If you tell the truth, it might sting for a bit, but if a lie is told, you’ll hurt for life. Shakespeare, a well-known playwright, manages to encompass the complexity of a person through his writing. Hamlet -one of Shakespeare’s amazing work- portrays the betrayal of a brother who gains the rewards of the other. Claudius kills his brother, King Hamlet of Denmark; while he slept, pouring poison in his ear. Prince Hamlet discovers the truth about the death of his father thus seeking revenge on his uncle Claudius. To avenge his father. The characters are often found attempting to entrap other characters to gain want they’re desiring, the truth.
The first attempt in entrapping a character would be Hamlet. Hamlet started to become mad as part of his plan to get revenge on Claudius. However, both Claudius and Polonius became curious about the reason for his insanity, so they concocted a plan. They planned on sending Ophelia to see “If’t be the affliction of his love or no That thus he suffers for” (Act 3 scene 1 line 37-38) while they spied on them. Ophelia was returning the gifts Hamlet bestowed upon her, but Hamlet saw right through her attempt in finding out what was wrong. Hamlet played with her emotions to continue with the act of being crazy. By Hamlet being crazy, he could hurl insults and get away with it. “God has given you one face and you make yourselves another” (Act 3 scene 1 line 144-145). Hamlet calls Ophelia a two face because she acts innocent but alters herself to deceive him. Ophelia was being puppeteered by her father, Polonius to get to the core of Hamlet’s madness.
The second attempt in entrapping a character was Claudius. When Hamlet sees the first player be able to show raw emotions come out like it was nothing. He’s moved and inspired; asking if they “can play The Murder of Gonzago” allowing him to write a “speech of some dozen or sixteen lines” (Act 2 scene 2 lines 514-515 & 518) to depict his father’s death. When the play gets toward the death of Gonzago’s brother being poisoned, “the king rises” (Act 3 scene 2 line 248). Unveiling Claudius’s innocence towards his brother’s murder and what he had gained from it: the kingdom and his wife. The whole point of this mousetrap was to test Claudius’s innocence in playing a part in murdering the king before and to check if the ghost was not lying.
The third attempt in entrapping a character would be Hamlet. When Polonius had mysteriously died and given a quick burial, Laertes was furious; barging into the castle wanting answers. Learning the truth that Hamlet was the one who killed him, Laertes became driven by revenge. Laertes and Claudius began to come up with a plan on how to kill Hamlet as an accident. They were going to have people “praise” his “excellence” allowing Hamlet to be jealous and careless that he won’t notice the “sword unbated” while they fenced (Act 4 scene 7 lines 131 & 138). Both Laertes and Claudius obsessed over the thought of having Hamlet killed that they had back up plans, in case the others weren’t executed.
By the characters entrapping other characters, it reinforces the theme of corruption and deception. The characters in Hamlet must always be wary of listening to the truth because it's often found to be twisted and manipulated to serve the needs of a person. Claudius has been lying to the whole kingdom on how truly his brother has died allowing him to deceive the people in gaining the hammy downs of King Hamlet.