Society encourages individuals to present the best publically and hide one’s true nature. In literature, characters portray themselves in one form, but through asides and soliloquies the audience receives the privilege of witnessing the true character unveil itself. The characters conceal their true nature because the suppression aids in achieving their goal. The reasoning behind one’s concealment reveals the nature of the character. In Hamlet, the selfless submit to secrecy for the sake of others. On the contrary, the manipulative embrace secrecy to enhance their success and eliminate any obstacles. Unfortunately, people, blind to the truth, misunderstand the selfless and trust the manipulative; consequently, when the truth unveils the results …show more content…
The well known and overused saying don’t just a book by its cover relates to Hamlet. He portrays a cruel and bitter character and many people consider him “mad”. Even Ophelia, the love of his life, questions his actions and character, saying, “I do not know, but truly I do fear it” (Shakespeare 39). Claudius, his step father, tells Hamlet to move past the grief, which he agrees to do. He also seems like he respects his mother, Gertrude, for example, she wants to meet with him and he accepts without hesitation. He is more than willing to obey and respect his mother. Then in the company of Ophelia he denounces his love for her reassuring her he does not love her. Lastly, he comments on women’s inability to remain faithful by comparing a short prologue to their love. Despite these unsavory incidents, Hamlet contains a genuine and caring nature. Shakespeare provides enlightenment on his true nature through his soliloquies and asides because it is only …show more content…
In Hamlet, Shakespeare develops Hamlet with his true nature hidden in his private life. He, then, creates Claudius, a character with his true nature in his public life. Privately, Claudius repents, “forgive me my foul murder” (Shakespeare 89); however, he also realizes “I’m still reaping the rewards of that murder: my crown and my queen” (Shakespeare 90). An environment with constant public scrutiny births a deeper hunger for aggressiveness and a sense of entitlement as well as providing the opportunity to act on impulses for sex and domination (LaBier). This explains Claudius’ actions because he plays a role in the royal family; however, his brother receives the position as King and gains the love and affection of Gertrude. Jealous, he murders his brother and marries Gertrude, which provides his rewards. Even though he repents in private, Claudius still pursues ingenious schemes to further his success. His conversations with Laertes, where he offers his full support in murdering Hamlet, prove his true nature as the selfish
One primary example which proves the insanity behind Hamlet’s loss of love for Ophelia is when he berates her for being a pawn of her father. During his encounter with Ophelia, Hamlet states that, “If thou dost marry, I’ll give thee this plague for thy dowry. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell” (x).
Although the audience can relate to the general scenarios Hamlet undergoes, most of his experiences are quite incomprehensible to the average person. Thus, proposing these questions naturally leads the audience to put themselves in Hamlet’s shoes, evaluating the “whips and scorns” he has endured, which in turn generates empathy. Interestingly enough, empathy and projection are opposite ideas (Abeles); as Hamlet attempts to redirect the focus off of himself, the audience does the exact opposite by evaluating Hamlet’s life from his cynical yet unique perspective. At the same time, the audience can still identify with Hamlet’s pain stemming from the loss of his father and disconnect with his lover, among other
Claudius is then compared to the internal organs of slaves and a man without morals, remorse or kindness (Ham.2.2.607-608). The powerful metaphors and adjectives used to describe Claudius not only express Hamlet’s intense contempt and disdain towards him, but also serve to convince Hamlet to commit murder. However, Hamlet depicts himself as a whore, a prostitute, and a swearing kitchen maid (Ham.2.2.614-616), reiterating the notion that he is worthless, as well as weak for expressing his emotions through words rather than actions. The shift from metaphors to similes indicate Hamlet’s failure to move past his cowardice and proceed with an act of revenge that would inflict
When Ophelia returns all his letters and gifts he tells her that he has never loved her and that she should “get thyself to a nunnery.” This is one example how his mood changes throughout the play. Then after all this her father, Polinous, is murdered by Hamlet. The Hamlet is sent away to England All of these actions result in her feeling such stress that she becomes insane in the end.
At every library all around the country, the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” can be heard spoken throughout the rows of writings. From a young age, readers are told to choose their literature based on content not the flimsy book jacket. As the phrase states, appearance isn’t everything. The substance of a person or place may not be evident at first glance. The balance between what is shown to the audience, yet kept from other characters, of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s intentions in The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is meant to reveal that reality is only but a pigment of the mind.
The Weapon of Deception (analysis of the use of deception in Acts 1 and 2 of Macbeth) The use of deception is very prevalent throughout the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare. Deception is the act of deceiving. You can compare it to fraud or a scam.
In our world, manipulation takes place in everyday life as a natural impulse for both men and women. In Macbeth, manipulation is centralized around the mask of ambition displaying dominance over humanity. Certainly the witch’s, Lady Macbeth, and our fallen hero Macbeth become puppets of Manipulation it self. Consequently the witch’s power to influence decision-making causes the initial deterioration of Macbeth, along with Lady Macbeth’s influential desire for the throne, and thus Macbeth use of manipulation to create a new embodiment of a mask suffused in ambition for his own cruel deeds.
What would one expect the personality of a man whose father was murdered by his uncle, who becomes his step-father? The personality in question points to Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark—who William Shakespeare depicts in his play “Hamlet.” A character analysis of Hamlet reveals that through his internal dialogue, his interpretation of his father 's murder, and his actions, his traits—bitterness, depression, and anger—emerge. Scholars have studied Hamlet for decades, and most have concluded that Hamlet 's personality indicated insanity. However, after observing Hamlet 's actions, his actions throughout the play do not resemble those of an insane person.
Claudius had arranged an execution for Hamlet, to get rid of him permanently. Behind these acts of deception, we can see Claudius had wanted power, and would do anything to achieve it. This makes
This is what causes Hamlet to compromise his love for Ophelia, as she is stunned and disrespected by his attitude. Similarly, Claudius wanted to gain power, and uses his ambitious attitude to murder his brother, quickly marry his widow, and take the throne himself. Despite their similar nature the two men are driven by different goals. Claudius works to gain and keep power, while Hamlet is working to seek revenge for his father. However, Claudius continues to rule in his power, and dwell in his wronged achievements allowing himself to pursue his
Hamlet’s dislike of women is shown through his behavior and language toward his mother, Ophelia, and women in general. In the play it is very obvious that he is heartless towards the opposite sex by the actions that he takes and the words that he speaks. During the time that this play was written women were viewed as insignificant human beings. Hamlet found himself having feelings for a woman and he does not know how to portray these feelings because he holds his mother responsible for his inability to love Ophelia.
However, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.
To summarize, high class characters in Hamlet use their opposing appearances from reality to paradoxically succeed and fail. First of all, Claudius diverts from reality when he uses the role as king to act joyous at his wedding, act calm to manipulate Laertes and the courtiers, and act fearless when banishing Hamlet. These actions make the king succeed by distracting others from the death of Hamlet Sr., allowing him to seem innocent, convincing men to work with him to destroy Hamlet and avoiding political controversy by banishing his nephew to be killed elsewhere. He fails however considering that the wedding angered Hamlet, Laertes reveals Claudius’ plan to Hamlet and the trip to England killed two of his henchmen. Furthermore, Polonius is
Though Hamlet may earn love from the people of Denmark, Claudius earns respect. Some may argue it is better to be loved than feared as a leader, but Claudius’ resilience in his quest to murder Hamlet proves
Hamlets pursuit for revenge on Claudius establishes conflict within his family. Hamlet does not accept Claudius marrying his mother, therefore he will never see Claudius as