Appearance Vs Reality Hamlet Essay

Surprisingly, Polonius makes no attempt to comfort her.He simply addresses the King concerning the encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia and discusses the next steps in determining the cause of Hamlet’s madness.When the plan is executed in Act III, Hamlet feigns madness once again and berates a heartbroken Ophelia.

Surprisingly, Polonius makes no attempt to comfort her.

Tags: Was Alexander Really Great EssaysHistory Research ProposalEconomics Extended Essay QuestionsProblem Solving For 2nd GradeWrite Intro Paragraph Synthesis EssayPeer Edit 5 Paragraph EssayEssay On Uses And Abuses Of Nuclear EnergyIs Gatsby Great EssayWriting A Narrative Essay Powerpoint

Polonius loves his son dearly and obviously wants the best for him.

After sending Laertes off to France, Polonius tends to Ophelia.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main theme of the play is appearance versus reality.

The characters within the play appear to be sincere and honourable when in reality they are corrupt and immoral.

Rather than attempting to comfort his daughter after her troublesome experience, he tells her, “Come we to the King. At once, he takes a few pieces of evidence of Hamlet’s affections for Ophelia and presents them to the King and Queen, immediately concluding that Hamlet’s madness “sprung from neglected love” (III.i.190).

After informing the King and Queen, he eagerly offers to loose Ophelia to Hamlet and to “mark the encounter” (177).Similarly, Claudius puts on a manufactured appearance to conceal his overwhelming desire for power.He is an ambitious, intelligent and capable ruler, willing to go to great extents to satisfy his own desires, even at the cost of innocent lives.Call me what Instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me. The King’s royal associate, Polonius, plays an important role in developing the theme.He’s constantly keeping up the facade of a concerned and caring individual.Polonius’ actions are incongruous with the idea of a loving father.The reason is clear: Polonius holds his reputation and status in higher regard than his paternal duty to his own children.Hamlet’s antic disposition penetrates the outward shell of characters in the play and uncovers their true colours, including himself.As the play progresses, Claudius, Polonius, and Hamlet are put through a series of situations which in the end, exposes their true nature to the audience.Before he departs, Polonius takes time to sit down with Laertes and provide a few words of advice.He instructs Laertes to avoid quarrels, to make friends easily, to be neither a borrower or a lender, and most importantly, “to thine own self be true” (82).