In the play, Hamlet is conquered by his thought. Hamlet could have easily killed Claudius during the confession but over thinks the situation and decides to wait until he can catch Claudius in a sinful act. Although, Hamlet’s thoughts have infringed on his ability to take revenge when he does act purely on revenge it ends in ruins. In the case of the
The death of one’s father and a ghostly visitation thereafter are events that would challenge the sanity of anyone. The circumstances of King Hamlet’s death render it especially traumatic. The late King seemed to be an idol to his son; Hamlet looked up to him and aspired to have the same qualities. Hamlet doesn't like King Claudius and sees him as a swindling usurper who has stolen not only the dead King’s throne, but Hamlet’s as well(2.4). Hamlet shows Gertrude that she has lowered her standards by marrying Claudius, When he refers to old Hamlet as, “A combination and a form indeed / Where every god did seem to set his seal” (3.4.55-61).
A short essay cannot investigate all instances of this occurrence in all works of the author, but could provide the reader with the major categories. This way, deception will become more recognizable and appreciated as a major element and a spine of the particular story. In two of the most famous Shakespeare’s plays where deception appears as a building block of the story are Hamlet and Othello. In Hamlet the prince uses deception as a tool to distract attention and hide better his strange but vital moves and activities necessary to gather enough information regarding Claudius. The deception comes in the form of fake madness.
The use of characterization in this excerpt is crucial to the demonstation to the inaction of Hamlet, as well as the theme of illusions and reality. Hamlet is self-characterized as cowardice – “pigeon-liver’d and lack gall”,
Hamlet questions whether to take action in avenging his father’s death or to commit suicide in his fourth soliloquy, located in the rising action of the dramatic structure of the play, seen particularly in the lines “puzzles the will/ And makes us rather bear those ills we have/ Than fly to others that we know not of?” Here, Shakespeare foreshadows the recurring theme of Hamlet’s inaction towards avenging his father’s death and uses rhetorical questions to aid in his self-analysis. This is such a controversial part of the play, as many believe that there is more to this speech then just the choice of revenge/suicide. One opinion on this soliloquy is that the contemplation of suicide accentuates the contemplation of what is and what isn’t. The indecision is highlighted within this soliloquy as Hamlet expects nothing less than a sacrifice, believing that he is condemned either way with his struggle of religious code vs honour code, therefore deeming both acts as sinful. This perspective clarifies that to be or not to be is not in fact about suicide but the overall uncertainty of thoughts and actions.
Hamlet also tells the audience that they shouldn’t delay a job for such small reasons like Hamlet does. Hamlet scolds himself for not killing Claudius when he had the chance, and ends up saying: “How all occasions do inform against me/ And spur my dull revenge.” (IV, IV, 32-33). He means to say that all of his plans had backfired, and that he
Hamlet assumes these actions from the actor because these are the actions that Hamlet would use to express his feelings. Hamlet then feels that he is not courageous enough to bravely kill Claudius and all he can do is mope. He puts himself at the peak of frustration since he has not accomplished anything yet and begins to doubt his ability to for revenge and calls himself a coward. He says he should have killed Claudius a long time ago. He then comes up with a plan to have the actors put on a play that is similar to the Murder of King Hamlet.
Hamlet also expresses the possibilities that the ghost could have been the devil. Although hamlet gets upset with himself he believes that the play he arranged would display Claudius’ guilt and then he will know for sure he killed his father. This reveals to the audience that Hamlet is a procrastinator and he is a coward. In Hamlet’s fifth soliloquy he contemplates the idea of suicide, he suggests that maybe the only reason we choose life is because we know so little about death other than it Is final. After contemplation Hamlet decides not to take his own life.
Though his planned maneuver to murder his uncle Claudius, the contrast between his feigned madness and Ophelia’s true madness, and his ability change behavior around different characters that possess his trust, Hamlet’s true, rational condition emerges from beneath his veil of insanity. Hamlet is not truly mad because he is merely using the guise if madness as part of his plan to murder Claudius. After the ghost of old King Hamlet relates the dreadful story of his demise to the young prince Hamlet realizes that his abhorrence of his uncle Claudius is wholly justified. To avenge his father’s murder, Hamlet valiantly uses his keen mind to devise a plan that will confuse Claudius and lure his uncle into a false sense of security. Hamlet decides the best method of deception to trick Claudius is to pretend that he suddenly becomes a raving lunatic.
John Sterrett Mrs. Susser pd. 4 Literary Analysis Essay A recurring trait throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays is the idea of one character that shines light upon the flaws of another character. The character that shows the flaw of the other character is known as a foil. Shakespeare would use foils not only to emphasize someone’s characteristics, but also to help illustrate the play’s overall meaning. For example in Macbeth, Macduff’s loyalty was used to emphasize Macbeth’s disloyalty to the king.