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Hamlet Throughout William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, distinctions are quite often difficult to make when comparing a character's appearance to the reality of that projection. The discrepancy between appearance or illusion and reality is a major theme throughout, and is important to understanding the characterization of Hamlet. Shakespeare takes the reader right into a consistent debate over appearance and reality throughout the play. Hamlet is full of distinct imagery and characters that are commonly asked to believe their eyes; they must accept what is before them without question. Hamlet, however, does not necessarily accept everything he sees. He does not act because he is a scholar, testing action rather than doing it.
The play begins with a number of premises that the reader must accept and that Hamlet must also accept and acknowledge. Hamlet's father is dead, but early in the play the reader is distracted by the first of Shakespeare's many visual illusions: the Ghost of Hamlet's father. Be thy intents wicked or charitable. (Shakespeare; I. 4. 47) From that, the first conflict between appearance and reality is created. Hamlet questions his perceptions, and wonders if the Ghost is an honest ghost. He does not place value, initially, on what the Ghost tells him. Instead, his judgment of honesty is to determine if he believes the Ghost is his father, or some perception caused by mental distraction.
The Ghost clearly is not the only representation of the discrepancy between appearance and reality in Hamlet, but also a continued reflection on the theme. The reader must consider the significance of this discrepancy in conjunction with a number of other factors. Hamlets ability to perceive his life, and the justice and revenge that seems to clearly occupy his life, is directly affected by his illusions about how his life should be, could be, and would be if his father were still alive. His determination to find justice also supports the illusion of necessary combative action that Shakespeare also creates (Kehler, 398 - 413). - proves thesis, because implies that Hamlet has illusion of action, and does not actually act. The final consideration in any discourse about the significance of illusion or appearance and reality within Hamlet comes when looking at the moral issues of the play. The reader must consider whether Hamlet can actually perceive morality in a clearly definitive manner, or if he is trapped by the appearance of propriety created by his mother and Claudius.
O, my prophetic soul! (Shakespeare; I. 5. 48) Hamlet must differentiate between his own moral beliefs, the moral beliefs supported by the Ghost, and the morality base for his society, governed now by his uncle and mother. Hamlet clearly makes judgments about his uncle, his mother and even Ophelia, based on their individual choices, rather then what actually happened. The players in Hamlet give a stark and interesting contrast to the reality of life in Denmark for Hamlet. The play was dissimilar to the general. For the million are not pleased by a work very much more handsome than fine; they prefer a play with sallets in the lines; as they now prefer his uncles to his fathers picture. (Elliott; p. 61) shows how important reality vs. illusion are for Hamlet, which points to the fact that he is a scholar.
Their performance adds an interesting statement about the ability of people to perceive reality. Hamlets constant conflict between his perceptions and his surroundings impacts his decisions throughout the play and causes the untimely demise of many of the characters before Shakespeare is through. Hamlet's life is riddled with appearances that cannot necessarily be brought into focus with reality. Hamlets interaction with his fathers Ghost causes Hamlet to question the truthfulness of his sanity and his perspective, gives him information about his death, and informs him about the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius, who is now king. The Ghost presents a picture of the murderous nature and incestuous relationship between Claudius and Gertrude that existed before his death. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, - O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce! -won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. (Shakespeare; I. 5. 42 - 46) Both the Ghost and Hamlet create the illusion of this relationship being condemnable on the basis that there was no blood relationship that existed between Claudius and Gertrude.
In reality, their relationship, though improper, did not cross any bloodlines. Gertrude's relationship with Claudius also seems to elicit the concept of instability, uncertainty, and the illusion of a relationship. When Gertrude lets Hamlet know that she will continue her relationship with Claudius in an effort to keep up appearances, the reader begins to wonder who the actual Gertrude is in relation to the character she appears to play (Erlich, 131). The Ghost not only brings up a number of questions for Hamlet, but also reminds him of his own inability to perceive his role within society in Denmark. Hamlet is frustrated because he senses that something he does not understand is happening. He feels the presence of an evil that he cannot define or locate.
He despises himself because he is the son of an unfaithful and disloyal mother. He displays all the characteristics of melancholy: he despises life, he wishes he were dead, and he feels that he has no control over himself or his surroundings. To increase his frustration, anger, and bitter despair, Hamlet must be silent. He cannot change the situation, but he cannot accept it either. (Cliff; p. 49) Hamlets true self, a person riddled with feelings of vengeance and resentment over his fathers death, must combine his desire for justice with the appearance of support for the choices of his mother and the role he must play. Without a clear understanding of himself, Hamlet is tormented by the discrepancies with himself, his mother and his society, as well as with Ophelia, convinced by her father Polonius, which is one of classical figures, helping to understand the issue of appearance and reality. Polonius is one of the characters interested in the appearances of things.
Polonius has always given the illusion of being a loving caring father. He cannot conceive the fact that Hamlet really does love Ophelia. The reality of life for Hamlet is very different than the appearance. The apparition of his father does not only serve as an informant, but also serves to make Hamlet question his reality and his sanity. Hamlet seeks truth, and these kinds of ruminations reveal his tendency to infer conclusions from his observations. He frequently moves from the specific to the general (Cliff; p. 58).
Although there are eyewitnesses who corroborate his account of his discussion with his father, he cannot help but wonder about the strange and difficult encounter and the message that was sent. Hamlet even goes as far as to question the relationship the Ghost has with the moral realm of the world, wondering if the Ghost was sent as a messenger of the devil. In questioning his own reality in connection with the many illusions present in the play, Hamlet cannot decide his role within the realm. Hamlet was not a simple dreamer, but he was an active member of his family and community.
It is clear that the Ghosts message sets into action a number of preventable occurrences. By sharing knowledge of the misogyny and about Gertrude's mistrust, the Ghost provokes the vengeful side of Hamlets personality and sends him, by the illusion of presence, into action that carries through the play. The reality in Hamlets life exists in his acceptance of the Ghosts words as true. Thou cost in such a questionable shape (Shakespeare; I. 4. 48). By believing in the crimes against the state committed by the present king, Hamlet sets his life into a series of actions that become necessary to Hamlets reality. He must avenge the death of his father, he must confront the misdeeds of his mother, he must promote the civil disputes that are occurring, and the insurrection caused by the idea that the previous king was murdered.
Hamlet reflects on his life in relation to all of the events in Denmark at the time and his reflectiveness proves dangerous to him. Instead of acting as cement to stabilize his life, his realizations of the reality become his undoing. Hamlet becomes an emotional product of the moral development of the play and the appearance of moral impropriety charged against his mother envelopes his sense of women. Hamlet seems almost powerless to the will of his the Ghost and is forced to reckon his relationship within Denmark and with his mother and uncle by becoming directly accountable to the spirit. (Matheson 388) points that Hamlet perceives his mother in a strange way, which implies him being a person, whose is very preoccupied with what is going on in his mind vs. what he should do about it. Hamlet has no direct knowledge of Gertrude's misdeeds, but his mind creates a number of fabricated illusions as a product of his discourse with the Ghost.
O shame, where is thy blush? (Shakespeare; III. 4. 91). Hamlet has no direct knowledge of Gertrude's misdeeds, but his mind creates a number of fabricated illusions as a product of his discourse with the Ghost. By believing the knowledge provided by the Ghost, Hamlet, in a disturbing turn against his mother, determines that Gertrude was made a whore by Claudius before they were married, and thus determines his moral vision of who his mother is. But there are clear discrepancies between who the reader perceives Gertrude to be, who Hamlet perceives Gertrude to be, and who she represents herself to be. The illusion of Hamlet as the tormented soul, which often directly conflicts with the true Hamlet and his vengeful nature, finds little inner reflection in his questions about the purpose of life.
Because he cannot grasp the fundamental images that shape his perspective, these larger questions seem to slip through his fingers. His anguish, his torment, does not appear to truly be in regards to the essence of life, but rather the very acts of violence and betrayal that have occurred around him. Hamlets moral reality is that he cannot let go of the revenge he feels against Claudius. His judgment was made with his initial conversation with the ghost and he cannot dismiss the charges that are set forth. It is Adieu, adieu! remember me.
I have short. (Shakespeare; I. 5. 18 - 19) He accepted the Ghost as reality, accepts that he is not a representation of an evil presence, and his interactions through out the rest of the play develop around his realistic expectations of the characters (Foakes, 246 - 248) once again shows how Hamlet perceives the situation with the ghost and how he, being a thinker and a scholar, deals with this situation. The constant conflicts caused by the distinct contrast between reality and appearance or illusion shape the tragedy of Hamlet. Shakespeare presents the picture of a tormented Denmark and a tortured Hamlet in this story of moral insurrection, political upheaval and family honor. I'll be your foil. (Shakespeare; V. 2. 272) Hamlet seems the only messenger able to express the needs of his culture, his society, and his family in terms of moral distinction. But his beliefs and his convictions seem to follow him towards his own defeat. He betrays the love of Ophelia because he cannot bring together his vision of her with his disdain for women, created by his mistrust of his mother.
Hamlet has to sacrifice all, almost sacrificing his sanity to define the needs of his society and the moral expectations that exist under the corrupt monarchy of Claudius (Leavenworth) demonstrates Hamlets analysis of the situation in the country, which is typical for a scholar. The final outcome is bleak. Most of the royal family of Denmark is dead, Shakespeare sacrifices all of the main characters in his play in a bold attempt to express the irony of moral convictions, and Hamlet's hopeful story of revenge and satisfaction falls on empty ears. Few are left to pick up the pieces and Hamlet dies never feeling completely satisfied that justice, even through death, can be achieved. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cliffs Complete: Shakespeare's Hamlet. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. , 2000.
Elliott, G. R... Scourge and Minister: A study of Hamlet as Tragedy of Re vengefulness and Justice. Duke University, 1951.
Erlich, Ave. Hamlets Absent Father. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977, p. 131. Foakes, R. The Masks of Hamlet by Marvin Rosenberg. The Shakespearian Quarterly. (1994); pp. 246 - 248.
Kehler, Dorothea. The First Quarto of Hamlet: Reforming Widow Gertrude. The Shakespearian Quarterly. (Winter, 1995), p. 398 - 413. Leavenworth, P. , ed. Interpretations of Hamlet. San Francisco, CA: Chandler Publishing, 1960.
Matheson, Mark. Hamlet and ' A Matter Tender and Dangerous', The Shakespearian Quarterly. (Winter, 1995), p. 383 - 397.
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