Hamlet and Claudius contradict one another in a variety of ways making them enemies throughout the play. Prince Hamlet is perceived as the protagonist in the play for many reasons, one of them being because he displays an elegant intensity in everything he does, making him very amiable to the audience. When Hamlet is truly indecisive, brutal, revengeful, and hateful. When Hamlet speaks to others, his words are thought out to be hurtful to whomever he is speaking to. “You should not have believ'd me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it.
Soliloquy 3 In Act 2, Scene 2 of Hamlet, Hamlet speaks his soliloquy after watching the player’s performance. Hamlet is amazed at the actor’s ability to develop strong emotions for something he hasn’t experienced. Hamlet then wonders what the actor would do if he were actually placed in the same situation as him. Then, Hamlet believes that the actor would “drown the stage with tears, and cleave the general audience with horrid speech, make mad the guilty and appal the free,” (lines576-578). Hamlet assumes these actions from the actor because these are the actions that Hamlet would use to express his feelings.
Henry Mackenzie also refers to Hamlet’s antic disposition as “counterfeited madness” (1095). Hamlet may have fooled Polonius very well but even he had doubts of Hamlet’s madness. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” (2. 2. 215).
He uses reason to explain how certain occasions have delayed him rather than blaming himself for backing out on his plans. In both soliloquies Hamlet makes comparisons between himself and other characters. In Act II he compares himself to an actor and in Act IV he compares himself to Fortinbras. In both soliloquies Hamlet uses the comparisons to put himself down for not carrying out his actions. In Act II Hamlet is angry with himself because he doesn't understand how an actor can get so emotional over a speech that he is reading, while Hamlet, who is actually in the real situation, is passive in his emotions, "Is it not monstrous that this player here, but in a fiction, in a dream of passion, could force his soul so to his own conceit."
This is simple to see at times, however the audience is often found questioning to themselves if aspects of the play are in fact truth in Hamlet’s universe or if they just appear that way. This presents the theme of appearance versus reality, the struggle between the truth, and what falsely appears as such. In order for the main forces in the play to achieve goals or preserve order, they must all hide behind masks of false reality. Main characters who display this often include Polonius, Claudius, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, and of course Hamlet. What we see throughout the play and primarily at the final scene is the unveiling of everyone’s true motives, removing these masks and ultimately resulting in each four character’s demise, which makes this a true tragedy.
Hamlet’s Sanity “When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions!” This quote by William Shakespeare in his play, Hamlet, and portrayed thus in Kenneth Branagh’s movie Hamlet, conveys the essence of the internal conflict in Hamlet. Although not spoken by Hamlet, this quote applies to him above other characters in the play as he, and arguably Ophelia, are the victims of this play. Although many scholars believe that Hamlet has lost his sanity, Hamlet is wholly and completely sane. Hamlet is not crazy because his actions, his intelligence, and his words ultimately prove his sanity.
There is much evidence in the play that Hamlet deliberately feigned fits of madness in order to confuse and disconcert the king and his attendants. His avowed intention to act "strange or odd" and to "put an antic disposition on" 1 (I. v. 170, 172) is not the only indication. The latter phrase, which is of doubtful interpretation, should be taken in its context and in connection with his other remarks that bear on the same question. To his old friend, Guildenstem, he intimates that "his uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived," and that he is only "mad north-north-west." (II.
In the same way at the start of Act 3 Beatrice is fooled into believing that Benedick loves her. This can be somewhat connected to the title of the play “Much Ado about Nothing” as In Shakespeare’s time, the “Nothing” of the title would have been pronounced “Noting.” Indeed, many of the players participate in the actions of observing, listening, and writing, or noting. When the women manipulate Beatrice into believing that Benedick adores her, they conceal themselves in the orchard so that Beatrice can better note their conversation. Since they know that Beatrice loves to eavesdrop, they are sure that their plot will succeed. Noting in the play is what can be shown to be the sort of resolution that can create happiness from turmoil and so it has some success in making Beatrice and Benedick believe that they have feelings for each
In one of the early ironies of the play, Hamlet’s antic disposition, though intended to alleviate suspicion of his actions, only serves to confuse the King and inspire his decision to use Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as spies against his nephew. The King’s observation that Hamlet’s behaviour resembles “more than his father’s death” not only shows Claudius as an astute character, but also hints at a concealed fear that he may have towards the protagonist. At this early stage of the play, however, the audience has no means of deciphering the King’s true nature, as he is yet to reveal his guilt and the Ghost is an uncertain figure, shrouded in an ethereal mystery. The audience remains aware of Horatio’s warning to Hamlet that the Ghost may have an ulterior intent. Horatio even states to Hamlet that the ghost may intend to “draw you into madness”, and this line in particular reverberates in the audiences’ minds as they see Hamlet descend into an undecipherable lunacy.
Hamlet also knew that he could not tell anyone that Claudius has murdered his father or that he had seen the ghost of his father because no one would believe him. Throughout the play Hamlet expresses his “madness” an example would be when he meets Ophelia in the court. In the beginning of their conversation he tells her that he once loved her but then is also confused saying that he didn’t love her at all. This is due to the fact that he sees woman as deceivers because of his mother’s relationship with his uncle. When Hamlet discovers that Polonius and the King are hiding nearby he explodes in a fit of rage, violently attacking her verbally and physically almost like a mad person would.