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Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark

p Hamlet , The Prince of Denmark

Hamlet , The Prince of Denmark Much of the dramatic irony and dramatic tension in Shakespeare 's "Hamlet , The Prince of Denmark " derives from the interplay between the characters ' public and private personas . The face that each of the characters shows to the public contrasts with , in most cases , the private persona of the same character . Similarly , the private "face " or motives of the characters usually stands in diametric opposition to their public persona . The most obvious examples of this dynamic is , are course , the characters of

Claudius and Gertrude who must , by necessity keep up a fraudulent set of public perceptions to cover their crimes of infidelity and murder . These obvious examples , however , are no more profound or integral to the play 's thematic impact than the likewise hypocrisies which afflict nearly every other character of the play . The almost universal nature of social mendacity is represented in "Hamlet as being ,in fact , the source of what is "rotten " in Denmark . The brilliance of the play exists , in part , in Shakespeare 's ability to demonstrate the way in which hypocrisy and being "two-faced " can impact all levels of society and corrupt even friendship and love

In many ways , the cast of characters in "Hamlet " reflect a social microcosm , with Hamlet , the young Prince , and Ophelia , representing the youth of society and the ghost of Hamlet 's father , Gertrude , Claudius and Polonius representing the social establishment and cultural traditions which have fostered ongoing mendacity . From...

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