Truth In Hamlet

806 Words4 Pages
In one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, Hamlet the prince of Denmark must expose the truth about his father’s death. However, the very concept of truth is a part of how Shakespeare brilliantly makes Hamlet a tragedy; The characters introduced throughout the play appear to be truthful, honest, and pure but in reality they are deceitful and evil. There are four main characters that hide behind this sort of figurative mask: Polonius, Rosencrantz (Guildenstern), and Claudius. The appearance of these characters will make it challenging for Hamlet to uncover the truth, thus making the plot very chaotic and interesting for the reader. Polonius keeps up the appearance of a trustworthy and genuine person. He appears to really love and care about his son, Laertes. Polonius gives his son advice that sounds heartfelt but in reality it is condescending and fake. He is trying to be a good father as he speaks strong and influential words like, “See thou character” (I.III.63) and “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice” (I.III.72). Polonius is telling him to stay true to himself and to…show more content…
Their interest in his problems are not genuine at all. They pretend to be Hamlet’s true friends, however Hamlet sees right through them after they start asking about ambitions to become the king. That, to Hamlet, is a big red flag. Hamlet sort of guilt trips them by saying, “Nay, then, I have an eye of you—If you love me, hold not off. / (to himself) I’ve got my eye on you. / If you care about me, you’ll be honest with me” (II.II.299-300) , Guildenstern then says, “My lord, we were sent for” (II.II.301.). Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern once again to try to and get an explanation for Hamlet’s “craziness”. Hamlet is smart and is now used to everyone around him being two-faced therefore he recognizes their intentions once
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