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It could be strongly argued that the central theme of “Hamlet” is role-play and
the use of acting
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There is a great sense of trepidation in
the opening of Act 1 Scene 1, with both Barnardo and Francisco unsure of the
identity of one another, creating an tense atmosphere
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There are two reasons they feel like
this; the external threat that they are at war, and also the internal threat of the
ghost, a supernatural element, heightened further by the use of ghostly clichés,
e
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“struck twelve”
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The fact that the characters define themselves as loyal
subjects of Denmark when asked who they are, shows that they are bound to
loyalty to the country in order to be seen as innocent
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Horatio, the original
sceptic, after seeing the ghost filled with terror and surprise, stating how he
“might not this believe” without seeing it with his own “sensible” eyes
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The ideas of the ghost brings into context the
concept of whether you can always believe what you see, whether a physical
deformity means there is a deformity within or not
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If one had a physical deformity, it was thought to be the mark
of the devil and this resulted in many women being burnt at the stake
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They were
believed by Protestants at the time to be within earshot all the time, ready and
waiting for a chance to corrupt and snatch a human soul from the path of
righteousness
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Evidence to support this argument include lots of references to
classical Greek and Roman stories, characters, and historical events
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More evidence of this in Act 2 Scene 2, Hamlet asks: "What a piece of
work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties
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It is deeply philosophical,
there is no use of poetry or iambic pentameter, in the words of Gertrude, it is all

“matter”
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern make
jokes and such, showing how they do not have the intelligence to understand his
deep philosophy; it is wasted on them
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Further evidence of
this is where Hamlet describes the players as the “abstracts and brief chronicles
of out time”
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Claudius's speech in Act 1 Scene 2 could be labelled as a cleverly contrived
performance to his subjects
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The description of “our dear brother”
connoted love and how they were close, additionally the word “our” could
simply be the royal “we” or it could be an astute attempt to try and bring the
country together
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Claudius
showcases clearly how the roles of characters are confused and muddled,
referring to Gertrude as “our sometimes sister, now our queen” and Hamlet as
“my cousin” and “my son”
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The
balance of syntax for the most part of Claudius' speech, especially when the
court are in earshot, is effortless and flowing
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The pace is slow and relaxing as he
mesmerises his subjects and the audience with words, brainwashing them into
loyalty
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In Hamlet's first soliloquy, where Hamlet assesses suicide, he makes reference
to Gertrude
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He believes
that she cried “unrighteous tears” because the sorrow that she expressed is not
genuine
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This is once again
showcasing the ever-present theme of appearance versus reality and how
deceiving the look of something can be
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In Act 1
Scene 3, Ophelia is objectified and criticised by both Laertes and Polonius, her
brother and father
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Laertes described Hamlet's
“love” for Ophelia using many metaphors such as “a fashion” and “a toy”
suggesting it is something that is not permanent or lasting, and it is not sincere,
but something (implied from the word “toy”) childish and unsophisticated that
Hamlet is using for personal entertainment
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Ophelia
cannot stop loving Hamlet, similarly, this is mirrored by the ghost telling
Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius
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Laertes
describes Ophelia's virginity as a “chaste treasure”, objectifying her, making her
appear precious, but not as important as men
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Women were commonly condemned and
satirised for their vanity at this time, and their practice of face-painting was
condemned as a disguise to deceive men, they adopt a different role
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Also, Laertes accuses
Hamlet of acting in love, which is contradictory to Hamlet's first lines “I know
not “seems”
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Hamlet's first reaction when seeing the ghost is that
of panic and peril, exclaiming “Angels and ministers of grace defend us!” which
strongly suggests that the first impression Hamlet gets of the ghost is that it is
something unholy, not something that God has created, and definitely not
something entirely from this world
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Hamlet describes him raspingly as a “Oh villain, villain, smiling damned
villain”
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The phrase “
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However, in Act 2 Scene 2, at the very end of Hamlet's self critical soliloquy, he
questions the ghost's true motivations and appearance
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”
Hamlet is directly questioning whether the role of the ghost was actually his
father, or the devil who has taken advantage of his weak, naïve, melancholic
state of mind to “damn” him into committing the immoral, non-religious and
uncharacteristic act of murder
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It could be argued that
Hamlet is far too philosophical and indecisive, he overthinks things too much
which means he become trapped in his own mind
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The role of madness is contrasting in the sense
that Hamlet's madness is staged, fake, and at times comedic, he is choosing to
adopt the persona
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlet's closest, oldest college
friends , who arrive to meet up with him in Act 2 Scene 2, they have been “sent
for” as Guildenstern admits after Hamlet interrogates them
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They're true
motives are seen by their repetition of the word “ambition”, as they are trying to
deduce whether Hamlet in a threat to the crown of Claudius, attempting to put
words into Hamlet's mouth
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the play's the thing, wherein I'll draw out
the conscience of the King,” this line is perfectly symbolic of how Hamlet uses
wordplay and linguistics to achieve what he wants, he is attempting to firmly
establish Claudius' guilt before taking physical action
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The first Player tells the story of Pyrrhus, a son who avenges his father's death
(Achilles)
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The deception
signified by the horse is mirrored in the plot of “Hamlet” where both characters
use a pretence to achieve revenge, since Hamlet uses the disguise of madness
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Nevertheless, Hamlet cannot seek revenge
because after all it is only a story, and Hamlet reiterates this in the soliloquy at
the end of Act 2 Scene 2
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Shakespeare's Globe Theatre pointed at
heaven and hell, “frame” referring to the stage, where the ceiling was decorated
to look like heaven, the stage was life and living, and below the stage was hell
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This reference to Meta-theatre is
prominent in Hamlet as well as other Shakespearian plays and was a huge part
of theatre during the time of Shakespeare
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Hamlet recognises his role as an overthinker, someone who “must like a whore unpack my heart with words”,
showcasing how he knows that he should be more decisive, not restrained by
his adeptness with language

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