On the surface, Shakespeare’s work Hamlet is simply a tragedy of a son seeking revenge for his murdered father; however, the complexity of the work arises with the portrayal of acting, which blurs the lines between a character’s appearance and true intentions. The deceptive facades that Claudius, the King of Denmark; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet; and Hamlet assume ultimately causes the downfall of their characters, posing the underlying ethical problem with revenge : the loss of one’s moral senses. This difficulty in judging one’s trustworthiness often fosters a violent response, as seen through Hamlet’s responses to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. On the other hand, Claudius exploits the security of having others act in his interests to create a false public image.
Old friends of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern act as if they are visiting him of their own accord, when in reality they are serving Claudius; this leads Hamlet to take increasingly rash and immoral actions to retaliate the deception. Even though Hamlet calls his friends out for being sent for during their first encounter, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern continue to approach him on the King’s orders. When the two are sent to find out where Polonius’s body was kept, Hamlet voices his rage, saying “Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what/ replication should be made by the son of a king?” (4.2.12-13). The use of a sponge as a symbol for blind followers is extremely fitting. A sponge is used to clean up the mess of others, just as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are doing for Claudius’s murder. Simply soaking up a substance, a sponge returns exactly what it took in. This is similar to how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are merely puppets for Claudius, regurgitating what he says and lacking any individuality or worth. And lastly, sponges are some of the lowest forms of life and their lack of intelligence serves as a blatant insult to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet continues this aggression when they accompany him to England. In describing his escape from their hold to Horatio, Hamlet elaborates, “Why, even in that was heaven ordinant./ I had my father’s signet in my purse” (5.2.54-55). The reference to heaven shows how Hamlet tries to justify sending two people to immediate death because he happened to have a signet to seal the letter he was replacing, a supposed act from the divine. This strays away for the heart of the matter, that he is directly responsible for their death. When Horatio replies, “So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to ‘t”, Hamlet casually remarks “They are not near my conscience. Their defeat does by their own insinuation grow” (5.2.63,65-66). By claiming that “they are not near my conscience”, Hamlet indicates an utter lack of remorse he has for his actions. He goes on to state that they were at fault for their unfortunate fate instead of him, deflecting the blame. This reiterates how avenging his father’s death by opposing those who are an extension of Claudius makes Hamlet lose his moral compass. This holds significance because when Hamlet starts to believe that everyone will die at some point regardless of what they do, he starts acting on impulse rather than using intellect, ultimately causing him to die.
Claudius loses morality by exploiting others to act for him, which allow him to create a largely false public persona, and avoid accountability for his actions. While Claudius publically appears to be a loving father, loyal husband, and grieving brother, he in fact embraces the benefits of his brother’s murder, uses Gertrude as a stepping stone to gain power, and is extremely wary of Hamlet and his intentions. Having others act on his behalf and appearing to be different that he is in reality, Claudius is able to issue rash measures against Hamlet without suffering the consequences. He acts as if sending Hamlet to England is a measure for his madness, and not because he wants to execute him. He engages in “foul play” when challenging Hamlet to a duel, setting up not one but two ways in which Hamlet will be poisoned and killed apart from actually dueling – the poisoned sword and wine. Because Claudius is able to manipulate Laertes into thinking the duel was to avenge his father’s death, he can disassociate himself from this action, reduce personal risk, and still reap the benefits. They security and empowerment Claudius felt by having others act of his behalf makes him willing to let the queen die of drinking the poisoned wine rather than unveiling his scheme, even shouting “She swoons to see them bleed”(5.2.339). His justification is a lie; instead of addressing that Gertrude is dying, Claudius capitalizes on the stereotypical feminine weakness in the face of danger, in this case bloodshed. Claudius’s exploitation of the protection he received by having others act for him contributes to his own demise. Laertes, who at his death realizes how wrong Claudius was to engage in foul play against his own son, blows Claudius’s scheme. This serves to demonstrate that even though the barrier between appearance and reality empowered Claudius greatly, it was so fragile that it was taken down by a single person.
Conclusively, the motif of acting functions twofold – with Hamlet reacting violently and Claudius exploiting the difference in appearance and true intentions. While Hamlet was affected by the loss of morality by turning to impulse rather than reason, it causes Claudius to take on a false public persona and believe he is less accountable for his actions. Revenge which Hamlet and Claudius seek for each other, ultimately cause them to lose their moral senses. This moral from Hamlet proves relevant to all, for if you allow yourself to be blindsided by a single goal like revenge, you lose the larger purpose of your life. Knowing that bias and deception is not only prevalent but unavoidable, we are forced to use our intelligence to deduce a person’s true intentions or presented biases. It forces us to reflect on ourselves and take a step back to see if our priorities are straight and if we are truly being as intelligent, rational, and moral as we believe we are.
