The Acting Motif in Hamlet Look at the role of acting in the play and its significance to the text

as a whole and connect it to dramatic purpose, characters, and theme. (INSERT YOUR PARAGRAPH ABOUT DRAMATIC PURPOSE) King Claudius is continuously acting throughout the play to hide his true self from those around him. First of all, the play starts out with Claudius acting as the good and grieving king after the loss of his brother. However we know that this is not his true nature because he is the one responsible for his own brothers death. Yet, he deceives his family, advisors, and his country for his own personal gain, and to hide his sinful deed. Claudius also appears to be a caring stepfather who is worried by the emotional trauma his stepson seems to be going through. This caring King tells Hamlet that it is most retrograde to our desire for him to return to college, and that his place should be at home (in Act One Scene Two). But the King is just pretending to be this fatherly figure; in reality, the true motive behind these actions is Claudius paranoia. The King only wants to keep Hamlet close by so he can keep a close eye on the legitimate heir. Hamlets mother, Queen Gertrude, also does her share of acting within the play. This can only be seen after we examine the interchange between Hamlet and his mother in Act 3, Scene 4 on lines 90-93. Gertrude responds to Hamlets onslaught about her incestuous affair by stating: Oh, Hamlet, speak no more! Thou turnst mine eyes into my very soul, and there I see such black and graind spots as will not leave their tinct. From this interchange we see that Gertrude, who has failed to openly acknowledge this issue until now, must have been internally struggling with the problem. This struggle is masked by the Queens act up to this point in the play. She denied the existence of the problem, and acted as if the only possible cause of Hamlets behavior. What is not clear, however, is if the Queen began to believe in her own role. In other words, was Gertrude knowingly acting the entire time with the guilt near the surface, or did she bury this guilt so far that she became the character she was acting? Ophelia, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern are all manipulated to accept their acting roles. First of all, Ophelia is encouraged to take part in a set-up planned for Hamlet by her father and the King. She voluntarily participates by acting as a lover distraught over her relationship with Hamlet. Although she is allowing her father and the King to watch as she unveils her emotions, the question arises of whether the emotions she exhibits are genuine or just part of her act. In addition, Laertes is manipulated by the King to act as a fair contestant in a friendly sword match with the

prince, when, in truth, he and the King are planning on murdering Hamlet. So Laertes acts in the sword match as if he has no mal-intent, but is actually using the act as a tool for revenge. Finally, at the request of the King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern act as close friends of Hamlet in order to spy on him and gain favor with the King. They use their past friendship with him to facilitate this. All four of these characters are unaware of the true reason they are given these tasks. This, of course, is to discover if Hamlet knows anything of the late kings murder. With Polonius, it is easier to ask when he is not acting than when he is. Polonius is an individual who is constantly working to either maintain or increase his level in society. He basically plays the role of the royal flatterer doing whatever is in the best interest of the crown. But the Polonius that the King sees is not the true Polonius. This is because he does not truly care what is best for the King, but what is best for him and his family. In addition, he also directs a number of other characters in their efforts to act. He does this with Reynaldo spying on Laertes, Ophelia with Hamlet, and the Queen with Hamlet. The only times that Polonius appears not to be acting is in Act 1, Scene 3, when he is talking with his children, and whenever he is talking about acting, for example, with the players and Hamlet. Although Hamlet certainly acts throughout the play, it is difficult to ascertain when he is acting, and when he is not. After his visit with the ghost, Hamlet puts on an antic disposition to disguise his suspicion with madness. Hamlet might be thinking that if he acts mad, he may be allowed more freedom to explore the details of the crime, without being caught in the act. So he continues to act mad throughout the play. But this becomes problematic due to the near impossibility of distinguishing Hamlets real attitude from his acting. Was Hamlet acting in Ophelias bedroom, in the Hall during his conversation with Ophelia, during the play, and in his mothers chamber? Or is Hamlet truly insane? (INSERT YOUR PARAGRAPH ABOUT CONCLUSION, BELOW CAN BE USED OR NOT) Overall, we have seen how the acting motif has affected the main characters. Most of the characters in the play either chose, or were manipulated, to adopt some sort of alternate role for themselves. We have seen that the characters that did not act, but were themselves, were in the minority. And we have also looked at the difficulty of distinguishing what is acting, and what is not, for certain characters. The acting motif in Hamlet is mirrored through almost every scene, and affects almost every character in the play. *All you have left is the collage of the theatre and characters and print of the glass half full/ half empty.