Hamlet : Appearance vs. Reality
Appearance vs. Reality
In The Merchants of Venice the Prince of Morocco says that “All that glisters is not gold;Often have you heard that told” [2.7.69-70]. This statement stands particularly true for the theatrical Hamlet since things are not always as they seem. Shakespeare uses many aspects such as madness, greed and the need to take revenge to build upon his more complex idea of appearance vs reality.The theme is constant until the final act since the characters hide behind a curtain of duplicity creating an image that everything is true although in reality its flipped.The false image make it so that the characters are plagued in lies.The idea of appearance vs reality is tested many times in the play whether it is Hamlet feigning madness, or Claudius’ fabricated sincerity or simply Polonius and his underlying patriarchal ways. Therefore it is evident that the male counterparts create a false persona, in order to mask their true intentions.
Hamlet mourns the death of his father whom he regarded so highly, while and shows distaste for his mother 's hasty marriage to Claudius, his father’s brother. While in the depths of his sorrows, Hamlet appears to have gone insane. Polonius insists Hamlet has gone mad due to his rejected love for Ophelia, his mother claims it is out of grief for Old King Hamlet’s passing and or her shotgun wedding. Multiple conclusions are drawn by the characters as to Hamlet’s change in behavior. Although he is not mad, he uses these assumptions to his advantage; to advance his plot to avenge his father’s death. After the eventful evening where Hamlet reunites with his deceased father, he says to Horatio, “ To put an antic disposition on /That you at such times seeing me, never shall/With arms encumber 'd thus, or this head shake/ Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrases/” [1.5.173-176]. Hamlet plans to act insane so that people do not catch onto his plan of killing Claudius - his father’s murderer- and so that the focus is shifted
In The Merchants of Venice the Prince of Morocco says that “All that glisters is not gold;Often have you heard that told” [2.7.69-70]. This statement stands particularly true for the theatrical Hamlet since things are not always as they seem. Shakespeare uses many aspects such as madness, greed and the need to take revenge to build upon his more complex idea of appearance vs reality.The theme is constant until the final act since the characters hide behind a curtain of duplicity creating an image that everything is true although in reality its flipped.The false image make it so that the characters are plagued in lies.The idea of appearance vs reality is tested many times in the play whether it is Hamlet feigning madness, or Claudius’ fabricated sincerity or simply Polonius and his underlying patriarchal ways. Therefore it is evident that the male counterparts create a false persona, in order to mask their true intentions.
Hamlet mourns the death of his father whom he regarded so highly, while and shows distaste for his mother 's hasty marriage to Claudius, his father’s brother. While in the depths of his sorrows, Hamlet appears to have gone insane. Polonius insists Hamlet has gone mad due to his rejected love for Ophelia, his mother claims it is out of grief for Old King Hamlet’s passing and or her shotgun wedding. Multiple conclusions are drawn by the characters as to Hamlet’s change in behavior. Although he is not mad, he uses these assumptions to his advantage; to advance his plot to avenge his father’s death. After the eventful evening where Hamlet reunites with his deceased father, he says to Horatio, “ To put an antic disposition on /That you at such times seeing me, never shall/With arms encumber 'd thus, or this head shake/ Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrases/” [1.5.173-176]. Hamlet plans to act insane so that people do not catch onto his plan of killing Claudius - his father’s murderer- and so that the focus is shifted
Cited: Shakespeare, Harbrace. Hamlet. Toronto,Orlando,San Diego,London, Sydney: Harcourt Canada, 1988. Print.