Appearance Vs. Reality Essay - 1619 Words

In Hamlet, one of Shakespeares greatest plays, the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet shows a play that tells the story of a young prince whose father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and King Claudius. From behind†¦show more content†¦In reality Polonius lies and manipulates people. Polonius helps contribute to the theme appearance verses reality by showing how his appearance is not his true nature; behind the mask there lies someone totally different. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlets childhood friends who, when asked by the king, try to find out what is troubling the young prince. Both help to contribute to the theme by showing their appearance of being Hamlets friends. The pair go to Hamlet pretending to be his friends when in truth they are only there because the king sent them to find the truth. There is some irony within the twins, they are asked by the king to find out the truth by hiding within a lie, by pretending to be his friend. Hamlet knows that the purpose for their visit is to dig into his soul to find the real reason for his actions as of late. As the play continues the twins are asked again by the king to go to Hamlet and try again to find the real reason for Hamlets behavior. Hamlet insults them at every chance knowing they are lying to him about there purpose of the visit. Hamlet Accuses Rosencrantz of playing him like a flute with these lines: â€Å"Tis as easy as lying; govern these ventages with you finger and thumb, give it breath with your mouth†...Act III As the melodrama continues Hamlet goes with the twins to reclaim money that another state owes Denmark. Hamlet is sent by the king to retrieveShow MoreRelatedEssay on Appearance Vs. Reality961 Words   |  4 Pages One of the characteristics of Realism, in American literature at least, is the ironic use of perceptions of â€Å"appearance† vs. â€Å"reality.† With this in mind, Henry James’s â€Å"The Real Thing† and â€Å"The Beast in the Jungle† are two works wherein such characteristics can be shown to operate as James employs cleverly woven twists of â€Å"appearance† and â€Å"reality† in each of the plots. 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