What Makes Hamlet Deceitful

Many people believe lying is just a bad habit, but that is not true. Lying is a part of human nature, no matter if it is a big or small lie, everyone has lied before (“Lying: Bad Habit Or Human Nature?”). Everyone has different reasons for deceiving others, but that does not change the fact that everyone has lied at some point. Human nature keeps the world from achieving complete perfection, and Shakespeare allows this idea to be the foundation that his plays build off of. The human nature of deception is found as a common theme in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare uses these plays to communicate to his audiences that sometimes in order to find the truth you have to use trickery and manipulation; thus creating the idea that deception can be evil or harmless depending on the circumstances and the intentions of those who are trying to decieve. Hamlet elucidates the dangers that deception can provoke in relationships and shows the consequences of lying. Shakespeare shows his tangled opinions about deception throughout Much Ado About Nothing by using manipulation to help benefit others and destroy relationships; this allows Shakespeare to further show his idea that deception can be used for good and evil.

I think Hamlet by using his mad façade hides his real intentions and motivations from his enemies and people that will give away information,

“Hamlet” and “Twelfth Night” are two Shakespeare plays of complete opposites. Due to one being written as a tragedy, and the other as a comedy, many comparisons can be drawn between the two plays, on themes and motifs that develop throughout the plays. One of the themes that is easily recognisable in the early stages of both plays, is that of deceit and disguise. In “Hamlet”, we learn early on that Hamlet decides to act as a madman in order to try and weed out a confession from his uncle about the murder of his father. Although he does not actually reveal to any other characters his plan until Act 1 Scene 5, when he tells Horatio that he plans to “put an antic disposition on”, the audience can recognise very early that Hamlet is going to show some kind of deceptive characteristics in order to execute his plan.

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

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

In Hamlet deceiving illusions are frequently used to protect truth from being a destructive force. Situations within acts one and two that appear to be true and honest are really contaminated with evil. Various characters within the first two acts hide behind masks of corruption. In the first two acts most characters presented seem to be good and honest making it a complex task for Hamlet to discover all the lies that have hidden objectives within them.

“Don’t tell me of deception; a lie is a lie, whether it be a lie to the eye or a lie to the ear.”- Samuel Johnson. These words could not be any more perfect to describe Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The deception showcased in Hamlet destroyed families, and crumbled kingdoms. Three characters that illustrated this are Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes.

In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the most significant themes is dishonesty and deception are used to get people what they want. This theme is structured throughout the play by three major forms: the fear of being deceived, the act of deception, and the ultimate result of the deceptive act. Throughout the whole play, almost every character utilizes dishonesty to get them what they want, no matter the outcome. In Act I Scene V, Hamlet states: “How strange or odd some'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on).” In this quote he is informing to his peers that he will pretend to be mad because he wants to be able to investigate the accusations made by his father's ghost against Claudius, without raising any suspicion that he knows the truth about his father's death.

Polonius gives his son Laertes his blessing to go to France, but he also sends Reynaldo to go and spy on his every action. “Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris; And how, and who, what means, and where they keep, What company, at what expense; and finding By this encompassment and drift of question That they do know my son, come you more nearer Than your particular demands will touch it: Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him; As thus, 'I know his father and his friends, And in part him: ' do you mark this, Reynaldo?” (Act II, Scene

One must always be wary of the loyal ones around them because it is quite often that they are the very ones to be manipulative to serve their need. The urgency to satisfy their desire stems from their underlying deceitful nature. Normally loyalty is perceived as a good quality however, loyalty can do a great deal of damage. Similar to most Shakespearean work, deception becomes the very foundation of the play, Hamlet. From the start of the play, deception is introduced as Claudius deceives King Hamlet by murdering him and taking his fortune, position as king, and his wife.

Deception and trickery, often seen in real life, is a concept well portrayed in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the play, as the conflict develops, Hamlet, King Claudius, and Ophelia, all use deception to achieve their goals.

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.

In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, a young prince of Denmark, named Hamlet, seeks to uncover the truth about his father’s death. As the play progresses, Hamlet’s father’s ghost reveals to him that his uncle, Claudius, was the one who actually murdered him. After discovering the truth, Hamlet promises to avenge his father’s murderer. In the play, the theme of appearance vs. reality is a continuous one. Many characters in the tragedy that appear to be innocent and honest are actually incestuous and evil in reality. The most prominent characters in this play who are not what they appear to be are King Claudius, Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. William Shakespeare’s

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.

The play “Hamlet” by Shakespeare is a story of a prince named Hamlet, that feels the need to discover the truth about his father’s death. Hamlet has an uncle, Claudius, who takes the throne by marring his mother; the queen. An apparition of Hamlet’s deceased father tells him at the beginning of the play, that Claudius killed him. Appearance versus reality is one of the main themes that is consistent throughout the whole story. Many of the characters that are introduced within the play appear to be genuine and trustworthy, but in reality they are devious and deceitful. The characters in the play which are dishonest are, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius, and the king Claudius. All of these characters appear to be honourable, pure, and moral,