FEATURED ESSAYS 1. Poem: The Fate Of Hamlet 2. Hamlet 12 3. Hamlet Vs Laertes 4. Ophelia As A Reason For Hamlet's ... 5. Hamlets Tragic Flaw 6. Hamlet - The Death Of Young Hamle... 7. Hamlet: Betrayed By His Mother An... 8. The Tragedy In Hamlet 9. Hamlet Criticism 10. Hamlet 3 11. Hamlet: Vengeance Is . . . Everyb... 12. Hamlets Problem 13. Hamlet’S Motives For Revenge 14. Hamlet: Idiot Savant

Hamlet: Duplicity

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the protagonist exhibits a puzzling,
duplicitous nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout the play. He
endorses both the virtues of acting a role and that of being true to one's
self. He further supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his
actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does
behave madly,only to become perfectly calm and rational an instant later.
These inconsistencies are related with the internal dilemmas he faces. He
struggles with the issue of revenging his father's death_vowing to kill
Claudius and then backing out, several times. Upon this point Hamlet
stammers through the play. The reason for this teetering is directly
related to his inability to form a solid opinion about role playing. This
difficulty is not present, however, at the start of the play.

In the first act, Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions
and inner state. When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy
appearance, Hamlet says, "Seems, madam? Nay it is. I know not `seems.'
(1.2.76). This is to say "I am what I appear to be." Later In Act I, 
Hamlet makes a clear statement about his state when he commits himself to
revenge. In this statement the play makes an easy to follow shift. This
shift consists of Hamlet giving up the role of a student and mourning son.
Hamlet says,

"I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,   All saws of books, all forms,
all pressures past,   That youth and observation copied there, And thy
commandment all alone shall live   Within the book and volume of my brain" 
(1.5.99-103).

Hamlet is declaring that he will be committed to nothing else but the
revenge of his father's death. There is no confusion about Hamlet's
character. He has said earlier that he is what he appears to be, and there
is no reason to doubt it. In the next act,however, Hamlet's status and
intentions suddenly, and with out demonstrated reason, become mired in
confusion.

When Hamlet appears again in act two, it seems that he has lost the
conviction that was present earlier. He has yet to take up the part
assigned to him by the ghost. He spends the act walking around, reading,
talking with Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the players. It is
not until the very end of the act that he even mentions vengeance. If he
had any of the conviction shown earlier he would have been working on his
vengeance. So, instead of playing the part of vengeful son, or dropping the
issue entirely, he hangs out in the middle, pretending to be mad. This is
shown when he says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern "I know not-lost all my
mirth, forgone all custom of exercise" (2.2.298-299). Later he tells them
that he is just feigning madness when he says, "I am but mad north-north-
west, when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw"(2.2.380-
381). Admitting so blatantly that he is only feigning madness would imply
that he is comfortable with it. He also seems to be generally comfortable
with acting This is evidenct when he says, "there is nothing either good or
bad but thinking makes it so" (2.2.251-252). Hamlet is saying that behavior
shapes reality.

It is puzzling that, at this point, Hamlet is comfortable with acting, but
not with the role that he said he would play earlier. If he is to play a
role, why not the one that his father gave him? When the players come in a
short wile later his attitude changes. Hamlet is prompted to vengeance,
again, by the moving speech that is given by one of the players. About this
speech he says, "Whatis Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,  That he should
weep for her? What would he do  Had he motive and cue for passion   That I
have? "(2.2.561-564)

In this praise of this players ability to act, Hamlet is saying that, if he
were such an actor, he would have killed Claudius by now. This link between
vengeance and acting that is present here is what Hamlet struggles with
until very near the end. He is then moved to swear that he should kill
Claudius when he says,  " I should have fatted all the region kites   With
this slave is off. Bloody, bawdy villain!   O, vengeance!   Why, what an
ass am I?' (2.2.581-585) He makes this big buildup of what he should have
done and how he will be revenged and he shoots it down in the next line.
This passage is the model of Hamlet's cognitive dissonance. After all of
this swearing and support of the value of acting and words, he backs out of
it again. He can't decide whether or not to play the role. Words are
further condemned when he says, "Must, like a whore, unpack my hart with
Words" (2.2.587). So, he is now condemning role playing. Being caught in
the middle, he decides that he needs more proof of the Kings guilt when he
says, "The play is the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the
King" (2.2.606-607). Before the mouse trap is to be played, Hamlet runs
into Ophelia and makes some telling statements. Upon the issue of Opheliais
beauty, Hamlet says, "That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should
admit no discourse to your beauty" (3.1.109-110). He is saying that
Ophelia can be honest and fair, but that, honesty being an inward trait,
and fairness being an outward trait, cannot be linked. He goes on further
to say that  "Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform
honesty from what it is to a bawd that the force of honesty can translate
beauty into his likeness" (3.1.13-15)   So not only can the inner and outer
self not be linked, but acting, or the show or exterior, will transform
one's inner self to match the exterior show. He says this just after
denying that words and acting are important. By what he says here, if he
would only act the part he wouldn't have a problem taking action. Then, he
contradicts himself, yet again, when he says "God hath given you one face,
and you go make yourselves Another"(3.1.146-147). He had just said that
appearance is all and now chastises women for changing it. He is bouncing
back and forth between supporting acting and denouncing it. Whenever he is
in support of acting, he is also ready for vengeance. When he swings back
to support acting again he says, "It hath made me mad. I say we will have
no more marriages. Those that are married already_all but one-shall
live"(3.1.149-151). The "one" Hamlet is referring to must be the King. So,
it returns to vengeance and acting going together.

In the next scene, the conflicting action is similar, but less obvious. 
When Hamlet is advising the player on how his lines should be read he says,
`Suit the action to the word, the word to the action" (3.2.17-18). If
Hamlet would follow his own advice, he would not have a conflict. This
shows that he is not consistent within himself. Hamlet is saying that one
should not distinguish between word and actions, but he does maintain this
separation. Yet, when Hamlet speaks with Horatio he praises him for being
objective, levelheaded, and for having a consistent character. He is
praising Horatio for being true to himself, not being an actor. Hamlet says,
"Give me that man   That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him  In my
heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, As I do thee" (3.2.69-72). Hamlet
is saying this because he wants Horatio to watch the King at the play. He
is unsure of his uncle's guilt, and he wants proof. He wants it from
someone who he thinks is honest throughout. It comes back to acting and
vengeance or, in this case, he has failed in his vengeance and needs
Horatio to agree with him. Hamlet says to Horatio,  "Observe mine uncle. If
his occulted guilt Do not itself unkernnel in one speech,  It is a dammed
ghost we have seen" (3.2.77-80). Proof, however, does not have any thing to
do with the role Hamlet is supposed to play, but there is more to it than
that. The interesting thing is that his uncle will be judged by how he acts
during the play. If the King is a good actor, and does not show his guilt,
he will most likely not be killed. However, the King is not a good actor
and when he rises Hamlet responds with, "What, frighted with false
fire?"(3.2.254). It's as if Hamlet is saying `it's only a play, it is not
real.' He does say something to this effect a few lines before: "Your
majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not"(3.2.229-230). This
new proof drives Hamlet to use more words. He is again to talk of killing,
and he says, "Now I could drink hot blood" (3.2.379). He again associates
this with a role, that of Nero. "The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom"
(3.2.383). Later,  Hamlet again talks himself out of character and does not
kill the King. He puts it off until later and says, "When he is drunk
asleep, or in his rage,   At gaming, swearing, or about some act   That has
no relish of salvation init,   Then trip him that his heels may kick at
heaven,   And that his soul may be dammed and black"   (3.3.89-94) He is
waiting until Claudius fits the part of a villain. His action is paralyzed
whenever something does not fit the part. He needs his revenge to be
dramatic,  so that he may get into it and finally play it out, and it takes
him the next scene and an act to finally do this.

After Hamlet backs out of killing Claudius, Hamlet says to his mother, "O
shame, where is thy blush?"(3.4.72). He is voicing his distaste for
Gertrude, not only for marrying his uncle, but for not being true to
herself. Hamlet believes that she should show some shame for her sins, but
she does not. Hamlet is contradicting himself in this. He has been
duplicitous and untrue for two thirds of the play. At this point, he is
still not sure as how he is to proceed. Hamlet is caught in the middle of
acting and objectivity.     Hamlet finally gets his act together, and
decides to act the part his father had given him, after he sees the
soldiers going off to war to die.

"The imminent death of twenty thousand men continent   To hide the slain. O,
from this time forth   My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth! That, for
fantasy and a trick of fame,   Go to their graves like beds, fight for a
plot   Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,   Which is not tomb enough
and Those soldiers fight and die for an insignificant plot of land, and
they do it because they are soldiers, no other reason." (4.4.51-57)

Hamlet realizes that he should do what his role dictates, strictly because
it is his role. He does not falter in his conviction after he returns, and
he fully embraces the act. Upon confronting Laertes, he says "This is I,
Hamlet the Dane" (5.1.53-54). The "Dane", meaning the King. He is claiming
his right to the throne. This is the appropriate action for someone as
wronged as he, albeit late.

In reaction to Ophelia's death, he is again behaving as he should have. She
was his love interest, and as such he should have loved her more than her
brother. This is shown when Hamlet says "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand
brothers /Could not, with their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum"
(5.1.256-258). Hamlet should have loved her, but he did not. Had he loved
her he would not have treated her so poorly earlier. He is now committed to
acting, and loving Ophelia fits the role.

In the rest of the play, Hamlet does not mess around. He barely has time to
tell, to Horatio, his story of escape before he is challenged. He does not
refuse the challenge because as nobility, which he is finally claiming to
be, he cannot refuse and keep his honor. Hamlet goes to the match and,
because he has now accepted the role, he does not hesitate to kill the King
when prompted to.

It would seem that being a good actor is paramount to survival in this play.
Polonius could not stick to the role of adviser, and was trying to convince
the King that Hamlet was in love with his daughter. This leads him to spy
on Hamlet, and because he could not do that right either, is killed.
Ophelia could not handle the role of mourning for her father, goes mad and
dies as a result. The King could not cover up his guilt, so Hamlet has the
proof he needs to spur him on. Finally, Hamlet: If he would have acted as
the ghost instructed him to in the first place, instead of flip flopping,
would have killed Claudius outright. Had Hamlet been truly comfortable with
acting, Claudius would have been the only causality.