Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark Essay

Much of the dramatic irony and dramatic accent in Shakespe atomic number 18s settlement, The Prince of Denmark derives from the inter ferment between the characters existence and surreptitious personas. The face that distributively of the characters shows to the public contrasts with, in most cases, the private persona of the same character. Similarly, the private face or motives of the characters usu anyy stands in diametric opposition to their public persona. The most apparent examples of this dynamic is, are course, the characters of Claudius and Gertrude who must, by necessity, keep up a fraudulent set of public perceptions to cover their crimes of infidelity and murder.These obvious examples, however, are no more profound or integral to the forges thematic impact than the likewise hypocrisies which afflict nearly every(prenominal) other character of the play. The almost universal nature of tender mendacity is represent in Hamlet as being,in fact, the source of what is r otten in Denmark. The glower of the play exists, in part, in Shakespeares ability to demonstrate the mien in which fraud and being two-faced can impact all levels of society and corrupt even friendship and love.In valet de chambrey ways, the get of characters in Hamlet reflect a affable microcosm, with Hamlet, the young Prince, and Ophelia, representing the spring chicken of society and the ghost of Hamlets father, Gertrude, Claudius, and Polonius representing the social establishment and ethnic traditions which have fostered ongoing mendacity. From the very opening scene of the play, Shakespeare, with a easiness for amazing perspicaciousty, writes the following exchange between Bernardo and Horatio BERNARDO Say, What, is Horatio there?HORATIO A world of him. (Hamlet, 1. 1 25-28) Horatios reply indicates, according to critics of the play, that he is referring to the cold shadow air which has reduced him to a shivering semblance of his former self. However, the follow ca n also be read as a subtle extension of the theme of mendacity adn meant to indicate that even Horatio, who will be revealed through expose the course of the play as a true friend to Hamlet, has been impacted by the rottenness in Denmark, the social hypocrisy which holds all in its sway.Similarly, Polonius, who represents the religious and spiritual aspects of society in the social microcosm of the play, dispenses words of cognizance to Laertes, acting the part of the wise and compassionate patriarch, a man of morality and God. Among his words of wisdom in Act One, Scene Three are the following observations Beware/ Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,/ pay upt that the opposed whitethorn beware of thee. / seduce every man thy ear, but few thy voice/ Take each mans censure, but reserve thy judgment (Hamlet 1. 3, 69-73).Obviously, Polonius fails to live by his own words. He openly intrigues against Hamlet, immersing himself into a quarrel which was not his own, and after doing so, fails to Beart that the opposed may beware of thee (Hamlet 1. 3, 71), but ends up being killed by Hamlet on accident. Key to all of the ironies which are associated with Shakespeares them of social mendacity is the character of Hamlet himself. If the lecturer or audience member who is experiencing Hamlet believes in the heart that Hamlet is, indeed, grisly, then much of Hamlets behavior can be explained by madness.If, on the other hand, the ratifier or audience member believes that Hamlet is simply presenting yet some other social face this one in order to disrupt the hypocrisy of society then Hamlets behavior becomes a manner by which Shakespeare examines the heavy toll which is exacted on the individual in a hypocritical society. There is every condition to believe that the latter condition is the one which Shakespeare hope to achieve in the play. One good turn of events of evidence for this supposition is in Act 2, Scene One, when Ophelia, stricken by the state whi ch Hamlet has give uped himself to get into, she voices her concerns to her father, Polonius.Ophelia describes Hamlet with his doublet all unbraced (Shakespeare, 2. 1, 85) and No hat upon his head (Shakespeare 2. 1, 86). His appearance is taken to be an indication of his inner-state, impel the sense of social facade as serving in lead of truth in society. Ophelia concludes that Hamlet appeared as though he had been loosed out of hell/ To speak of horrors,he comes before me (Shakespeare 2. 1, 90-91). The implication is that Hamlets disheveled state must indicate that he is, in fact, mad.Obviously, period Hamlet appears mad to others, he is plotting with great, rational precision to expose what he fears is the crime committed by his mother and his uncle. The sub-text of this is that Hamlet should be mad given the reality of the dilemma he faces. The great irony is, in fact, that he is not mad, but sane which will not allow him to live in a world of lies and hypocrisy. When Claudiu s and Gertrude react with horror to the play within a play Hamlets response is What, frighted with counterfeit fire (Shakespeare 3. 2, 262) indicating his very rational understanding of the situation and of the reality of social mendacity.At this point, it seems that merely knowing of the hypocrisy is enough for Hamlet because when Claudius responds Give me some light away (Shakespeare 3. 2, 265) it is an admission that he, the King, and by association the entire of Denmark exists in darkness which is the darkness of social hypocrisy. Although hypocrisy is never very justified in Hamlet, there is an interesting reason which is given in Act 4 of the play as to wherefore people may be so easily led into hypocrisy and self-deception and that reason is military personnel mortality. When Hamlet observes of the dead that Theres another why may not that be the skull of a / lawyer?Where be his quiddities now, his quillets,/ his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? (Shakespeare, 4. 1, 94-98) the reader or audience member realizes that the gentlemans gentleman hypocrisy portrayed end-to-end the play represents not only the lies and deceit necessary to facilitate human ambition in a corrupted society, but the human leaning to reject cosmic issues such as life and death and human spirituality in favor of materialism and worldly power. whole kit and boodle Cited Shakespeare, William. The Works of William Shakespeare Gathered into One Volume. New York Oxford University Press, 1938.