Lies and Deceit in Hamlet Essay

Claudius, like Gertrude, uses deception to heighten his own position and to fulfill his desires. In order for Claudius to take the throne after King Hamlets death he had to appear to the public as a grieving sibling. This, of course, was only an appearance, and one pulled off quite well. In a speech to the public, Claudius says, Though yet of Hamlet our dear brothers death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow or woe (I.ii.1-4). After Claudius takes the throne he tries to find out what is causing Hamlets madness. He calls on two of Hamlets former buddies, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him, and figure out what is ailing him. Claudius says to them, so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, So much as from occasion you may glean, Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus (II.ii.14-17). This spy plot is an obvious example of the appearance vs. reality theme by the required deceit necessary to accomplish what the king wishes. The king also plans another spy plot on Hamlet with Polonius in an attempt to see if Hamlet is in love with Ophelia. He does this by asking Ophelia to act like she does not love Hamlet anymore, while in reality she does. Claudius will go to many extremes, including trickery, to find out what he wants and to benefit himself.

The tragic hero of this tragedy, Hamlet, puts up a veneer to hide his actions in several different ways. Throughout the play, Hamlet looks as if he were mad in order to get closer to Claudius and to justify many of his otherwise peculiar actions. At one point in the play he goes to see his aficionado at the time, Ophelia, to see if he could really trust her. She then recalls Hamlets bizarre appearance to Polonius, and Polonius concludes that he must be mad for her love. She says Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced, No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled, Ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle, Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other, And with a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of hell to speak of horrors (II.i.75-81). Even the king immediately notices Hamlets transformation to the insane. He then becomes more concerned about Hamlet, which is just what Hamlet wants. The king says, Something have you heard Of Hamlets transformation-so call it, Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man Resembles what it was (II.ii.4-7). This is an example of how Hamlets faade does what he intends, as opposed to most of Claudius lies. In a time of truth and confrontation with his mother, he actually explains his trickery to her. He clarifies That I essentially am not in madness, But mad in craft (III.iv.187-188). Another prime example of Hamlets trickery is his planning a play to find out whether Claudius killed his father or not. He tells the players of the play to act out a scene similar to how the ghost described his death. He attempts to make the play appear as simply a common performance, but his real intention is to watch the kings reactions to the drama and discover his guilt or innocence. Hamlet tells Horatio, There is a play tonight before the king. One scene of it comes near the circumstance Which I have told thee of my fathers death. Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt Do not itself unkennel in one speech, It is a damned ghost that we have seen (III.ii.81-88). This is in actuality a spy plot on the king, and a successful attempt to detect the kings guilt. Hamlet also acts as if he does not really love Ophelia in order to focus himself on revenging his fathers death. In a period of several lines he crushes Ophelia with a vicious speech in which he says he does not and never did love her. He says, virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not. Get the to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? (III.ii.118-123). However, after Ophelias death, Hamlet makes it apparent that he did in fact love her, and that his previous actions were all propaganda. He actually becomes very angry that Laertes pretends to be sorrowful when in actuality he is not. This is ironic because Hamlet is getting angry at Laertes for acting deceptively about Ophelia, while Hamlet himself has also been deceiving about Ophelia. Hamlet says, I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum (V.ii.286-288). Several times throughout the play Hamlet deceives people for his own advancement without concern of what he does to them.

All to often people are deceived by what they think is true and what actually is true, and this theme of appearance vs. reality occurs often in Shakespeares Hamlet. In their own way Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet lie to others to improve their own position. Gertrude lies about mourning over her husband. Claudius lies about grieving over his brother, and about spying on Hamlet. Finally, Hamlet lies about acting mad and not loving Ophelia. In many ways, it is human nature to lie, and thus better our own lives. This altering of appearance happens everyday in todays society. Tragically, Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet all thought they could lie about their lives, and this sadly helped contribute to each of their downfalls.