FREE ESSAY ON APPEARANCE VERUS REALITY IN HAMLET

APPEARANCE VERUS REALITY IN HAMLET

Hamlet
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, there is a dominant and overwhelming theme that is
concurrent throughout the play. Throughout the play, all the characters appear as one
thing on the outside, yet on the inside they are completely different. The theme of
Appearance versus Reality surrounds Hamlet due to the fact that the characters portray
themselves as one person on the outside, and one different on the inside. In the play,
Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, appears to be kind, gentle, and caring on the outside, but in
actual fact, he uses his loving behavior as a mask to cover up the fact that he is a
selfish, mean, and cold murderer. The women in Hamlet appear to live happy and wonderful
lives on the outside, but their happiness is used as mask to cover up the corruptness of
their lives on the inside. And finally Hamlet appears to be mad and insane, but really he
is using his madness as a mask to hide his secretive quest to seek the truth behind his
father's death. Appearance versus reality is concurrent theme that develops as the Danish
kingdom got engulfed in a web of a deception, corruption and lies. 
Hamlet is filled with characters covering up their true intentions with a whole other
person, which appears to be innocent. One character, that used deception to cover up
their true intention, was Claudius. Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, is a very deceptive and
cruel person. Claudius killed his brother, which was Hamlet's son and then married his
brother's wife in order to become the new king of Demark. No one knew Claudius that
committed the murder so he did not receive any punishments for his actions. Claudius was
forced to put on an angle-like appearance that transformed him from a cold murderer to
the perfect king. This illusion that Claudius puts on ensures that his secret his kept
hidden. Under the illusion, Claudius is no longer a mean, and selfish guy, instead he
appears in all aspects to be the perfect gentlemen. Claudius exemplifies the appearance
versus reality theme, by the fact that appears to be kind and gentle, but in actual fact
he is using his kindness and gentleness as a mask to cover up the malicious murder that
he so violently committed. Claudius through out the play feels guilt for action, and thus
tries to repent for his sin in, Act 3 Sc3 Line 54 by praying. In his prayer he says, "My
fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer can serve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder?
Try what repentance can…" In this scene Claudius is not clear on what to feel. He
struggles to get out his prayer, because he is unsure that he will be forgiven. He wants
to repent for his sin, but he knows that he can't because he is not truly sorry. In Act 3
Sc 3 Line 57 Claudius list some reasons why he can ask for forgiveness. He says "Of those
effects for which I did the murder- my crown, mine own ambition, and my queen." Claudius
realizes that his outside wants to seek forgiveness but his inside can not give up the
positions that gained. Claudius thus realizes that he has to separate his own deceptive
illusion from of true feelings.
The women in Hamlet exemplify the theme of Appearance versus Realty as well. Ophelia and
Gertrude display deceptive illusions to hide the corruptions of their lives. Ophelia
shields her love for Hamlet in the beginning of the play, but eventually is forced to
throw herself to Hamlet, at her father's request. Ophelia pretends to be in love with
Hamlet, so her father can prove to the king and queen that Hamlet's madness comes from
his love for Ophelia. Hamlet senses that Ophelia love is not genuine, and therefore
treats her with disgust. He assaults Ophelia with words, and also with his actions, which
included killing her father. In Act 3 Sc 1 Line 140, Hamlet begins displaying acts of
cruelty towards Ophelia, by using malicious sarcasm. He tells her to "Go thy ways to a
nunnery. Where your father… Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play fool
nowhere but in's own house, farewell." Before this scene, Hamlet overhears the king and
Ophelia's dad attempt to form a plan to try to fathom the source of Hamlet's unusual
behavior. Their plan involves using Ophelia as the bait. Ophelia can do nothing but
comply with the king and her father plan. Hamlet is outraged that Ophelia, the girl he
loves, is involved in a plot against him. Out of anger, Hamlet says to Ophelia, "I did
love you once but you should have not believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old
stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not."(Act 3 Sc 1 Line 130) Hamlet renounced
his love for Ophelia and called her a fool actually believing that he did love her.
Hamlet's acrimonious words caused Ophelia to break down emotionally because she was
caught in trap that that forced her to go against her lover. Ophelia's emotional
breakdown could have been prevented if she would have realized that Hamlet's harsh
behavior was an illusion used to conceal his feelings about his mother's scandalous
marriage. The other woman in the play, Gertrude, also displayed the theme of Appearance
versus Reality. Gertrude refuses to believe that Hamlet tells the truth, when he tells
her that Polonius is a murderer. In the Act 3 Sc 4 Line 75, Hamlet tells his Gertrude, "
Here is your husband, like a mildewed ear. Blasting his wholesome brother. In the rank
sweat of an enseamed bed. Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love. Over the nasty
sky… A cutpurse of the empire and rule, that from a shelf the presious diadem stole
and put it into his pocket." Hamlet tells her that her husband killed the old king, in
order to become the new king. Gertrude refuses to believe Hamlet, despite his strong will
to make her believe. Gertrude forces herself to be happy despite of the circumstances.
Her whole life is an illusion, by the fact that she does not want to accept anything that
will make her unhappy. Gertrude wants to live a life filled with nothing but happiness.
Her illusion is the unwillingness to accept the tribulations of life. 
The character that best exemplifies the theme of Appearance versus Reality is Hamlet.
Hamlet acts, as he was a mad man. He acts very strangely, which in turn creates the
illusion that he is insane. He appears to be mad in order to conceal his true feelings
and intentions. Hamlet's true intention is to avenge his father's death by killing
Claudius. Hamlet does not let anything get in the of way avenging his father's death. He
kills three innocent people, Rosencrate, Guildenstern and Polonius without having
feelings of guilt. His malicious actions were actually expressing the way he felt. As the
story progresses, Hamlets becomes a very cruel and cold hearted person who cares for no
one. His madness over takes him. After Polonius's death, Hamlets gets into a fight with
Laertes, Polonius's son. Leartes wants to avenge the death of his father. It isn't until
later much later that Hamlet realizes that Leartes is upset over his father's death.
Hamlet contributes Polonius's death to his madness, when he says to Horatio, "If Hamlet
from himself be ta'en away, and when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, then Hamlt does
it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it, then? His madness. I't be so, Hamlet is of the
fraction that is wronged; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy."(Act 5, Sc.11 Line 235)
Hamlets is telling Horatio that the madness that was within him killed Polonius. The
separation between Hamlet and his madness proves that his madness is just an appearance.
Hamlet knows that his madness is a just a mask used to cover up his true feeling.
Hamlet's true feeling is that he does not care for anyone but himself. Hamlet has a mask
of madness that he uses to conceal his true feelings. Hamlet's madness, though just as an
illusion proves that he does not have care for Ophelia. Hamlet always harasses Ophelia
with denigrating words that belittle her existence. Hamlet harasses Ophelia with his
actions too. Hamlet murders Ophelia's father, which totally destroys Ophelia. Ophelia is
forced to commit suicide because she can't handle the destructive force of her father's
death. At Ophelia's funeral, Hamlets says "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could
not make up my sum…"(Act 5 Sc 1 line 270) If Hamlet loved Ophelia so much, then why
did he treat her so badly. Hamlet madness is used to cover up the hatred he had for
Ophelia as well as for his mother. Hamlet treats his mother with no respect at all. He
threatens her, and forces her to see give into his ways. In Act 3, Scene 4, line 73
Hamlet sits his mother down in her bed and tells her, "This is your husband. Look now
what follows… A murderer and a villain. A slave that is not twentieth part of the
tith…" Hamlet tells his mother that her husband Polonius is a murderer and that she
should have not married him because he is no good. When Hamlet is telling his mother the
bad things about her husband, he is not polite and sincere about it at all. He is
literarily yelling and screaming at her. This rash behavior is not madness- it is Hamlet.
This is one of the few occasions were Hamlet expresses his true feelings without the use
of deception.
Hamlet is filled with many falsehoods and deceptions. It seems like no one in Hamlet can
express what their true motives are. Deceptive illusions are used frequently in Hamlet to
provide protection from the destructive force of truth. All the characters are corrupt,
are thus rely on deception to get what they want. The only non-corrupt characters in
Hamlet seem to be Rosencrate, Guildenstern who; when asked their true intention, in Act 2
Sc 2 line 300 replied "My lord, we were sent for… by the King and Queen to discover
your secrecy." When asked their true motive, the dumb fools revealed to Hamlet that the
king and Queen sent to find out what was bothering Hamlet. With the exception of two
characters, the theme of Appearance versus Reality is the fundamental basis for all
actions of the characters in the play.