Figurative Language In Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet provides a lengthy plot which contains many powerful soliloquies and weighty lines that hold significant meaning. As Hamlet himself grows obsessed with avenging his father’s death and murdering Claudius, he consequently questions himself due to his uncle’s cunning nature and smooth transition into kingship. Claudius’ ultimate betrayal of Hamlet’s family sets the action of the play into motion and focuses on the thematic importance of how one man can cheat his way to the throne. In one of his last moments, Hamlet labels his uncle’s actions as “cozenage”, a word which rarely appears in Shakespeare’s writing and therefore holds significance when it is used throughout English texts.
Shakespeare’s use of this word corresponds to the colloquial definition which categorizes it as, “cheating, deception, and fraud” (Oxford Dictionary). While cozenage is definitely out of date in modern day, it also remained unpopular during the time Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. In fact, John Cowell defined it in his book The Interpreter: or Booke Containing the Signification of Words, which actually got him in trouble with the English courts in 1609. The word only appears in dictionaries and compilations of words from Europe between the years 1450
and 1650 (LEME). Since this word did not appear in typical daily conversations, it served a stronger impact when someone actually used it.
Therefore, using an uncommon word added more variety to his text and helped develop Hamlet as an intellectual character. It is through his speech regarding Claudius’ destructive actions where Hamlet mentions cozenage, which flows with his pattern of speaking. In this definitive moment before his sword fight with Laertes, Hamlet confides in Horatio to discuss his boiling rage, and even then his anger appears suppressed and well contained. He maintains a sophisticated style when speaking about gruesome topics like his mother’s sexual life, yet the word “cozenage” sounds harsh and highlights Hamlet’s true emotions.
While Shakespeare uses “cozenage” once in Hamlet, it also appears in two other plays to serve a similar purpose and engage audiences. Shakespeare uses the word in the first act of A Comedy of Errors where Antipholus of Syracuse claims that others think his, “town is full of cozenage, as, nimble jugglers that deceive the eye”. This play is one of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, and he uses the context of the word to describe a misunderstanding between different characters. Even though they have the same meaning, Hamlet speaks from a place of anger and disgust and therefore his words hold more power in that situation. Since Shakespeare wrote Hamlet later on in his career, there is a significant development where his characters grow deeper and use language as a vehicle for their thoughts.
Shakespeare also has Bardolph repeatedly say “cozenage” in The Merry Wives of Windsor, which was written around the same time as Hamlet.
Bardolph actually attends to Falstaff, the beloved character from Henry V and Henry VI. When Bardolph repeatedly cries “cozenage” throughout Act 4, Scene 5, it appears comedic since he overuses a word which holds serious meaning and depth for Shakespeare. This repetition diminishes the meaning of the word, which contradicts how Hamlet emphasizes Claudius’ faulty attempt at deception. Both A Comedy of Errors and The Merry Wives of Windsor use “cozenage” in looser terms than Hamlet, which makes sense since cheating and betrayal are main sources of Hamlet’s madness (Open Source
Shakespeare).
Due to the thematic relevance of betrayal in Hamlet, Shakespeare develops intense meaning when using the word “cozenage” to describe Claudius’ gruesome plan to become king. Throughout early modern English, this word appears occasionally throughout dictionaries and does not appear in significant documents or novels. Instead, Shakespeare uses “cozenage” at his own liberty throughout A Comedy of Errors and The Merry Wives of Windsor to over exaggerate a situation or mindset of a character. However, this greatly differs from Hamlet’s interpretation of the word since it deeply affects his life throughout the play and ultimately leads to his death.