strengths and test his ability to handle the situation. He is torn between wanting to seek justice, and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is also caught up in an intricate web of lies and deceit, he is considered mad by most characters when in all actuality it is just playing off of the actions of others to benefit himself. He puts on different acts trying to hide the truth, which makes him seem sincerely mad to the people around him. The truth of the matter is that Hamlet can’t decide whether or not his convictions are accurate. This dilemma ultimately leads to not only the deaths of the main characters, but the downfall of the kingdom.

The King is cruel enough to pull at Hamlet’s heartstrings. Although this plot allowed for some results. One can see Hamlet’s insanity begin to bubble and take form. He uses his angst and frustration that is meant for his mother to push Ophelia even farther. Hamlet’s distancing can be seen as another form of protecting people from his insanity.

After talking to the Ghost of his dead father and learning how he was treacherously murdered by his brother Hamlet decides “[a]s I perchance hereafter shall think meet [t]o put an antic disposition on” (I.ii.171-172). Feigned madness enables Hamlet to avoid scrutiny and effectively investigate the ghosts claims. This is best demonstrated through his to be, or not to be soliloquy

Hamlet’s need for revenge begins in act 1 when the ghost tells him what happened. In the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears and tells his son, Hamlet, that he is his father’s spirit, “I am thy father’s spirit…” (act I, scene v). The ghost is talking to Hamlet and tells him how he was really killed. He says, “Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown” (act I, scene v). King Hamlet’s spirit explains to his son that the serpent