Paolo DiFabio
Dramatic Literature- Section A
26 July, 2010 Hamlet- Statement #2
Throughout literature, one role that has, and will always be, controversial yet crucial to the human condition is the idea of truth and falsehood, an idea that is brilliantly portrayed in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the protagonist Hamlet encounters this double standard. Hamlet is known as a truly universal character because he represents something more than a depressed prince in Denmark. Hamlet has every imperfection that nearly all people cannot confront themselves when they look in the mirror. Shakespeare uses Hamlet as the reflection of the audience in order to authenticate the actuality of their errors and to understand …show more content…
For example, Hamlet is forced by society and his human condition to feel utter responsibility to avenge his father’s murder by his own uncle, King Claudius, who took over his father’s throne. It is in this tragically unexpected tragedy where Hamlet now is driven to seek the truth behind this murder, but it is in his own nature to doubt himself and cover up his vulnerability and fear of what is to come with a façade of deception and madness. He is naturally a contemplative man, so this fear of the unknown and his brutal honesty do not play towards his favor in any …show more content…
His raw honesty and rampant thoughts cause him to fall into the traps of constant disappointment which eventually leads to his demise. These strong character flaws cause for his constant search of truth from the chaotic world around him, but also cause for his subtle changes in character throughout the play. Although he is acting upon his father’s murder the way almost every man in a position such as his would, he is constantly running into obstacles which take him off track of his initial goal and cause numerous sub-conflicts. Although Hamlet’s brutal honesty and sense of falsehood eventually lead to his tragic downfall, this whole hearted honesty comes to play a crucial role when pleadingly trying to convince his mother, the newlywed wife of King Claudius, to escape the clasp of the deceiving and scheming King.
“Confess your love to heaven, repent what’s past, avoid what is to come, and do not spread the compost on the weeds to make them ranker…good night. But go not to my uncle’s bed; assume a virtue, if you have