The Importance Of Act Iii Scene I In "hamlet"

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In this essay I will consider the significance of Act III scene I. Before the scene, Hamlet has been contemplating suicide. He also gathered a number of players to act in his “Dumb show”. Polonius has just begun to hatch a plan of spying on Hamlet from behind a curtain. His scene is crucial to the play as it hints at Claudius’s indiscretion and Hamlet’s first outward rejection of Ophelia. It provides an insight to Hamlet’s struggles with life. The themes of the play of questions and mortality are prevalent in this scene. Shakespeare also uses the scene to characterize Hamlet, Claudius and Ophelia. The character of Claudius has been developed in this scene. Previously, the only suspicion cast upon Claudius was by Hamlet and the Ghost, who may not sound very convincing because of the fact that the audience may be convinced that the former is deranged and the latter is a malevolent spirit. However, in Act III Scene I it is Claudius himself who reveals that he has a tainted soul in “Is not more ugly to the ting that helps it/ Than is my deed to my most painted word/ O heavy burden!” the use of the visual imagery “harlot’s cheek” and “beautied with plast’ring art” suggests that Claudius has a dark secret. The use of “painted word” suggests that he is lying and “O heavy burden” goes to show that he is distressed by it. Shakespeare’s characterisation of Ophelia as a tragic heroine takes shape from Act III Scene I. In her speech “O woe is me/T’ have seen what I have seen, see what I see” she is, in fact, blind to Hamlet’s antics and cannot see that it is all a ruse. Unlike most Shakespearean heroines Ophelia’s inability to see past the reality of Hamlet’s deception is the cause of her suicide. The themes developed in this scene are the themes of the play of questions, madness and mortality. An allusion to Hamlet’s madness is referred in the first speech by King

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