Nathan Goering

Sarah Haluska

The Cracked Mirror: Appearance vs. Reality in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Every single conflict in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is preventable. The problem is that nobody is honest—everyone lies about something to protect themselves and their interests, which, in the end, does not work out for the majority of them.

False Faces, Friends, and Feelings

The discrepancies between the appearance and the reality of King

Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Hamlet develop

the plot and the conflicts which ultimately lead to the deaths of

most characters.

King Claudius has the appearance of being a good king, but in reality he is deceitful and this trait is what eventually leads him and many others to their deaths.

King Claudius

Why am I so horrible?

In Act I it is revealed that the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, is caused by Claudius, who is the brother of the King. This allows the reader to see both the appearance (what everyone else thinks about Claudius) versus the reality (what Claudius and Hamlet both know to be true—that Claudius is a scumbag.)

Worst. Brother. Ever.

In one scene, Claudius is attempting to pray to God to atone for his sins. He’s really contemplating the fact that he wants to go to heaven, but likes the power he has received from killing his brother. Hamlet only sees that he is praying and decides to wait to kill him while he is sinning so that he is sure to go to hell, when in actuality, Claudius isn’t repenting his sins at all.

King Claudius

When Claudius poisons a cup meant for Hamlet, Gertrude picks it up to toast. Claudius easily could have stopped his wife from drinking the wine, but he wanted to keep up his appearance of being a good king and therefore someone who would not poison his son. This results in the death of Gertrude and the reality of the situation shining through as Hamlet realizes that Claudius meant the poison for him.

Worst. Husband. Ever.

Claudius: Gertrude, do not drink!

Gertrude: I will, my lord! I pray you, pardon me.

[Drinks]

Claudius (aside): It is the poison’d cup. It is too late!

(V.ii.332-4)

Claudius appears to be a friend to Laertes by telling him that Hamlet killed his father, but in reality he is fooling Laertes into killing Hamlet so that the king can escape guilt-free.

Good Try, Claudius

Hamlet’s charade of madness creates distrust between characters and affects the way they act, leading some to their deaths.

Hamlet

Hamlet is still grieving over the death of his father when the new King Claudius and the Queen tell him that it’s not manly to dwell on such a thing for so long. Hamlet appears to be accepting of this, but in reality he is sarcastic and bitter. These feelings build and create tension which cause problems later on.

Don’t Be A Sissy

Hamlet: I am but mad north-northwest: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.

(II.ii.444-6)

Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern very cryptically that he is able to control his craziness, rendering him sane. Of course, he says it in a way which makes him look insane, which confuses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

“I do it for the lulz”

Because Hamlet pretended to be crazier than he was, Polonius got the impression that he was madly in love with Ophelia and decides to spy on a discussion between Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. Unfortunately for Polonius, he makes his whereabouts known and Hamlet stabs him, thinking that Polonius is King Claudius.

I AM SLAIN

Hamlet is very deceiving with his feelings toward Ophelia. At first, both she and everyone else is convinced that Hamlet is in love, but then he says he isn’t. He holds this claim right up until the bitter end, when he sees Ophelia’s body and exclaims that he loves her and that he always had loved her. But for Ophelia, it was too late.

To Love or Not to Love? Or to Love?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s attempt at making it appear to Hamlet that they are actually his friends ends up backfiring on them as Hamlet gets the King of England to kill them.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern outright lie to Hamlet, even though he can see past their façade and even points it out. This later leads to Hamlet being fed up with their shenanigans as he sends them to their deaths in England.

Bad Poker Faces

Hamlet: But, in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore?

Rosencrantz: To visit you, my lord; no other occasion.

………………………………………..

Hamlet: If you love me, hold not off.

Guildenstern: My lord, we were sent for.

(II.ii.298-301, 329-31)

Even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern don’t have an idea of who they are—they’re just mindless servants to the throne and when they’re no longer needed, as Hamlet says, the king will throw them away like a dry sponge. They appear to themselves as important when in reality, they can be easily replaced.

As Useful as a Stripped Screw… Or a

Sponge

As with so many other characters in Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole with their lies. This eventually leads Hamlet to have them killed.

Dead on Arrival

Ophelia doesn’t listen to her own mind. She, similarly to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, is merely a puppet to the royal family. Eventually, she goes crazy and realizes the error of her ways before finally committing suicide.

Ophelia

Polonius, Ophelia’s father, fears that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia. To ‘protect’ her, he tells Ophelia to ignore communication from Hamlet, and Ophelia obliges without hesitation. Hamlet is under the impression that she no longer cares about him, but in reality she is simply obeying her father’s wishes.

Ophelia Speaks… Oh Wait

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Themes in World Literature. Ed George P. Elliot, et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975, 726-805.

Works Cited