Is deception ever a good thing? What if it is to find out the truth, or hide it from someone who might be hurt by it? In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, many characters use deception to achieve their goals, through eavesdropping, lying, and withholding the truth. Hamlet, Polonius, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all use deception to hide or uncover the truth. Hamlet uses deception to hide the truth to help his goal of killing Claudius become a reality. When the Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him, Hamlet decides to keep it to himself, instead of telling the other men. Hamlet thought that if he told the other men who saw the ghost that they would tell the king. If the king knew that Hamlet knew, it would make it harder for Hamlet to get his revenge. Hamlet thought that if everyone thought he was mad, no one would be suspicious of his actions when he tried to kill Claudius, so Hamlet acts crazier and crazier, until the whole court believes that he has gone insane. His plan works, and convinces almost everyone that he has lost his mind. Hamlet uses deception to hide the truth and make achieving his goals easier. …show more content…
Polonius staged a ‘chance meeting’ between Hamlet and Ophelia in the corridor of the palace. He wanted to see if Hamlet would confess to loving her if he thought they were alone. Polonius hid and eavesdropped on their conversation, he was disappointed by what he heard: Hamlet didn’t confess. Polonius didn’t give up. He thought that Hamlet would be more honest with his mother. Polonius staged a meeting between Hamlet and Gertrude in his mother’s chambers. Polonius hid behind an arras to eavesdrop on this conversation. Polonius deceived Hamlet into thinking he was alone with Ophelia and Gertrude so he could trick Hamlet into confessing the truth of his
In addition, Hamlet’s feigned insanity fooled Polonius into believing that he was simply mad with love for Ophelia. Because Polonius was the king’s advisor, he was greatly trusted by King Claudius. After Polonius reads Hamlet’s love letter, the king and queen begin to believe what Polonius is saying about Hamlet just being madly in love. “Do you think ‘tis this?” asked King Claudius.
It is no surprise there is truth and deception in Hamlet, considering Shakespeare’s other plays. Truth and deception are two words that mean different things to many people with each having great importance. Both terms being opposite of each other peak anyone’s curiosity. The words said together make you think about if the statement or situation wondering if it is true or is it false? Truth and deception is one of 18 easily identifiable themes, which help create the play Hamlet. In one of the first scenes, Hamlet starts betraying his feelings about his father’s death.
Both Polonius and Ophelia try, unsuccessfully, to manipulate Hamlet into a place of inferiority. In the first scene of Act II, Polonius and Ophelia discuss the meaning of Hamlet's odd behavior. Though the two characters agree his actions arise out of the torment of spurned love, they arrive at that point through very different means. At the beginning of the dialogue, Ophelia says that she has been "affrighted" by Hamlet in her bed chamber. (II,i 75)
They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy
Upon learning that Ophelia has allied herself with Polonius and Claudius, he loses his head and has an incredibly dramatic episode. He is initially honest and open with Ophelia, but his mood quickly changes when he learns they are being spied on. He questioned Ophelia’s motives by asking whether she was honest and fair. He breaks her heart upon the realization she is not on his side. He tells her that he once loved her, then their conversation spirals into nothing more than Hamlet hurling insults at his former love before storming out.
Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare about a prince named Hamlet who was spoken to by the ghost of his dead father telling Hamlet to kill his uncle Claudius (the new king) because Claudius killed him. The story revolves around Hamlet's dillema of how to kill his uncle while being deceptive enough so that no one finds out about the ghost. This essay will prove how deception is often used in Hamlet for many reasons. Claudius uses deception to protect himself from being prosecuted for his crime of killing the King. No one knows what the deal is with Gertrude because she deceives everybody by keeping to herself all the time keeping everyone from knowing anything. By using quotes from the book I will prove how these two (Claudius and Gertrude) and among a few others , use deception for different reasons and in different ways. A lot of the times it is to protect someone, or themselvs because they believe that the truth will hurt more than their lies.
Misleading instances in the play occur frequently.The moment when the Ghost tells Hamlet that his death was not accidental and that he was poisoned by Claudius is what starts the trail of lies and murder in the play, ( I;v;74-77 ) "Thus I was sleeping by a brother’s hand…/…/ cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, unhouseled, disappointed, unaveled." Until the night of the "Mouse trap", Hamlet still has some doubt in his mind about the Ghosts words. As soon as the king reacts negatively to the plot, Hamlet is one hundred percent sure that Clauduis was deceiving the whole country about Old Hamlet’s death; (III ;ii ;267) "O good Horatio, I’ll take the ghost’s words for a thousand pound. Didst perceive?" Hamlet witnesses the king storming out of the play, showing he was affected by the death of the player king, seeing as how the he died the same way as his brother. It is also apparent that Hamlet is out to mislead the general public by putting on a false face. His "antic disposition" allowes him to act without consequence. He is able to appear mad when it is convenient for him, and this allowes him not to raise any suspicion about his actions, ( I; v; 171-172 ) "As I perchase hereafter shall think meet to put on an antic disposition on."
Polonius starts to question Hamlet’s sanity and soon enough, Hamlet begins to display this behavior more often and towards more people. Hamlet’s odd demeanor affects Polonius, when he later taunts Polonius by giving vague answers to his questions. For example, when Polonius asks Hamlet about what he reads, Hamlet responds saying “words, words, words” (2.2.210). Hamlet finds other ways to taunt him, such as calling him an old fishmonger, as well as indirectly insulting Ophelia by saying “your daughter may conceive, friend, look to ‘t” (2.2.202-203), meaning Ophelia, his daughter, could be pregnant. Besides Hamlet, other characters possess obvious facades. Claudius also exhibits a fake appearance towards his court and even Hamlet. Near the beginning of the play, Claudius addresses the court, saying how he marries his sister-in-law and how he feels sorrowful for “[his] dear brother’s death” (1.2.1). Claudius presents a facade when he reveals that he holds responsibility for King Hamlet’s death. Nevertheless, Claudius acts innocent and covers up his crime. Hamlet discovers Claudius’s guiltiness after watching the play; Claudius prays and asks for forgiveness for murdering his
The question of why Hamlet delays in taking revenge on Claudius for so long has puzzled readers and audience members alike. Immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he seems determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes and swears his companions to secrecy about what has occurred. The next appearance of Hamlet in the play reveals that he has not yet revenged his father's murder. In Scene two, act two, Hamlet gives a possible reason for his hesitation. "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape" (2.2.627-629). With this doubt clouding his mind, Hamlet seems completely unable to act. This indecision is somewhat resolved in the form of the play. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play that is similar to the events recounted by the ghost about his murder to prove Claudius guilty or innocent. Due to the king's reaction to the play, Hamlet attains the belief that the Ghost was telling the truth the night of the apparition.
The Deceit of Hamlet & nbsp;& nbsp; Deceit is often used in politics and everyday life to acquire power and success. The theme of deceit is often repeated in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet’s hesitation in killing Claudius, and Hamlet’s eventual death, are a direct result of deceit in the court. Hamlet tries to deceive everyone into thinking that he is crazy. He believes that with this "antic disposition" he can kill Claudius without any consequences, and avenge his father’s death.
Knowing that Ophelia will relay what she had just witnessed to Polonius, and knowing Polonius will relay what Ophelia had just told him to Claudius, he has them exactly where he wants them. Hamlet in essence, has created his own shadows for the other characters and the “Truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.” (Plato 868)
The play, Hamlet is , in the best words, a web of lies. The story takes place in Denmark, sometime around the year 1600. With the King of Denmark recently dead, and his brother now the new king, there seems to be a bit of foul play going on. The great failure of these characters is that they refuse to confront the truth, either with others or themselves. In fact, nearly of these conflicts are met with lies. Though some of these lies do start with good intentions. The question they beg is, do these good intentions justify the act of lying? If so, where is it line drawn on a well-intended lie or a poor-intended lie? Hamlet proves the idea that not all lies are created equal. There are well-meaning lies, purely evil lies, and some genuinely justified
Hamlet had so much distrust involved with Polonius, that from that moment on, Hamlet knew he had to begin hiding his love for Ophelia and act mad to protect
However, this only because Hamlet knows that Ophelia was helping Polonius spy on him. In act III, scene 1 Hamlet asks Ophelia where he father is and tells her, “Let the doors shut him in, that he may play the fool no where but in’s own home”, (Shakespeare ), him wanting to know where Polonius is and Hamlet saying he can only play the fool at home leads us to believe that he knows what is happening. Because Hamlet knows that Ophelia is helping Polonius is breaks his heart so he has to act like he doesn’t love her and pretends to be
In any piece of literature, the author choses specific element that will act catalysts for most events that occur. This catalyst often directs the piece and creates a cohesive atmosphere in which the plot can thrive. In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the concept of deception as the driving force behind the tragedy and its characters’ actions.