Hamlet can be defined as one of William Shakespeare’s greatest creations. One theme that often occurs in a Shakespearean play is appearance vs. reality, the idea that a character or many characters appear one way, but are secretly planning to make a completely different decision. This choice is usually a selfish one and a decision that will only benefit a small group of people rather than an individual person. These choices often results in harming the majority of the population. In the play “Hamlet,” Characters such as Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear to be innocent, but in turn are actually attempting to accomplish a much larger goal. In “Hamlet,” playwright William Shakespeare uses conflict to portray the idea that people will conceal their inner thoughts and plans in order to gain the trust of those around them to complete their ulterior motive.
Gaining the trust of a large sum of people and appearing innocent while doing it can greatly help a person achieve their motive. Claudius exposes himself as a man who is loving, caring, kind, and honest towards his wife, his family, and toward the citizens of Denmark. After Claudius secretly kills the previous king, Hamlet Senior, he quickly gains the trust and love of every one of his subjects. He shows to the people of Denmark that he will do what is best for them and what benefits them the most. Claudius also does his best to make Hamlet accept him as his new father and to make Hamlet love him because the people of Denmark love Hamlet and for Claudius to appear as a magnificent king, he must gain the affection of his son/nephew. Near the beginning of the play when Claudius is addressing the people of Denmark he says, “To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom” (I ii 5). In this statement Claudius expresses his grief toward his brother’s death, but in reality he is the one that killed his brother and married Gertrude, his wife. Claudius says this so that the citizens of Denmark see