Hamlet's Reality And The Hypocrisy Of Humanity

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Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s character to exemplify the theme of appearance verses reality and the hypocrisy of humanity. In Act I scene II, we see Hamlet exerting his indignation for deception. In voicing that he “know[s] not seems,” and that he does not “seem sad, [he is] sad”, Hamlet projects himself to be a man of honesty, which he implies is a trait others fall short of. Hamlet establishes his moral standings, stressing his beliefs of being true to one’s self and the way that one’s outward appearance like a “dejected haviour of the visage” should be true to what one “[has] that within which passes show.” Through the disingenuous insinuation of the people around him, I was given image of vitreous man with synchronic thoughts, words and actions,…show more content…
In feigning madness, I feel Hamlet is conforming to the deceitful ways of people he despises (i.e. Claudius). Hamlet uses this mask of madness deal with his lost faith and trust of humanity’s true intentions, so he formulate the idea that the only way one might attain goals is to be “mad in craft” and lose their own identity. To me, by contradicting his own commitment to being genuine in his emotions, motives, and actions, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s example of how to some extent we are all subjects of hypocrisy. Furthermore his paradoxical relationship with words, also suggest to me that Hamlet shows duplicity. I feel that Shakespeare foreshadows Hamlet’s hypocrisy, through his opening line by saying: “a little more than kin, and less than kind”, where he manipulates words to provide double…show more content…
Hiding behind the façade of exhibiting deep distress over his "dear brother's death" and bearing his “heart in grief,” he portrays himself as honourable and gentle king. However, being “one [who] may smile, ands smile and be a villain” we discover that Claudius - a villain in disguise - has committed a “murder most foul [...] and unnatural” by killing the King of who was also his brother. Claudius is a man of “wicked wit and gifts” and “shameful lust,” who relies on deception to get his way. He manipulates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to “bring him on to some confession Of [Hamlet] true state”, and with aid of Polonius he uses Ophelia as ‘bate’ to " frankly judge, And gather by him, as he is behaved.” I find it unnerving how his “painted word” can seem so genuine with “no less nobility of love” yet he admits that the “cursed hand of [his] is coated with [his] brother’s blood.” Claudius’s corruption overflows into his use of language, with his frequent use of oxymorons. When he interchanges adjective by saying "mirth in funeral” and “dirge in marriage" in the same sentence, I was inclined to believe that this symbolise Claudius’s the blurring of line between truth and lies. This example asks us to question his appearance comparatively to reality and how truthful a corrupt user of
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