Appearance, Reality, Deception and Dissembling- Assignment 3

    In "Hamlet" there are many cases of deception and dissembling which make the audience question the reality of characters.  The characters are exhibiting strange behaviors in order to maintain and appear like the good guys. By doing this, the audience can become confused as to the true reality of the characters, as wells as their intentions.
     Before we read Act 3, we are under the impression that Claudius is an evil man.  He is evil in the sense that he killed his brother for power however, Claudius can not truly be pure evil if he cries and tries to repent for killing his brother. In this section, a part of Claudius is shown to the audience that may be showing his true reality, although still selfish.
    In another part of the act Hamlet is talking to the ghost of his father again.  During this scene when Gertrude is questioning, "To whom do you speak this?" (III. IV, 130-135), we can question Hamlet's sanity.  We think that Hamlet's insanity is caused by the ghost but, maybe the ghost is caused by his insanity.  There are only a couple of people who can see the ghost, and they were all very close to the previous king.  Maybe the ghost is not real and Hamlet is insane like everyone thinks. The appearance of the ghost to only few people can lead the audience to doubt it's existence.
   Finally like we all know, the role of deception in Hamlet thus far is huge! There is deception between Gertrude and Claudius, Hamlet and the kingdom, Polonius and Hamlet and many other characters.  This deception plays a major part in the play because it draws out dramatic irony.  Dramatic irony gives the plot edge and gives the audience insight on different perspectives.  By using deception, the characters, like Claudius, are trying to create a false appearance.  They want to achieve certain goals to better themselves.
   All of these aspects make the play interesting and give the audience opportunities to guess at the outcome or make assumptions about characters.  I am sure that by the end of the play, we will be able to see the true nature of all the characters and make our final judgement on them.
   

The Idea of Nemesis and Revenge in Hamlet- Assignment 1

     As we know from reading Act-1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, revenge and nemesis are major components to the plot line.  Nemesis refers to the more common saying, "what goes around comes around," because justice always prevails! Hamlet is trying to make this justice happen by giving his uncle what he deserves for killing his father, marrying his mother, and taking over as the new King of Denmark.  

     The aspect of revenge did not take a role in the play until half way through the Act-1 when Hamlet's dead father tells him to, "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (I. v. 20-26).  This point of the play is where revenge and the idea of nemesis begins.  In this section we learn about Uncle Claudius and how he murdered the previous king with a kind of poison. 

     Within the next few acts or by the end of the book, I am sure we will see how Claudius will receive his just desserts from Hamlet.  He can be described as,

           

                    "that incestuous, that adulterate beast,

                    With witchcraft of his wits, with traitorous

                    gifts-

                    O wicked wit and gifts that have the power

                    So to seduce!"

                     (I. v. 40-45)

       With all of these wicked traits, Claudius will be sure to experience justice.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. William Shakespeare The Complete Works.                             Great Britain- Collins Clear-Type Press, 1962. Print.