Hamlet’s Reality, Essay Example

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse a major theme of Hamlet appearance vs. reality in its tree embodiments: first of all, Hamlet was so concentrated on the search of reality that he became incapable of acting; secondly, in order to demonstrate a distinction between reality and an appearance, Hamlet himself must hide his real sanity behind the madness; thirdly, the more detailed is Hamlet’s search, the less real and accurate everything seems to be.

Key words: Hamlet, appearance, reality, acting, perception, rationalisation.

Hamlet’s Reality

Human perception of reality can be vague sometimes. On various occasions, it might be even difficult to distinguish between the appearance and the reality, mainly because an individual cannot know all of the factors and might be convinced in a chosen truth instead of critical acceptance of the reality. The aim of this paper is to analyse a major theme of Hamlet appearance vs. reality in its tree embodiments. Hamlet’s obsession with reality has three main implications: first of all, Hamlet was so concentrated on the search of reality that he became incapable of acting; secondly, in order to demonstrate a distinction between reality and an appearance, Hamlet himself must hide his real sanity behind the madness; thirdly, the more detailed is Hamlet’s search, the less real and accurate everything seems to be.

At the beginning of the play, Hamlet seems to be a rational, young man who knew exactly what to expect in his life. The death of his father was a shock that challenged his perception of the world overview and made him question everything that seemed to be real. On this path of self-doubt, the revelation of the ghost forced him to face the reality in all its ugliness and burden he had to carry. This search for the reality and its unexpected truth made Hamlet emotionally and physically numb, since the world he knew the world where he could act legally and rationally was no more. The new reality he faced was far too hard to accept and to act within it. The response to the cruel reality requires means equal to it, and the old rational Hamlet could not fit in or act in that reality. The old Hamlet would try to find a legal and rational means of punishing the murderer of his father, but he would fail, since the reality was far from being rational or dominated by the rule of law. In his search of reality and the abilities to react according to the truth of that reality, he had to accept the dual nature of the world that was surrounding him. He had to accept the fact that the world combines both real face and appearances of many masks. Only by accepting the terms of this reality he could act.

Hamlet acceptance of reality was demonstrated in Hamlet’s characterisation of his uncle: “O villain, villain, smiling damned villain! My Tables. Meet it is I set it down. That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” (Shakespeare, 1992, p. 62). Hamlet recognises that what common public perceives is far from reality, and he accepts these terms in order to be able to act according to his duty. On the terms of the world he lives in, he can show the truth, the reality only through the pretence of the appearance and madness. In this regard, Hamlet uses the diversity of potential interpretations of his actions in order to create confusion and puzzle people around him. He knows that they could not understand him entirely; all people can perceive is fiction and a lie. For this reason, in order to make the target audience think about potential murder, Hamlet created a play that would demonstrate the reality in the way for people to accept. Thus, the reality was wearing the mask of fiction, just as Hamlet was wearing the mask of a madman in order to act and achieve his goal, yet he is different underneath his mask: “These indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passes show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe” (Shakespeare, 1992, p. 46). Thus, Hamlet confesses that, beneath his madness, there is a man of feelings who simply had to accept his destined duty.

The problem in Hamlet’s search for reality is that in order for him to connect with it and remain focused on his actual life and not the appearance of it for the purpose of revenge, he had to find certain ties with people close to him who would not play games of appearance, but could be sincere to him, so that he could be sincere in return. Unfortunately, all the people he cared for and who he considered to be close to him tries to manipulate and betrayed him. He could not be true with his mother since she married a murderer and pretended to be righteous wife and mother. He could not relate to his friends, since they betrayed him. Above all, he could not be real with the woman he loved for she was also playing a game of a dutiful daughter of her prudent father. If Ophelia had a stronger character to stand for her real feelings for Hamlet, she could become his anchor, which would keep him focused on reality instead of appearances. Instead, she was she remained his dream, another appearance instead if reality: “The fair Ophelia, nymph…” (Shakespeare, 1992, p. 87). She was not real either, just a nymph from fantasies, all what was left for Hamlet to hope for in his search for the reality and meaning of his existence. Without being able to relate to anyone through real human feelings, Hamlet concentrated on what he knew for sure – revenge, which remained unchanged irrespective of the masks he wore.

At the beginning of his search of reality, Hamlet managed to find the answer in treating life as theatre, and playing the role that he was given in order to fulfil his duty. However, the more he was playing and looking closer to the reality through the lens of appearances and his pretended madness, the more confused he was becoming. In this regard, his famous monologue is the best example of this confusion. In the numerous appearances and false masks, Hamlet could not see the point of all those lies and pretence. He asks: “to be or not to be? That is the question – Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer, The slings and arrows of outrages fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep…”  (Shakespeare, 1992, p. 87). Placing this monologue into the appearances vs. reality discourse, it can be argued that Hamlet became lost in all of the appearances and reflections of reality. He could not rationale the point of existing in the world of multidimensional appearances that imitate life, while reality as such was of very little value to people surrounding him. Thus, due to his constant alienation and the lack of connection with reality through another human being, Hamlet was beginning to doubt himself and the rationale for his very existence.

In this context of appearance vs. reality, Hamlet was caught in the trap of any actor or someone who wears masks on the daily basis. He became confused where the real sane Hamlet was and where the madman whose role he was playing. In this case, the role became his identity, and since there was no one to return him back to the reality or become his reality, Hamlet was doomed to a tragic end. In the confusion that appearances and reality created in Hamlet search for meaning, the only clarity was death. On this subject he states: “But that the dear of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to other that we know not of?” (Shakespeare). Although Hamlet suggests that people prefer the problems they know in this life instead of the unknown of the afterlife, he was different. He could not clarity in this life, so he was craving for it in the afterlife. In fact, most likely from the very beginning, Hamlet knew that he would not belong to the world of living since he could not accommodate his old self with the new one and decide to live a functional life. The only thing that kept him going was the clarity of revenge and its straightforward and undoubtful truth. After it fulfilment, he would not have no more purpose in life and his mask would be of no more use. However, the question he could not answer was who was left behind that mask.

Overall, from all mentioned above, it can be concluded that, in his search of reality, Hamlet had to accept the multifaceted nature of the world he lived in and to play the role he was given by destiny. His acceptance of the appearances and theatrical approach to life was the beginning of his end, since he no longer could relate to the real human beings and as doomed to allow his role to play him at the end.

Reference

Shakespeare, W. (1992). Hamlet. London: Wordsworth Editions.