Appearances in Hamlet

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‘The most intriguing aspect about Hamlet is that one character cannot be genuine’
‘ Appearances can never be trusted so as one can be confused at Shakespeare’s message’

Refer to both quotes and offer your own.

Appearances is one of the key themes in ‘Hamlet’, and it occurs throughout the whole play, each character has been seen to put on an appearance, even Horatio who can be seen as someone who doesn’t put on an appearance, yet he does for Hamlet’s sake.  The effects, appearance has on the audience vary, as some think that, appearances can be never trusted, but they are confused at what Shakespeare is trying to say to the audience, whereas others believe that appearances is the best theme, as we see a whole other personality, and this makes the audience see the characters as not ‘one dimensional’ but maybe two or three dimensional and this brings the characters alive on stage. Appearance also links other themes together, the theme of reality and imagination, madness, deception, evil and good.

Appearance can be the most intriguing aspect about Hamlet, as the characters we originally see, we portray them only in one light, but with the theme of appearances, we see them in another light. Also, the idea of appearances is useful, as Shakespeare intending for it to be used as something to mask your true emotions and feelings. For example, Claudius, the audience could see him as the devil because he deceives everyone and that he doesn’t have a “conscience”, but when Polonius is advising Ophelia, we see his true emotions, as he believes it is a “heavy burden” to hold all this guilt for killing Old Hamlet, as well as not showing his true side, as he is just pretending to be good, when in fact, he isn’t: “How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience”. Therefore appearances let us see what is on the outside rather than the inside. This intrigues the audience about Hamlet, as we see another side to that character.

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Further support that appearance can be the most intriguing aspect about Hamlet, is that most of the characters that put on an appearance are usually the ones who have soliloquies, for example, Hamlet he pretends he is mad on the outside: “crafty madness”, only to lead Rosencrantz and Guildenstern astray, so that they cannot figure out his plan. However, when he is doing a soliloquy, he shows that he is putting on a mad-act, just to get closer in getting rid of Claudius, because he has committed a sin, not only against God, but also against the state, as he ...

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