Trickery and Deception in Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Essay Example

Trickery and Deception in Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Useful Info

The themes of trickery, deception, and betrayal in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is one of the most important and interesting topics, as it allows not only to approach the disclosure of the artistic idea of ​​the play in more detail but also to penetrate the secret of human characters and destinies. In the images of relationships between the young prince and Claudius, the play “Hamlet” exhibits how moral values decline.

Speaking of betrayal, Shakespeare tries to show the essence of this phenomenon. The Danish king Claudius kills his brother, thereby betraying a loved one, and the country, and his own honor. His betrayals are basically vile and criminal. Bearing in his artistic image, the seal of Claudius, the Danish king, multiplies his adultery with the wife of the deceased. On the example of the death trap arranged by the young Danish king Claudius and prince, we see that the actions of the first are strictly thought out and terrible in their criminal courtesy.

To discuss the reasons that led to the betrayal of the memory of her husband by Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude is quite difficult; we can only emphasize that young Gertrude committed it consciously. Hamlet is deeply disappointed in his mother, who was once the idea of a woman for him. The young prince does not understand how she, who seemed so fond of her father, could have committed such vile haste.

Omitting the petty betrayals of the servants of the Danish throne, including the young prince and Claudius, dictated by the banal desire to curry favor, we will dwell in more detail on the betrayal of Laertes. In this hero, in our opinion, the very involuntary betrayal manifested itself, due to an unfavorable set of circumstances for him. Dejected by the death of his father and indignant at the obviously non-Christian burial of the latter, Laertes easily finds himself in the networks of deception skillfully arranged by Claudius, and then, upset by the death of his sister, he has no strength to listen to his former friend and find out the truth.

Summing up all of the above, on the issue of trickery and deception in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, we can say that the topic of betrayal in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is multifaceted, as it is reflected in the images of Hamlet and Claudius. The author not only reveals to the reader the essence of this phenomenon in the images of the young prince and Claudius but also tries to comprehend both its true causes and philosophical sources. Shakespeare’s betrayal does not have a homogeneous structure: a person can be aware of it and unwittingly commit treason, only in one betrayal invariably - in the play that it brings to a young person’s choice.

The theme of revenge in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is embodied in the images of Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras, and Claudius. Compositionally, in the center, stands the prince, and not only because of his personal significance. Young Hamlets father was killed, but Hamlets father killed Fortinbras’s father, and Hamlet himself kills Laerte's father, triggered emotionally by deception and trickery of Claudius.

In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare’s humanistic approach to this moral problem breaks the character’s tragedy’s decision on revenge. It is very easy to solve the Laertes problem. Upon learning that his father was killed, he is not interested in the circumstances of the death of Polonius, hastily returns to Denmark, raises a riot, breaks into the palace, and rushes to the king, whom he considers being responsible for the death of the old courtier.

Laertes rejects all other moral duties. He does not care that Polonius himself exposed himself to the blow of Hamlet. Upon learning of the death of his sister, Laertes becomes even more determined in his intentions to take revenge on Hamlet and enters into a vile conspiracy with the king to kill the prince.

If Laertes reaches the extreme limit of villainy in his desire to take revenge, Fortinbras reveals a complete disregard for the task of revenge. We do not know the reasons for this, but the circumstances described in the plot allow us to say that young Fortinbras has no real reason for revenge. His father himself summoned Hamlets father to a duel and was defeated in honest martial arts.

Having learned from the ghost of the father the true cause of his death, Hamlet vows to avenge his death killing Claudius, from this moment on, the thirst for revenge takes first place in his life, but for this he, a follower of humane views, must commit evil himself. Hamlet accepts the task of revenge towards Claudius. Hamlet is motivated by love for the king and equally hatred of Claudius, who was not only a murderer but also a seducer of Hamlets mother.

When Hamlet had the opportunity to avenge the death of the king, Claudius was in prayer, and such a death, according to Hamlet, would be a reward for Claudius. Hamlet decides to hold off, but, putting off his revenge, Hamlet scolds himself for inaction and lethargy exhibited by Claudius.

Having fulfilled the oath given to the ghost of the king, Hamlet betrays himself, betrays Hamlets principles and beliefs. Only God is able to give and take life from man, such as Claudius. Hamlet acted as an avenger for what he himself did in relation to others trying to kill Claudius. Evil pays for evil, as shown by the examples of Claudius and Hamlet. Thus, the theme of revenge is present throughout the play, serves as a motive for vile deeds and betrayals of both Claudius and Hamlet, and itself engenders evil, which is a great moral problem.

In Shakespeare’s play, two principles clashed, two systems of public morality: humanism, which affirms the right of every person to his share of earthly goods (Hamlet), and predatory individualism (Claudius), allowing one to trample on others and even all. The humanistic ideal was in the interests of the people and of all mankind. The predatory egoism of Claudius corresponded to the worst aspects of life practice, both of the old ruling feudal class (Claudius) and the rising bourgeoisie (Hamlet).

In the example of Claudius, Hamlet notices the insincerity of people, flattery, and degrading human dignity. In the play, the idea that evil has penetrated into all the pores of society does not leave Hamlet even when he talks with his mother about her guilt before the memory of the former king. Hamlet says: “After all, virtue in this fat age / Gotta apologize to the vice/praying stubbornly to help him” (play “Hamlet”).

All such Hamlets speeches expand the scope of the play, giving it great social meaning. The misfortune and evil that struck the Hamlet family is only an isolated case, characteristic of society as a whole, in reference to Claudius. For young Prince Hamlet, the foundation of order and justice is morality. Hamlet refuses revenge as an obsolete form of punishment. He dreams of justice and tries to affirm it with his actions. However, Hamlet, like his ancestors, usurps the right to decide the fate of Claudius. The purpose of his life is to establish moral laws in his father’s country through the shame or extermination of those responsible, in his opinion, that “something has rotted in our Danish state”.

Shakespeare shows that not only is reality tragic in which evil Claudius is so powerful, but it is also tragic that this reality can lead a beautiful person like Hamlet to an almost hopeless state.

The solution Hamlet is looking for is not what is better, more convenient, or more effective, but that one must act accordingly with the highest concept of humanity. The choice Hamlet faces is this statement:”.. obey / Slings and arrows of a fierce fate / Ile, rushing to the sea of ​​troubles, defeat them / The confrontation?” Hamlet still thinks about the murder of Claudius.

Hamlet has been silently suffering from evil represented in the image of Claudius, or fighting against it is only one side of the issue. Submission to fate may manifest itself in the decision to voluntarily die. At the same time, the active struggle can destroy the young person. The question "to be or not to be?" merges with another - to live or not to live? The theme of death constantly arises in Hamlets reasoning: it is in direct correlation with the awareness of the transience of the being. The young prince hates Claudius.

For young Hamlet, living being is so hard that to get rid of its horrors, it is not difficult to commit suicide. Death is like a dream. But Hamlet is not sure whether the mental torment of Claudius and Laertes ends with death. Dead flesh cannot suffer. But the soul is immortal. What future awaits her "in mortal sleep"? Hamlet cannot know, because he is on the other side of the human existence - "an unknown land, where there is no return to earthly wanderers."

Hamlets reasoning is by no means abstract. Before Hamlet, Claudius of great imagination and subtle sensitivity, and death appears in all its painful tangibility. The fear of dying, about which Hamlet speaks, arises in himself. Hamlet is forced to admit that thinking and foreboding of death deprive a person of decisiveness. Fear sometimes leads to abandoning action and struggle. This famous monologue reveals to us that Hamlet has reached the highest limit in his doubts before the revenge of the king Claudius. It is true that the magnificent words in which Shakespeare clothed the thoughts of his hero were remembered by everyone as the highest expression of doubt and indecision, reflected in Hamlets speeches on Claudius’ revenge

One of the most striking problems of the play is the problem of choice, which can be considered a reflection of the main conflict of the play “Hamlet”. For the thinking persons (Hamlet and Claudius), the problem of choice, especially when it comes to moral choice, is always difficult and responsible.

Undoubtedly, the final result in the play “Hamlet” is determined by a number of reasons, and first of all, by the value system of each individual personality (the images of Hamlet, Claudius, and Laertes). If in his experience, a person is guided by higher, noble impulses, he most likely will not decide on an inhuman and criminal step, will not violate the well-known Christian commandments: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc. However, in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” we are witnessing a slightly different process. Hamlet in a fit of revenge, kills several people, and Hamlets actions cause mixed feelings, but condemnation in this row is in the last place.

In “Hamlet,” upon learning that the death of the king fell at the hands of the villain Claudius, Hamlet faces the most difficult problem of choice. The famous monologue “To be or not to be?” embodies Hamlets spiritual doubts making a difficult moral choice to kill or not to kill Claudius. Life or death? Strength or impotence? Unequal struggle or shame of cowardice? Hamlet is trying to resolve such complex issues.

Hamlets famous monologue shows a destructive spiritual struggle between idealistic ideas and brutal reality. The insidious murder of the king, the indecent marriage of the mother, the betrayal of friends, the weakness and frivolity of the beloved, the meanness of the courtiers - all this fills the Hamlets soul with exorbitant suffering. From the example of Claudius, young Hamlet understands that "Denmark is a prison," and "the century has been shaken". From now on, Hamlet is left alone with the prudish world ruled by lust, cruelty, and hatred.

Hamlet constantly feels a contradiction: his consciousness clearly says what he has to do, but he lacks will and determination. On the other hand, it can be assumed that it is not the lack of will that leaves Hamlet for a long time.

Hamlet is hated by Claudius, for whom there were no laws of kinship, who, together with his mother, betrayed the honor of the king and took possession of the crown. Hamlet is deeply disappointed in his mother, who was once the idea of a woman for him. The meaning of life for Hamlet becomes revenge on Claudius in memory of the king and the restoration of justice. "But, how could this matter be carried on so as not to tarnish oneself". Faced with the contradiction between dreams of life and living itself, Hamlet faces a difficult choice, "to be or not to be, to obey the slings and arrows of a fierce fate or to collide on the sea of ​​troubles, to defeat them by confrontation, to die, to fall asleep."

‘To be’ – for Hamlet, means thinking, believing in a person, and acting in accordance with their beliefs and faith. But the deeper he knows people, his life, the clearer he sees triumphant evil and realizes that he is powerless to crush him with such a lonely struggle. Discord with the world is accompanied by inner discord. Hamlets former faith in man, his previous ideals are crushed, broken in a clash with reality, but he cannot completely abandon them; otherwise, he would cease to be himself. "The century has been shaken - and it is worse than anything that I was born to restore it!" Claudius, for Hamlet, is not just a sacrificial creature, Claudius is the man to be killed for the sake of justice.

As the son of the king, Hamlet must avenge the honor of the family, kill Claudius, who poisoned the king. The fratricide brings evil around him. The trouble with Hamlet is that he does not want to be a successor of evil as in revenge for Claudius – because, in order to eradicate evil, Hamlet will have to use that very evil. It’s hard for Hamlet to take such a path. Hamlet is torn apart by a split: the spirit of the king calls for revenge, while the inner voice stops the "act of evil."

The tragedy for Hamlet is not only that the world is terrible, but also that Hamlet himself must rush into the abyss of evil in order to fight it. Hamlet realizes that he himself is far from perfect, and, indeed, his behavior discovers that the evil that prevails in the world, to some extent, also stains him. The tragic irony of circumstances leads Hamlet to the fact that he, acting as an avenger for Claudius, himself also kills the father of Laertes and Ophelia, and the son of Polonius takes revenge on him.

In general, circumstances are such that Hamlet, carrying out revenge, is forced to smash right and left. Hamlet, for whom there is nothing more precious than living, has to become the squire of death.

Young Hamlet, trying to revenge Claudius wearing a mask of a jester, engages in combat with the world filled with evil. The young prince kills the courtier Polonius, who watches Hamlet, reveals the betrayal of his university comrades, refuses Ophelia, who could not resist the evil influence, and is embroiled in intrigue against Hamlet.