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Dramatic Conflict William Shakespeare is unquestionably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer in English literature. From historians to middle school students to modern authors, just about anyone can tell of his contributions in the literary world. Two brilliant plays of his, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet depict rather remarkable instances of dramatic conflicts that take their place the plays. William Shakespeare's tragic hero, Hamlet, can arguably be discussed, through his rare mix of witty intelligence, hostile impatience and dual personalities, as Shakespeare's most interesting character. At times, Hamlet displays sheer brilliance, evident as he devises a plan to catch Claudius for King Hamlets murder. Hamlet then loses his senses and kills Polonius, leaving no remorse behind him, eventually acting as seemingly two different characters by unexplainable mood changes.
Author and play-write, Shakespeare, usually following Aristotle's Guidelines, leaves readers baffled by creating this mind-boggling character, and even more baffled by Hamlets unforeseen demise, a demise caused by three swelling emotions. These characteristics are all part of this timelessly treasured masterpiece. Hamlet thought about everything he was doing, and everything he was going to do. Hamlet did in fact act like he was mad, just so he could follow through on his plan to avenge his father's death.
Hamlet acted like he was mad because he did not want to outright kill Claudius, because he would probably go to heaven, and Hamlet wanted to make him suffer like Claudius had made his father suffer. Hamlet also knew that he could not go around telling people that Claudius killed his father just because a ghost told him so. Therefore, instead Hamlet masterminded a plan that made the King, Claudius, show his guilt and then he would have proof that Claudius did in fact kill his father. Hamlet's obsession with his mother's remarriage to his uncle contributes to his insanity.
In numerous occasions, Hamlet will make a comment about the little time that it took for his mother to move into his uncle's bed. Sarcastically, Hamlet states, "What should a man do but be merry? For look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within's two hours." Unlike Hamlet, Laertes has developed a different kind of madness, a madness that is controlled by revenge. When Laertes is talking to Claudius, Laertes gets so much revenge building up inside him against Hamlet that Laertes now wants to cut his throat. Laertes behavior is caused by the sudden death of his father who was without a due ceremony, and his sister who has been driven mad, has contributed to the madness that is being built up inside Laertes. With Claudius being the puppet holder and Laertes being the puppet, Claudius turns Laertes into a savage beast to avenge for his fathers' death; perhaps this is what the Claudius has planned all along.
Laertes has a form of madness that is increasing because Laertes knows that he has the capabilities and motivation to act on what he believes on. George S. Tubes may have put it best when he stated that it would have ended the play relatively early on if Hamlet had acted naturally and killed Claudius immediately. This seemingly obvious observation is actually right on target.
If Hamlet had killed Claudius right after he spoke to his father the play would have ended at the beginning of Act II and Shakespeare's longest play would have been cut into nothing more than a campfire skit. A little more thought was given to the subject by William Hazlitt who stated that Hamlet was a perfectionist who wanted everything to be perfect. Hazlitt believed that Hamlet stalls in order to dwell on his victories and think over the matter at hand instead of just going out and killing Claudius. A similar theory is brought up by Richard A. Lanham who believed that Hamlets inaction was brought on because Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius in a dramatic fashion instead of just casually killing him.
I believe that if Hamlet was waiting for a dramatic moment to kill the king he would have killed him right after the play. The play scene is the moment when Hamlet confirms that Claudius had killed his father, as well as the scene where Hamlets caution switches over to hesitation. Much Ado About Nothing is perhaps William Shakespeare's most depressing comedy. Although it is ultimately uplifting, throughout the play there are themes that are also prevalent in such devastating tragedies as Romeo and Juliet, and Othello. Trickery, deceit, and death are woven throughout this smartly written comedy; these themes stray from the typical heartening tone used in the rest of his light comedies.
Much Ado About Nothing is a play based around the theme of deliberate deception. Sometimes this deception is malevolent and sometimes benevolent but the entire play hinges upon these deceptions and how they affect the characters. Don John uses malevolent deception to try to ruin the marriage of Hero and Claudio. Don Pedro, Leonato, Claudio, Hero and Ursula use benevolent deception to try to bring Benedick and Beatrice together in marriage. Beatrice and Benedick even try to deceive each other by hiding their true feelings. Benedick uses this deception to try to talk to Beatrice honestly, without all of the insults and wit.
Don Pedro woos Hero in the name of Claudio at the party. While this wooing is going on, Don John deceives Claudio by telling him that Don Pedro is really wooing Hero for himself. When Don Pedro returns to Claudio, Claudio tries to hide his true feelings by telling Don Pedro that nothing is wrong. Don Johns deception of Claudio and Don Pedro about Heros chastity is a central deception to the play. Leonato and his family deceive everyone when they say that Hero has died. The way that Shakespeare has infused deception into every facet of the play makes one think about their own life.
In the story on the stage, the lives of the characters are full of deception. Every time one turns around there is another deception going on. Some of these deceptions are small and hardly noticed by the characters of the play. Nothing balance each other well. The fact the deceptions run through the play by means of a dramatic conflict as a central theme and as an undercurrent show how completely Shakespeare felt deceit was a part of life. The message Shakespeare sends to his audience is that deceit is a part of life and no matter what you do it will be there, but it is not necessarily a bad thing.
Bibliography: Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Eds. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.
New York. Washington Square Press, 1995. Half, Jay L. Special Issue: Reviewing Shakespeare. Shakespeare Quarterly 36. 5. 1985: 662 - 669. Muir, Kenneth and Stanley Wells, eds.
Aspects of Hamlet: Articles Reprinted from Shakespeare Survey. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
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