Guilt And Deception In Shakespeare's Hamlet

The Inner Workings of Guilt and Deception Within Hamlet

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex presentation of deception and lies. The act of deceit becomes quite expected from a plurality of roles. The text does not state the moral values of character actions nor their consequences, justifying acts of deceit. As stated in The Science of Deception: Psychology and Commerce in America, an analytical work about the history of Deception:

Deception has a history… that consists of shifts in the activities [and] objects… that people associate with deception, the concept’s moral valances, and the sites where it is both performed and exposed. Duplicity is undoubtedly an ancient human behavior, but how people have explained and especially policed

One’s interpretation of right and wrong today could drastically differ from that of someone from another time. The ideology of deception changes quickly with a strong influence of cultural norms. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet during a time when spying and dishonesty were commonplace in court due to the mystery of monarchy, and the text displays this concept of guilt visibly. The concomitants of guilt justify the characters in deceit, for a guilty conscience could drive one to a remarkably tragic state. To avoid the natural consequences of guilt, the various characters chose to surrender their own self awareness for the secrets of others. They spy and deceive to place guilt unto others in an act of pathological blame. In many instances, a subject may deceive themselves into believing they have not committed any moral wrongdoing whatsoever. In Hamlet, Claudius prays in an act of deceiving his guilty conscience, rather than those listening in, and this can be clearly determined when analyzed

He states, “O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; it hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, a brother’s murder” (Shakespeare, III; 3). It is clear that Claudius sees the error of his ways, and he is able to explicitly recognize where he went wrong. He later states, “My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, and... I stand in pause where I shall first begin, and both neglect” (Shakespeare, III; 3). Claudius is struggling from guilt even stronger than his wrongdoings. He is so paralyzed with guilt that he is unable to react. In many instances, guilt can be described as “healthy shame” (qtd. in Golden). This, essentially, means that when one is experiencing guilt or remorse, they are not reacting negatively through outlets such as violence or anger towards oneself or others. “Guilt can be healthy in moving [one] toward positive thinking and behavior,” (Golden). Therefore, Claudius’ strong feelings of guilt are a sign that his evil is behind