Mask Theme In Hamlet
Hamlet In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, there is a prevalent and almost overwhelming theme. All throughout the play, all of the characters appear as one thing, with one standpoint, and one outlook. However on the inside, all of these characters are completely different. This ‘mask’ theme, the way that all of the characters portray themselves as one person on the outside and one different one on the inside, is not in the least disguised by Shakespeare. Claudius, the murdering king, appears to be a somewhat kind, caring, and friendly person. But inside he is different. He is cold, calculating, and self-serving. But this might also be a mask. The women in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, both ...
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of course is Claudius. Claudius murdered his brother, the former king Hamlet, in order to become king himself. This murder, which was done in secret, with no one but Cladius knowing that the act was committed by him. Not only is he the King of Denmark, but he is also married to Queen Gertrude, his brothers former wife. These hideous and awful crimes have not been punished, and no one knows that Claudius has done this. When Claudius confronts anyone, he must become someone totally different. Claudius puts on a mask of his own. He is no longer the self-serving, cold, calculating man that he really is, out he becomes a kind, caring man who does his very best to ensure that Gertrude stays with him, and also so that he can do his best to keep Hamlet from trying to take the kingdom and destroy what Claudius has worked for so long to gain. To this end Claudius wears his mask. But is Claudius really the mask or what he is underneath? This is called into question when Claudius tries to seek ...
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Hamlet’s cruelty, but it fails. Ophelia believes for awhile , that hamlets loves her deeply, and that he would never harm her directly. But soon, through his words and his actions, such as killing her farther, shatter her mask that served to protect her from Hamlets assaults. When the truth and reality bit her, she breaks under its pressure and commits suicide. Gertrude, the other woman in the play, has a much stranger mask. She refuses to see or believe the truth that Hamlet shows her, the truth that Claudius murdered her husband for the kingdom. She is also convinced of Hamlets madness, but what he says does not affect her much at all. Even at her death she does not realize of see ...
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Mask Theme In Hamlet. (2007, June 30). Retrieved November 22, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mask-Theme-In-Hamlet/67275
"Mask Theme In Hamlet." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 30 Jun. 2007. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mask-Theme-In-Hamlet/67275>
"Mask Theme In Hamlet." Essayworld.com. June 30, 2007. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mask-Theme-In-Hamlet/67275.
"Mask Theme In Hamlet." Essayworld.com. June 30, 2007. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mask-Theme-In-Hamlet/67275.
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