Essay, Research Paper: Hamlet - Appearance And Reality

 Hamlet, a tragic play by William Shakespeare, is a treasured of literature. Hamlet is full of
suspense and very interesting. Many characters such as Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Polonius, and
Rosencratz and Guildenstern use masks. These characters often have appearances that differ from
reality.

Hamlet is the main character of the play and he uses many masks. The play begins with him
moping around and wearing black. This is one case where his appearance matches the reality that
he is still grieving his father's death. After seeing Hamlet's father's ghost, Hamlet gives the
impression that he will think of nothing else but getting revenge. Hamlet says, "The time is out
joint; O cursed spite, /That ever I was born to set it right!" (1.5.190-191) Hamlet begins to
procrastinate and the revenge gets pushes from his first priority. The appearance that Hamlet
gives that he is going to get revenge right away changes into a lie. Hamlet puts on a mask that he
has gone crazy. He fools almost everyone. Hamlet even convinces Ophelia that he never loved
her and that he has gone mad. In reality, Hamlet admits that he truly did love after Ophelia
drowns.
I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her? (5.1.263-265)

Hamlet is spied on many times in the play. These spy missions for Claudius have the appearances
of chance meetings or friendly visits. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent by the King to spy
on Hamlet. Hamlet is set up to meet Ophelia so Claudius and Polonius can spy on him. Some
actors come to town and plan to put on a play for the King and Queen and their friends. Hamlet
sees this as the perfect chance for him to watch Claudius to see if his guilt for King Hamlet's
murder is genuine. After seeing the reaction Hamlet desired, Hamlet decided to go through with
his plans to get revenge by killing the king. So, this play, which had the appearance of being
some innocent amusement, turned into the reality of being a spy mission for Hamlet. After this
play, Hamlet observes Claudius kneeling over which gives him the appearance of praying. He
sees this as his chance to get revenge but does not because he wants to kill Claudius while sinning,
so that Claudius will not go to heaven like King Hamlet. In reality, Claudius felt he could not ask
for forgiveness because he was still reaping the rewards of murdering the King. Claudius was not
praying and Hamlet had missed his chance to get his revenge.

Claudius is the current King of Denmark during this play and he makes a lot of impressions
that differ from the truth. Claudius becomes King of Denmark after killing his brother and late
king and marrying his brother's widow, Gertrude. Claudius appears as a good, honest King but in
reality, he is a murderer. The king puts on the appearances in order to get what he wants.
Claudius is good at manipulating the people around him. He did what he had to do to win over
Gertrude's hand in marriage and to take the throne before Hamlet returned from school in
Wittenberg. Claudius also manipulates Laertes into convincing him that Claudius should be the
one to help him get revenge. Claudius is full of guilt but appears that nothing is bothering him.
Claudius saved his own life by exhibiting the impression of praying. Claudius tells Hamlet that he
is to prepare himself to go to England. Claudius does not tell Hamlet the true reason of why he is
being sent to England. Claudius does not mention that he is sending him to England because he
wants Hamlet to be executed there instead of in Denmark due to the fact that the queen and the
people love Hamlet. Claudius just uses the excuse that he is going to send Hamlet because of his
madness.

Polonius is highly concerned about appearances. Polonius says he is wise and tries to give
that appearance, but in truth he is not all that wise. Polonius says that, "Brevity is the soul of
wit." (2.2.90) This is ironic because even though he just said that wise men are brief, Polonius
rambles on and on. Polonius thinks he is wise but Hamlet plays him for a fool. Polonius
interrupts Hamlet's reading by asking him if he knows who he is. Hamlet replies, "Excellent well;
you are a fishmonger." (2.2.172) Hamlet took this chance to insult Polonius by calling him a
"fishmonger". A "fishmonger" is a fish seller but it also a term used to describe a pimp.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two friends of Hamlet. They are asked by the King to spy
on Hamlet. They quickly agree to spy for the king without a second thought. At first glance,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern may appear as good friends of Hamlet, but really they could not be
true friends if they agreed so easily to spy on their friend, Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
make their spying appear like a friendly visit when really it was just a spying mission. Hamlet
quickly finds them out and Hamlet tells them nothing. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern lie to the
king about the fact that Hamlet found them out and said little. They try to appear smart in front
of Hamlet and the king but the truth is that they are not that smart.

Ophelia is that daughter of Polonius and she is very obedient to her father which forces her to
put on masks. Ophelia agrees to help her father and the king spy in Hamlet. The reader does not
know if Ophelia wants to really do this or not. Ophelia would agree to whatever her father asks
her to do. Ophelia had a relationship with Hamlet, which Polonius did not agree with and forbid
her to see Hamlet. Ophelia was forced to give the appearance that she no longer had any feelings
towards Hamlet even if she still had feelings for him.
There is a lot of Masks in the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, where different characters gave off
appearances that differentiated from reality. Whether it was Hamlet's madness, his love for
Ophelia, or Claudius setting up traps to spy on Hamlet, these are all examples of appearances that
differed from the truth. Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern visit Hamlet under false pretenses
in order to help the king spy on Hamlet. Even false appearances occur when they not planned,
like when Hamlet assumed Claudius was praying when kneeling on his knees.