Friday, October 10, 2014

In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, what is Shakespeare saying about the theme appearance vs. reality?

Shakespeare's Hamlet takes a serious
look at the theme of "appearance vs reality." This theme is a common occurrence in life;
in this story, Shakespeare demonstrates his belief that such behavior can have
deadly results
.


"Appearance vs reality" is seen
when the King and Gertrude encourage Hamlet to pull himself together regarding Old
Hamlet's death. Gertrude asks why his mourning seems to be so
difficult. He responds that it is not something that "seems:" what she sees is
real, not just for show. Hamlet
defies the idea that his actions are anything
but as they appear.


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QUEEN
GERTRUDE


...Thou know'st 'tis common; all
that lives must die,


Passing through nature to
eternity.


HAMLET


Ay,
madam, it is common.


QUEEN
GERTRUDE


If it
be,


Why seems it so particular with
thee?


HAMLET


Seems,
madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.'


'Tis not alone my
inky cloak, good mother,


Nor customary suits of solemn
black,


Nor windy suspiration of forced
breath,


No, nor the fruitful river in the
eye,


Nor the dejected 'havior of the
visage,


Together with all forms, moods, shapes of
grief,


That can denote me truly: these indeed
seem,


For they are actions that a man might
play:


But I have that within which passeth
show;


These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
(I.ii.76-89)



Another example
is when the Ghost appears to Hamlet: it could be his father's
spirit or it could be a dark spirit bent upon destroying Hamlet's
soul. To kill a king, which is what the Ghost asks of him, is a sin against God; the
Elizabethans believed that monarchs were chosen by God. If Hamlet does not have just
cause in killing Claudius, he will be committing a mortal sin. He needs proof that the
spirit is "honest."


Once Hamlet gets these details from the
Ghost, he tries to collect proof that Claudius did kill Old Hamlet.
Hamlet decides that he will pretend to be insane when it suits his
purpose. In Act One, scene five, Hamlet states that he will present an "antic
disposition," and that seeing such, Horatio must not act as if this craziness
is anything but real.


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Hamlet:


But
come—
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,


How
strange or odd some'er I bear myself—


As I perchance
hereafter shall think meet


To put an antic disposition on—
(189-192)



We see this theme
again when Ophelia speaks to Hamlet while being spied on by the King and/or Polonius.
The men are trying to ascertain the cause of Hamlet's mental collapse. Hamlet is aware
that things are not as they appear—that Ophelia is collecting information for the
others. (He blames her for this, but what choice does she
have?)


Later, Claudius tries to make it appear that he
cares for Hamlet as a son. However, it is a lie. After the "play-within-a-play," Hamlet
has shown how dangerous he can be. The King tries to have him executed in England.
Claudius lets Laertes believe that Hamlet is responsible for all of Laertes' heartache
so he will kill Hamlet; the King says he cannot do so because
Hamlet is loved by the people, and Gertrude dotes upon her son. Claudius
says he is a friend of Polonius and Laertes, but this is also a
lie. Later, Claudius acts like he loves Gertrude, but lets her drink the poison intended
for Hamlet.


The false "fronts" the characters adopt lead to
the death of all of the major characters. Ophelia is the only death that is not based on
taking part in palace intrigue: murder, incest, and subterfuge. (She is an innocent.)
The false appearances lead to the doom of the royal family and its
household.

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