Deception in Acts 2 and 3

      One of the key themes in Hamlet is deception, when looking at acts two and three of Hamlet we can see that deception is a reoccurring theme. Many of the characters in the play deceive other characters in the play. Polonius is a character in Hamlet that begins to use deception early on in the play.  In act two Polonius makes a plan to deceive Hamlet so that he him will admit that he is crazy because Ophelia has denied him her love. Polonius’s last act of deception occurs in act three when he hides behind the arras while Gertrude is speaking to Hamlet. In this scene Polonius’s deception ultimately leads to his death because when Hamlet finds out that someone is room the room he kills the person not knowing that it is Claudius

      Claudius seems to be one of the masters of deception in Hamlet, Claudius is successful at deceiving everyone when convinces them that he is not responsible for his brother’s death and that he is grieving over the death of his brother. Claudius also deceives Hamlet when he and Gertrude ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to deceive Hamlet by pretending that they have just come to visit when they are actually trying to find out why Hamlet is mad.

     Many of the characters in Hamlet plan to deceive Hamlet but Hamlet is also in involved in some plans of deception. Hamlet plans to deceive Claudius by making him watch a play that is re-enactment of his father’s death to see if Claudius is guilty. Hamlet also deceives his mother when he goes to see her, he says:

“Soft! now to my mother.

 O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever

 The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom: 385

 Let me be cruel, not unnatural:

 I will speak daggers to her, but use none;

 My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites;

 How in my words soever she be shent,

 To give them seals never, my soul, consent!”(III. II. 383-390)

In this part of play Hamlet is saying the he wants to scare his mother and make her think that he is going to hurt her but he also says that he would never actually hurt her. Hamlet also deceives everyone by making them believe that he is mad but he actually is only pretending to be mad. In the play Hamlet says that he is only pretending to be mad but in act three he says:

  To be, or not to be: that is the question:

 Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

 The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

 Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

 And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; (III.I.56-60)

      In this part of the play Hamlet is questioning his existence and considering suicide. This is an example of self-deception because Hamlet claims to be pretending to be mad but his rant makes it seems like he might actually be crazy. Therefore Hamlet is deceiving himself into believing that he is sane.

      Deception is a key theme in Hamlet; it causes a lot of drama in the play because all of the characters deceive each other. Hamlet is mad at Claudius because he killed his father and deceived everyone but Hamlet could be considered a hypocrite because deception plays a large role in his plan to get revenge on Claudius.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet ." Shakespeare Online. N.p., 2010. Web. 19 Apr 2012. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet_1_3.html>.