Deception in Hamlet :: essays research papers

Deception is a recurring theme in Hamlet. In a tale of come to, love, and politics, invocation could construct no more fitting place. The lies and pretensions interweave each other, and there is no character left out of this web. All the central characters have their secrets to hide and mistruths to spread, and this is central to the plot and its progression. King Claudius deceives all those around him with his melancholy and celebrating demeanor, and his remote celebration and waking. He seems to mourn for the brother that he slew, and whole caboodle to console all others that may or may not grieve for his brothers cobblers last, such as his nephew and step-son Hamlet. His pretense is great, and forces Hamlet to canvass the truth of the ghosts tale, unraveling the mystery of his fathers death and others involvement.Prince Hamlet has perhaps the most devious series of deceptions in the tragedy. He feints madness, in order to soften up the minds of those he seeks to learn i nformation from, by putting them off their guard. Hamlet also sets in exploit a plan to discover his uncles guilt in the murder of his father through a guide within a play within a play, aptly named The Mousetrap. His clever pretension also leads Polonius wide in his presumption as to the cause of Hamlets sibyllic strange manner and Ophelia to believe that his love for her has gone with his sanity. Ophelia is also aboriginal in the theme of deception in the play. However, she is more so unavowed to the intentions of others to deceive than to her own. Her lies are merely a sense of self-preservation in a world dominated by men. She deceives Hamlet on her feelings for him at the behest of her father, Polonius, in his dodging to determine the true cause of Hamlets strange behavior. Ophelia in turn is actually herself deceived by Hamlets scheme to feint madness. Essentially she is the channeling of Polonius plot of political investigation, and as used as she may be by all sides, s he is not seriously affected by it towards the end of Act III, other than through the death of her heavy father.