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The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy, involving many themes such as revenge, madness, and loyalty. However, the most prominent theme in this sorrowful play is appearance vs reality. Many situations appear to be forthright and honest, but in reality they are deceitful and dishonest. This theme impacted many of the characters and led to the most important events of the play. 

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The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy, involving many themes such as revenge, madness, and loyalty. However, the most prominent theme in this sorrowful play is appearance vs reality. Many situations appear to be forthright and honest, but in reality they are deceitful and dishonest. This theme impacted many of the characters and led to the most important events of the play. 

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Barnardo
“Who’s there?”

Francisco
“Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.”

Barnardo
“Long live the king!”

Francisco
“Barnardo?”

Barnardo
“He”
(1. 1. 1-4)

Both Barnardo and Francisco believe that they do not know each other, however the reality is that they are both watchmen. Although this scene seems insignificant it presents the theme of the play, showing that what appears may not always be what is real. This scene in itself appears to be unimportant  but it introduces us to a prominent theme. This scene foreshadows the death of Polonuis  by hinting that your assumption of who a person is may be false.

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“Seems,” madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems.”
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed “seem,”
For they are actions that a man might play.
But I have that within which passeth show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe."
(1. 2. 75-87)

Gertrude and Claudius claim that Hamlet is still in grief for his deceased father, and instead he should celebrate their marriage. Hamlet replied  how his appearance of grief is far from what he is feeling, and that his clothes are just a hint of it. This deception causes Polonius to prove his theory and sets up an experiment to prove his point.

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"Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself
(As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on),
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall—
With arms encumbered thus, or this headshake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As “Well, well, we know,” or “We could an if we would,”
Or “If we list to speak,” or “There be an if they might,”
Or such ambiguous giving out—to note
That you know aught of me. This not to do,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear."
(1. 5. 64-83)

In this dialogue Hamlet is convincing Marcellus and Horatio to not tell anyone or act suspicious if he suddenly starts acting mad. This is one of the biggest deceptions of the play and has a huge impact on every character. Everyone assumes that Hamlet has gone mad but in reality his madness started off as an act. This causes a massive train of events:
Hamlet pretends to act mad making everyone think it is the truth > Polonius suspects that he gone mad because of his love for Ophelia and informs Claudius > Claudius orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out why Hamlet is acting mad > Hamlet then gets inspired to put on a play for everyone > Claudius is proved to be guilty for Hamlet’s fathers murder > Gertrude talks to Hamlet while Polonius is spying, Hamlet kills Polonius thinking that it is Claudius > Claudius sends Hamlet to England to be executed > Laertes hears about his father’s death and wants revenge  > Ophelia goes mad and kills herself > Laertes and Claudius make a plan to kill Hamlet by poisoning him by sword > Hamlet figures out Claudius’s plan about England and changes the note so it says that Rosencartz and Guidensterns are executed > Hamlet accepts Laertes duel > During the duel everyone is poisoned and dies.

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"Come, go with me. I will go seek the king.
This is the very ecstasy of love,
Whose violent property fordoes itself
And leads the will to desperate undertakings
As oft as any passion under heaven
That does afflict our natures. I am sorry.
What, have you given him any hard words of late?"
(2. 1. 100-107)

In this dialogue Polonuis declares that Hamlet is mad because he is in love with Ophelia. It appears this way to Polonius because Ophelia has been ignoring Hamlet by his orders. However, in reality Hamlet is acting mad to seek revenge on Claudius. This assumption has a major impact on every character because they start to test out if Hamlet is mad and why, causing the death of each character throughout the play.

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GERTRUDE
"O me, what hast thou done?"

HAMLET
"Nay, I know not. Is it the king?"
(3. 4. 26-27)

It appeared to Hamlet that the man he killed was Claudius and that he had finally avenged his father. But that is far from reality, the man behind the curtain was Polonius. This is a crucial part of the play because it makes Claudius and everyone else realize just how dangerous Hamlet was becoming and he started to worry. This act mirrors the first scene in the play between the two watchmen, it depicts that your assumption of the identity of someone may be false.

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"Hamlet returned shall know you are come home.
We’ll put on those shall praise your excellence
And set a double varnish on the fame
The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together
And wager on your heads. He, being remiss,
Most generous and free from all contriving,
Will not peruse the foils; so that, with ease,
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice
Requite him for your father."
(4. 7. 126-136)

In this scene Claudius and Laertes are planning to poison Hamlet by making it appear like Laertes and Hamlet are having a normal duel. They plan to kill Hamlet either by poisoning Laertes sword or poisoning a cup of wine that Hamlet will drink from.  This is a significant part of the play because this appearance leads to everyone’s death.

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"O royal knavery!—an exact command,
Larded with many several sorts of reasons
Importing Denmark’s health, and England’s too,
With—ho!—such bugs and goblins in my life
That, on the supervise (no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the grinding of the ax)
My head should be struck off."
(5. 2. 20-25)

In this scene Hamlet reveals to Hortorio that the real reason he is going to England is to be executed, he found out by looking at the note Clauduis sent with them. He then proceeds to explain that he changed the note to demand the execution of Rosencrantz and Guidensterns. This appearance provided one of the play's major plot twists.

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"Roughly awake, I here proclaim it was madness.
Was ’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet."
(5. 2. 17-18)

In this quote by Hamlet he claims that he has gone mad when apologizing to Claudius. However the audience does not know if it is still a part of his act or if he’s truly gone mad. One of the biggest questions of the play is if Hamlet became mad or if it was all an act. As we have learned what may appear may not always be the reality, so we can deduce from the theme that Hamlet may appear mad but in reality be sane.

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"It is the poisoned cup. It is too late"
(5. 2. 287)

This quote sums up the theme in a very simple way. To Gertrude this seemed like an ordinary cup of wine, but in reality it was poisoned. Further promoting the questions if Hamlet has actually gone mad.

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All this evidence proves that Appearance vs Reality is the prominent theme of Hamlet. This theme had a significant impact on the plot and characters, and makes us wonder if Hamlet’s madness is an appearance.

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Claudius is the new King of Denmark and Hamlet’s uncle. After murdering his brother (Hamlet’s father) he claims the throne and marries the olds king's wife. Claudius is the main villain of the play, he is a corrupt politician whose only goal is to maintain his power. Most of Claudius’s actions are fuelled by his desire to sustain his power, which led to his downfall.

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At the beginning Claudius seemed like a competent king and ruler, however as the play progressed we saw that Claudius was becoming more and more incompetent.

“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” (3. 3. 98-99).

In this quote we see how guilty Claudius feels and asks god to forgive him, he knows he has done wrong but even after this confession he continues to worry about the throne and his safety, proving his incompetence. He is killed by his own plan because of his lust for power, and his manipulation.

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Hamlet is the main character of the play Hamlet, he is the prince of Denmark and the son of Gertrude and the deceased King Hamlet, he is also the nephew of the new king Claudius. The story revolves around his madness and father’s death. Hamlet is seen to be severely depressed because of his father’s death and his mother’s and uncle’s new marriage. In the beginning of the book he contemplates suicide but decides against it becasue it is a sin in christianity. After a ghost of his father visits him Hamlet seeks revenge on Claudius from his father’s death claiming to act mad to achieve this. One of the main questions of the play is if Hamlet is really mad or if it is all just an act.

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In the play we see Hamlet going increasingly mad and contemplating his existence and death.

“To be or not to be—that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. And, by opposing, end them.” (3.1.64-68).

This is one of the most famous quotes from Shakespeare and it shows us that Hamlet is contemplating wherever to live or die. Hamlet is also seeking revenge on Claudius causing him to kill Polonius which leads to the death of everyone. I believe that Hamlet has two tragic flaws, one being his blind desire for revenge and the other being his depression.

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In the first act we see how upset Hamlet is over his father’s death, later in the act the ghost of Hamlet’s father visits Hamlet and reveals that Claudius murdered him.

“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life. Now wears his crown.” (1. 5. 40).

The old king asks Hamlet to seek revenge on Claudius and avenge him, which Hamlet agrees to do.

“So art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear.” (1. 5. 7).

This causes Hamlet to appear mad and every action he makes afterwards is to achieve revenge. Hamlet acting mad causes everyone to start worrying and coming up with plans to prove his madness and find the cause. For example Polonius believed it was because of love and spied on a conversation with Claudius between Hamlet and Ophelia to prove his point.

“I will leave him and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter.” (2. 2. 212-213).

His blind need for revenge also causes him to accidentally kill Polonius thinking it was Claudius.

“Nay, I know not. Is it the king?” (3. 4. 26-27)

Which leads to Ophelia becoming mad and her committing suicide, which then causes Laertes to want revenge for his father’s and sisters death. In the final duel between them everyone dies proving how Hamlet’s desperate need for revenge was one of the main reasons for his downfall.

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As mentioned earlier Hamlet is seen to have depression because he is contemplating suicide in his speech

“To be or not to be”(3. 1. 64)

One can claim that his misery led him to avenge his father’s death, because he was already miserable when the ghost visited him. The ghost just further drove him. His decision to appear mad may also have been the cause of his downfall. Because of this initial deception, a chain reaction of events formed as explained in the theme analysis. Him acting mad led to him killing Polonius which drove Ophelia mad, due to this Ophelia committed suicide.

“Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?” (5. 1. 1)

This event drove Hamlet further into madness because he lost a woman he once loved and it was his own fault.

“What is he whose grief. Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow. Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand. Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,Hamlet the Dane.” (5.1 231-234)

This then leads him to accept the duel with Laertes causing his death.

“O, I die, Horatio.” (5. 2. 351)

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Claudius’s motives are to possess power. We learn that he is desperate for power, this is shown through his murder of the old king.

“Oh, my offence is rank. It smells to Heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon ’t, A brother’s murder.” (3. 3. 36-39)

This was the first move of his downfall, if he had never killed the King of Denmark then Hamlet would have never gone mad and tried to kill him, which would have prevented the duel between Laertes and Hamlet that led to everyone's  death. He had such a strong desire to be on the throne that he even killed his own brother for it. His thirst for power leads Hamlet to act mad to seek revenge on his father. When Hamlet kills Polonius thinking it was Claudius, Claudius becomes fearful because Hamlet poses a danger to Claudius's life and throne. Instead of punishing Hamlet himself he sends him off to be executed in England with Rosencrantz and Guidensterns.

“And he to England shall along with you. The terms of our estate may not endure. Hazard so dangerous as doth hourly grow. Out of his lunacies.” (3. 3. 4-6)

Hamlet was popular in the kingdom and Claudius knew that if he executed Hamlet himself it could pose a danger to his throne and power because the people would be upset.

“Why to a public count I might not go, Is the great love the general gender bear him,” (4. 7. 17-18)

His desperate need for power causes his downfall and ultimately his death. “Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Follow my mother.” (5. 2. 320-321)

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!!!!! MOBUIS AND LOKI WHAT OMG YED SPLEASEEE????

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Throughout the play we see Claudius manipulate characters to get what he wants. He uses his wits and a careful selection of words to persuade and manipulate several characters. This eventually will lead to his downfall. We first see his manipulation take place when he gives the speech to Hamlet to stop mourning his father

“Tis a fault to heaven, A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, To reason most absurd, whose common theme” (1. 2. 102-104)

He claims that mourning is not what God would have wanted and that it is unmanly to do so. The real reason he wants Hamlet to stop mourning is not because he cared for him but because he is afraid that the more Hamlet mourns the more he will look into his father’s death and realize that Claudius is guilty. What led to his downfall and death was manipulation.

“No more to undertake it, I will work him. To an exploit, now ripe in my devise, Under the which he shall not choose but fall.” (4. 7. 61-63)

He tricked Hamlet into a duel with poisoned and sharpened swords and poisoned a cup of wine that Hamlet was supposed to drink from. Not only killing himself but everyone else in the process. Gertrude drank the poisoned wine, Laertes and Hamlet got cut from the poisoned sword, and Hamlet forced Claudius to drink the poisoned wine.