Hamlet: Brutal Truth
Disillusionment. Depression. Despair. These are the burning emotions
churning in young Hamlet's soul as he attempts to come to terms with his
father's death and his mother's incestuous, illicit marriage. While Hamlet
tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered idealism, he consciously
embarks on a quest to seek the truth hidden in Elsinore; this, in stark
contrast to Claudius' fervent attempts to obscure the truth of murder.
Deception versus truth; illusion versus reality. In the play, Prince
Hamlet is constantly having to differentiate amongst them. However, there
is always an exception to the rule, and in this case, the exception lies
in Act 2, Scene 2, where an "honest" conversation ...
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perfectly: "And thus
do we of wisdom and of reach / By indirections find directions out" Act 2,
Scene 2, Lines 71-3 The many falsehoods and deceptions uttered in Hamlet
are expressed through eloquent, formal, poetic language (iambic
pentameter), tantamount to an art form. If deceit is a painted, ornate
subject then, its foil of truth is simple and unvarnished. Accordingly,
when the pretenses of illusion are discarded in Act 2, Scene 2, the
language is written in direct prose.
Addressing Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet pleads with them to
deliver up honest speech about the intent of their arrival: "[offer up]
Anything but to th' purpose." Act 2, Scene 2, Line 300 In a gesture of
extreme significance, in a quote complementary to Polonius' aforementioned
one, Hamlet demands: "Be even and direct with me whether you were sent for
or no." Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 310-11
Being the bumbling fools they are, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern disclose
their intentions and purposes to Hamlet, ...
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Hamlet: Brutal Truth. (2005, May 20). Retrieved November 19, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet-Brutal-Truth/27219
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"Hamlet: Brutal Truth." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2005. Accessed November 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet-Brutal-Truth/27219.
"Hamlet: Brutal Truth." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2005. Accessed November 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet-Brutal-Truth/27219.
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