Hamlet and His Many Roles Essay -- essays papers

Hamlet and His Many Roles In the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, the title character portrays many roles, and all of these roles intersect in one scene in the play, Act III, scene ii. This scene takes place at the exact center of the play and if broken up into sections one can see a different aspect of Hamlet’s personality for each one. The play-within-a-play scene suggests that Hamlet is putting on his own play and reminds us that in real life, a person can play many roles. Hamlet plays a different role with each character in the play, such as Polonius, Claudius, Ophelia, Horatio, and the players. In the play scene, these characters are in the same place at the same time. Bert States calls Hamlet â€Å"a succession of responses to rapidly changing stimuli†. As he reacts with each character, he must move from role to role very quickly. It can be asked which roles are parts of Hamlet’s true self and which are feigned? Shakespeare uses references to plays and acting throughout the play to keep in mind the theme of appearance Vs reality. Hamlet says, â€Å"Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, when our deep plots do pall, and that should learn us/ There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will† (V, ii.lns 8-11). He is referring to the plot, the plan to alter the Murder of Gonzago, that he had earlier used to catch the conscience of the king. Hamlet also refers to a play when speaking of his voyage with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: â€Å"being thus benetted round with villainies-- or I could make a prologue to my brains, they had begun the play† (V, ii. lns 29-31). Here, Hamlet is claiming that his brain is working independently of his will and that a play is being, in a sense, written for him. He is just a... ...s by himself. The play scene highlights the significance of each role and what purpose it serves in Hamlet’s quest for truth and revenge. Bibliography: Works Cited Fisch, Harold. Hamlet and the Word: the Covenant Pattern in Shakespeare. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1971 Nevo, Ruth. â€Å"Acts III and IV: Problems of Text and Staging.† Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. Rose, Mark. â€Å"Reforming the Role.† Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. ed. Louis B. Wright. New York, NY: Washington Square Press. 1993. States, Harold. Hamlet and the Concept of Character. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. 1992.