Maletski 1

Brendan Maletski
Mrs. Boggio
AP Literature
11 December 2015
Spying and Deceptiveness as Plot Devices in Hamlet
In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare and published in the year
1603, revolves around the court of Denmark and its inner deceptiveness through
espionage. This espionage throughout the play creates an atmosphere of mistrust as
each party attempts to procure information to use in their own favor. The deceptiveness
escalates issues in the court till they escalate to the first murder, the killing of Polonius.
His death sets forth the events that lead to the all the other deaths in the play. This cycle
of spying is apparent from the second act of the play.
The court of Denmarks affinity to spying is first shown in act two scene one when
Polonius gives instructions to his assistant Reynaldo to spy on Poloniuss son, Laertes,
while he is in Paris (Boyce). The brief incident shows both the lack of trust and reliance
on deception the court has, even in the most common relationship between father and
son. This is meant as an introduction to the true rottenness in Denmark, while in the
next scene king Claudius orders (while Gertrude allows) past friends of Hamlet,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to pose as Hamlets friends and keep a watchful eye on
him. However, Hamlet is quick to realize the two mens true intentions, leading him to
the conclusion that he has no trustworthy allies in the court besides Horatio (Boyce).

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Since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unable to find the source of Hamlets strange
behavior, Polonius attempts to find the answer through his own sneaky tactics.
Polonius justifies his theory to Claudius that Hamlets insanity is caused by
frustrated love for Ophelia through reading one of Hamlets love letters meant for
Ophelia. This breach of privacy is only a part of Poloniuss morally questionable
alternate method of spying on Hamlet to gather more information (Lefait). Polonius
proceeds to further his ethically dubious behavior by using his own daughter as bait to
test his theory. To do this, he hides himself and Claudius while they spy on a meeting
that he has set up between Hamlet Ophelia (Lefait). The meeting goes awry as Hamlet
realizes Ophelias deception and questions where her father is. Hamlet calls out to
Polonius and Claudius when he recognizes that Ophelia is one more person that has
been used to spy on him. This event causes a greater feeling of paranoia in Hamlet as
not only the Ophelia he believed to be honest been used as a tool for spying, but that
furthers his mistrust in the lords of the court (Touhy).
Hamlet engages in his own espionage to figure out if his uncle/step father
murdered his father by putting on a play (Lefait). This play is a faade designed to
reveal Claudiuss guilt by making him reacting to the events of the play. In order to judge
his reaction, Hamlet employs Horatio to spy on the king during the play. When the trap
is sprung and Claudius reacts to the play just as Hamlet predicted, Claudius becomes
horrified as he realizes Hamlet now knows of his guilt. The distress of the king leads to
a meeting between Gertrude and Hamlet, with Polonius eavesdropping on their
meeting. It is during the meeting when Hamlet realizes he is being spied upon again

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and the hostilities come to a head as Hamlet slays the man who he believes is the king
spying on him, but is instead Polonius.
Poloniuss death is the catalyst that causes the Danish court into a spiral, as his
death directly leads to Ophelias descent into madness, the ordering of Hamlets
execution, and the lust for revenge in Laraetes. Ophelias insanity is caused by the
death of her father, which is what drives her to the brook to commit suicide. The order
for Hamlet to be executed for killing Polonius is rewritten by Hamlet during the pirate
boarding to condemn Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to execution by the English.
Finally, it is the Laertess lust for revenge of his father that leads and Claudiuss
manipulative ways that sets in motion the plan to kill Hamlet during the fencing duel.
This plan causes the sudden deaths of Laertes, Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius as well
as the crown of Denmark being passed to young Fortinbras.
To conclude, the spying that occurs in the play causes an environment in which
few are to be trusted. This lack of honesty in the court of Denmark causes a heightening
of tension, which further escalates issues till the sudden and unplanned death of
Polonius. This unexpected death serves as the catalyst that causes the massacre at the
end of the play. Overall, the Shakespeares use of spying exemplifies the importance of
basic trust between parties.

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Works Cited
Boyce, Charles. "Reynaldo." Critical Companion to William Shakespeare: A Literary
Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File,
Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 9 Dec. 2015
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19618&SID=5&iPin=ffazshak1811&SingleRecord=True>.
Boyce, Charles. "Polonius." Critical Companion to William Shakespeare: A Literary
Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File,
Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 9 Dec. 2015
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19618&SID=5&iPin=ffazshak1704&SingleRecord=True>.
Boyce, Charles. "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern." Critical Companion to William
Shakespeare: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion.
New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web.
10 Dec. 2015 <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19618&SID=5&iPin=ffazshak1855&SingleRecord=True>.
Lefait, Sbastien. " Doran's Hamlet as Surveillance Adaptation." Borrowers and
Lenders. University of Corsica, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.borrowers.uga.edu/1072/show>.
Tuohy, Jamie. "The Role of Lies and Deception in Shakespeare's "Hamlet"" More Matter
Jamie. Wordpress.com, 02 Feb. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
<https://jamietuohy.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/the-role-of-lies-and-deception-inshakespeares-hamlet-jamie-tuohy-2/>.