ipl-logo

Hamlet Deception Essay

793 Words4 Pages

The name Amleth is said to mean ‘trickster’ or ‘stupid.’ The legend of this Danish prince was written by Saxo Grammaticus in 1200 AD and is the inspiration for the play Hamlet, which was written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1601. In the play, deception is a major component and the start of the horrible tragedy that ends in mass death. Hamlet, attempting to get revenge for his father's murder, devises a plan against the new king Claudius who is responsible for this treason. In a combination of pretend madness and stress, Hamlet kills a man, sending his old girlfriend Ophelia into insanity that drives her to suicide, resulting in her brother Laertes challenging a duel between them. However, with the chaos of change and different obstacles …show more content…

Early on, he was not afraid to talk to the ghost of his dead father even when they were alone, saying, “It’s not going to speak here so I will follow it” (Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 4 Line 68). Even though Hamlet knew it was much riskier if the two of them were alone, he was willing to take the risk. Also, Hamlet was a fine fencer and was not afraid to duel with Laertes in a fencing match, even though most people knew he was the best in the land and a difficult opponent to beat. “I’ll win the king’s bet if I can” (Shakespeare 180). This shows that Hamlet is daring and would have guided Denmark to succeed as its …show more content…

As stated before, when he talks, everyone listens. However, Hamlet also convinced everyone at the royal castle that he was going mad. Polonius even noted, “we all agree that Hamlet’s crazy” (Shakespeare Act 2 Scene 2 Line 105). However, when speaking to the actors he was excited to see, he did not seem insane. Another way Hamlet showed his acting skills is when he convinced Ophelia and her father, Polonius, that he was in love with her. He was so convincing that Polonius told Claudius to “Take my head from my body if I’m wrong” (Shakespeare Act 2 Scene 2 Line 167) when insisting “the cause of Hamlet's madness was unrequited love.” (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 1 Line 187). Hamlet changed how others thought and convinced them to believe what he wanted them

Show More
Related

  • Is Hamlet A Good King Research Paper

    836 Words  | 4 Pages

    That would make sense, something that King Claudius was unable to accomplish because he was uneducated. Given the fact in Act 5 Scene 2, Hamlet switched the letter that King Claudius had written to the king of England to kill Hamlet on his way to England. Then Hamlet switched the letter and wrote that the king of England should kill the people who brought it. This fast thinking and education helped Hamlet save his life. Educated individuals tend to stay away from wars and conflicts in favor of seeking out more collaborative solutions to issues that include

    Read More

  • Use Of Deception In Hamlet

    1295 Words  | 6 Pages

    Deception comes in many forms and can be seen in all kind of ways but mainly when someone purposely causes someone to believe something that isn 't true to gain a personal advantage. Many authors use this tactic in their plays books and other literary work like in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the author uses the technique of deception to mislead Claudius, Gertrude, himself, Ophelia and his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spare their feelings and to carry out a crime. Hamlet uses deception throughout the novel, but one way is to distract everyone from his true intention which is to gather information against Claudius to prove he killed his father. Shakespeare contributes all this back into his work by making each character in the play enact on some form of deceit to uncover the obscure truth.

    Read More

  • Was Hamlet Truly Insane?

    1457 Words  | 6 Pages

    Contrasting his attitudes with the moments that the king walks in, his behavior towards Polonius while the play is preparing, and his actions to Ophelia during the play, Hamlet is sporadic, when alone with Horatio, he is calm and collected, then again the sudden resumption to his “antic disposition” when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter. There is a long break in which we don’t sense any insanity from Hamlet, this is due to the fact that he has no need to assume his disguise. When we find Hamlet with the players, he is giving them directions for the play. With the players, Hamlet acts normal and of sound mind because the players are not likely to betray him, they don’t have the opportunity or the wish to do so.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Compare And Contrast Hamlet And Ophelia

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal, revenge, and intrigue. Hamlet, the title character discovers that his uncle killed his father and married his mother effectively stealing the throne. Hamlet decides he must kill his uncle Claudius as revenge for what he had done. However, as the new king, Hamlet isn't sure how to get to him, so he decides to fake madness, but his plan backfires as Claudius doesn't trust him and makes sure he is always watched. In his fumbled plan for revenge, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, forces Polonius's son Laertes to seek revenge against him, and drives Ophelia crazy causing her to kill herself.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Diction In Hamlet

    724 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet is truly crazy In Hamlet, Shakespeare never tells you if Hamlet is truly crazy or if he is faking it but in the story you can clearly see Hamlet has actually gone crazy from the way he acts and the things he says too many characters in the story. In Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes diction between Gertrude, the ghost, Polonius,and Hamlet to show how the loss of a loved one can lead a person to become crazy. Hamlet experiences madness when he talks to Gertrude. Hamlet was showing he was going crazy when he was talking to his mother then he turns and looks to the side and starts to talk.

    Read More

  • Is Hamlet Really Mad

    878 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Hamlet is around Horatio he drops his antic disposition. This proves that Hamlet was not truly insane because he could switch on and off. Hamlet knew exactly what he was doing which proves his sanity. Hamlet also used Ophelia to enhance his antic disposition. He used her to further deceive Claudius.

    Read More

  • Example Of Betrayal In Hamlet

    1327 Words  | 6 Pages

    Hamlet’s intelligence is shown when he does not blindly listen to what the ghost said “Hamlet is aware of the unreliability of otherworldly apparitions and consequently reluctant to heed the ghost’s injunction to perform an action that to him seems objectively evil.” [Foster 2], and instead makes his own plan to see if Claudius is truly guilty of murder because. Hamlet plans to “...have these players / Play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks” [Shakespeare II, ii, 596-598], and see how his uncle reacts to the play , which is like the murder of King Hamlet because “Hamlet believes that he must have greater certitude of Claudius’s guilt if he is to take action.” [Foster 2] he does not rush into anything without analyzing the facts that he has, and checking to see if they are true.

    Read More

  • Madness Of Insanity In Hamlet

    1153 Words  | 5 Pages

    He did not want anyone knowing about his encounter with his father’s ghost. This shows that Hamlet can not be acting mad. Consequently, he believes that one should not perform a role, but actually become the person they 're pretending to be. This shows in his stunt when instead of pretending to be mad, he becomes mad in all

    Read More

  • Use Of Deception In Hamlet

    842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Claudius had arranged an execution for Hamlet, to get rid of him permanently. Behind these acts of deception, we can see Claudius had wanted power, and would do anything to achieve it. This makes

    Read More

  • Deceit And Deception In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1457 Words  | 6 Pages

    Deceit and deception are not the only themes in the story of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, but it is also a way certain characters, mainly Hamlet himself, use to carry out their own personal gain. The focus will mainly be on the main character as he is the best example for a character using deception to his own ends. Hamlet is a very odd and curious character. He does not seem very ambitious, but actually, he is. He uses the tool of deception, under the disguise of moral justice, to seek revenge for his father’s death.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Soliloquies Prove Him A Mad Man Analysis

    950 Words  | 4 Pages

    Other reason is that, “He assumes madness as a means of concealing his actual disturbance of mind. His over-excitability may betray him, but if it be a received opinion that his mind is unhinged, such as excess of over-excitement will pass unobserved and unstudied (Dowden; 1899; 24).” Hamlet was a keen observer of other characters and he had a sharp sense of judging others thus, to fool other by his ‘antic disposition’ he progressed towards his goal and the way he behaved and talked with others would be taken as due to his madness. Thus, he felt

    Read More

  • Is Hamlet Really Mad Essay

    212 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Hamlet’s feigning madness starts to take a hold on him as well, which leads readers to question if he is actually mad. By making the audience constantly question whether Hamlet is really

    Read More

  • Why Is Hamlet's Madness Real

    451 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there are a series of events that causes Hamlet to act abnormally. He has to deal with his father’s death, mother’s remarriage, and his lover Ophelia. However, it is often argued whether Hamlet’s madness is real or fake. Throughout the tragedy, he is over-exaggerating his madness for his plan of revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Strengths And Weaknesses

    1844 Words  | 8 Pages

    Many of Hamlet 's traits may appear to be weaknesses but they are, at second glance, strengths which aid him in his attempt to do away with Claudius. His refusal to murder the "incestuous, murderous, damned Dane" as he prays in Act 3, Scene 3 was a wise decision. If the prince had indeed killed the king he would have been immediately

    Read More

  • Play Analysis: 'Intellectual Indicators Of Hamlet'

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet also showed flexibility of thinking when he refuses to give up on getting revenge, especially since he’s had so many chances to do so, Hamlet sacrifices everything to get revenge, he never changes his mind, never gave up on it either. In Act 3 scene 1 pg.3 Hamlet shows that he was curious about death, and suicide, also religion at the same time he showed, he also showed a little metacognition in the same quote because he is aware of his own desire to commit suicide, he has also become depressed but he accepts all of it even though he knows what they mean. Hamlet also said “Those who are married already, all but one shall live” in Act 3 scene 2, this was a great example of precision of language and thought he is trying to tell Ophelia that he is going to get revenge which meant he was going

    Read More

More about Hamlet Deception Essay

Open Document