The Mask of Hamlet
When people put on a mask or costume it is usually because they are trying to hide themselves or portray a certain feeling to onlookers. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet puts on a "antic disposition" as a strategy to get closer to Claudius. Hamlet tells his friends this by saying (I,iv,170-173) "how strange or odd some'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on), That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, with arms encumb'red thus, or this head-shake, or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase," Hamlet's strategy is successful at the beginning in that he is able to fool Ophilia, Gertrude, Polonius and Claudius but as the play proceeds Polonius and Claudius began to see that there is logic behind his madness and actions. Toward the end Hamlets strategy becomes a tragic error when he begins to act solely on emotion instead of logic. In doing so he makes the mistake of killing Polonius instead of Claudius. Claudius then realizes that it would have been him dead instead of Polonius if he had been there. This scares Claudius in to trying to get rid of Hamlet any way he can. This explains the old saying "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
Hamlet's reason for putting on his antic disposition is that he wants to fool Claudius into believing that he is fanatical and is no threat to him physically or to his anarchy. The reason for doing this is that Claudius secretly killed Old Hamlet, who was king to gain the thrown for himself. Hamlet after conversing with the ghost of his dead father learns that Claudius killed his father and swears revenge on Claudius. By Hamlet putting o...
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...we mourn for" Claudius was not fooled for very long but at first he was sorry for, and was trying to help his past nephew now son get rid of his madness.
In conclusion Hamlet's plan did exactly what it was supposed to allow him to do. Hamlet shows really well the natural reaction to stressful situations by which he acts through emotion not logic. Hamlet would have been a exeptional king because of his logical thinking, but a short lived king because of his inability to act upon it.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations Of Hamlet. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Charney, Maurice. All of Shakespeare. New York, NY. Columbia University Press. 1993.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Riverside Shakespeare. ED. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Riverside Shakespeare. ED. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.
Shakespeare, William. The Tradegy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992
The New Cambridge Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Philip Edwards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Shakespeare, William.
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These masks are upon each character, placed there by either society, self-ignorance, or guilt. Ophelia, Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's lover, hid behind a mask, just like Queen Gertrude's. It was, according to the society and the culture of the time, in the best interest of the woman to display a passive behavior for their personal preservation, which served as Gertrude's mask. Gertrude was brought up to believe that when a woman protests her innocence, in any matter, too much then people will begin to think otherwise. Gertrude revealed the idea of her mask, when responding to Hamlet inquiry of her likes to the play, her response was a bold reply, "The lady doth protest too much methinks" (Gertrude - 3.2.254), while viewing "The Murder of Ganzago." Hamlet's disgust with his mother's lack of strength, in regards to Claudius' sexual temptations, was evident in his soliloquy, after Gertrude begged him to stay with her and Claudius in Elsinore. "And yet, with a month let me not think on 't; fratility, thy name is woman." (Hamlet - 1.2.149-50) Gertrude's submissiveness is also evident in her refusal to face the pain of the true nature of her husband's murder. Gertrude begs "O Hamlet, speak no more! / Thou turn'st my eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct" (Gertrude - 3.4.99-103). In relation to Gertrude, Ophelia is even weaker and more passive. ...
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...3.57). Though Claudius appears to show remorse for his actions, he shows his true character by focusing on maintaining the power and rewards that came from murdering his brother.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2012. Print.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print
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