The Issue of Human Manipulation in ‘Hamlet’ by W. Shakespeare Research Paper

Introduction

Hamlet is all about the revenge of a son upon knowing his father’s death. However, doing this was not so easy and he had to give up his life in the end. It should be noted that human manipulation is very imminent in this novel particularly through the major characters’ personalities – may it be from the female or the male characters.

The issue of human manipulation

The issue of human manipulation is greatly highlighted by the major characters of Hamlet. First among the major characters are, of course, Hamlet. Hamlet, in the novel, is known for his cynical humor. This he used as his strong weapon in his mission to know the real culprit of his father’s death. With Hamlet’s ability to voice out his thoughts and feelings in a rather skeptical manner, he was able to identify and determine the real motives of the people around him – distrustful it may seem, but ironically effective on Hamlet’s part.

A good example of his cynical humor coupled with undying distrust towards the people working around him is his conversation with Polonius. Hamlet just wanted to know if Polonius is an honest man, but his exact words hit and took Polonius off guard: “Honest my lord? Ay, sir. To be honest, like this world, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.”

Hamlet’s characteristics

In the whole story, Hamlet is also able to maintain his being mysterious. Readers can never exactly expect what is going to happen or what Hamlet is thinking and planning. Hamlet tells other characters that there is more to him than meets the eye. When he talks, there seem to be more words that he leaves untold. He always acts or speaks which sounds and looks as if there is something important he is not yet saying and showing, maybe something even he is not aware of.

Why Hamlet is about to manipulate

He was at the university when he was interrupted by the call about his father’s inexplicable death. With this, he immediately faced various issues and looked at different pieces of evidence proving that his uncle has killed his father but he does not rely solely on the said evidence. He becomes obsessed with proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. The standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt” is simply unacceptable to him. This alone proved that Hamlet is using his masculine behavior to manipulate others in a way that no other men or women are capable of doing. He tries to show to his father’s people (and eventually called as his people) that with his manly ways, he could solve the mystery of his father’s death while maintaining good governance.

Claudius’ characteristic

The second major character is Claudius, who is Hamlet’s major antagonist, and often shows shrewdness and lustfulness as his major traits. He is the conniving king who maintains opposite characteristics from the other male in Hamlet’s life. Claudius’ personality represents deviant mannish behavior. Enough proof of this is the fact that while all other men are preoccupied with ideas of justice, revenge, and moral balance, Claudius is bent on maintaining his power. Claudius is even a corrupt politician whose main weapon is his ability to manipulate others through his skillful use of language. That is why Claudius’s speeches could be compared to poison being poured in the ear and that exact skill is the method he used in killing Hamlet’s father. Claudius’s love for Gertrude may be sincere, but it also seems likely that he married her as a strategic move, to help him win the throne away from Hamlet after the death of the king.

Gertrudes – the third character

The third character in the novel is Gertrude. With the vagueness of most things related to Gertrude and the decisions she made, various questions will surely prop up most readers’ heads. Questions like: Was she involved with Claudius before the death of her husband? Did she honestly love her husband? Did she know about Claudius’s plan to commit the murder? Did she love Claudius, or did she marry him simply to keep her high station in Denmark? Does she believe Hamlet when he insists that he is not mad, or does she pretend to believe him simply to protect herself? Does she intentionally betray Hamlet to Claudius, or does she believe that she is protecting her son’s secret?

Upon deeper probing and analysis of the story, the said questions could be answered gradually. The “Gertrude” who emerged in Hamlet is the woman clearly defined by her longing for satisfaction and affection, as well as by her tendency to use men to fulfill her instinct for self-preservation. “Frailty, thy name is woman!” – this is what Hamlet has commented on Gertrude. These words truly describe what he thinks of Gertrude. He sees Gertrude as the weak woman who can never exhibit and the ability to think critically about her situation but seems merely to move instinctively toward seemingly safe choices, as when she immediately runs to Claudius after her confrontation with Hamlet. She is at her best in social situations when her natural grace and charm seem to indicate a rich, rounded personality. At times, it seems that her grace and charm are her only characteristics, and her reliance on men appears to be her sole way of capitalizing on her abilities.

Novel of tragedy

Hamlet is indeed a wonderful novel of tragedy. It does not only show how one could take and react to a death of a loved one but also there are glimpses of the real occurrences in one’s life-shattering not only the readers’ imaginations but also the emotions and the very philosophies. What’s so ironic in this novel is that it is all about the various ways of leading one’s own life, managing decisions, doing extraordinary action and even, managing positive and negative actions – these are the real manifestations of life and living. However, there are also some thoughts about ghosts, about some non-existing things which if you pondered upon could make you realize that there have to be some connections between theses ghost and the life your are leading. One can be made to believe that the ghosts in this novel personify the “negative” thought that Hamlet would commit. The ghost here indicates the active conscience, helping Hamlet to get and do better decision. Another sign of irony in this novel is the idea that Hamlet has seemingly possess so much love in his heart – love for his father – but that love itself drives him to avenge or plan for the killing of his father’s murderer. It seems the love he contains in his heart is not enough for him to forgive and forget what has happened. More so it seems that the love in hamlet’s heart is not enough for him to prevent manipulating the people around him just to get what he wants. In the same manner, love is non-existing to other characters like Claudius and even Gertrude. The only form of life that these three characters muster to have is love for self. They love themselves too much that they are willing to manipulate every single person in the area just to make themselves happy and contented.

Conclusion

The character of Hamlet who manipulates others reflects the people in today’s time. People now seemed to be so manipulative in a way that everything will be done only if it will bring favors to a particular person. This is the real essence of human manipulation and sad to say, this is how most people live their lives nowadays.

References

Analysis of Major Characters. 2004. Sparknotes LLC. Web.

“Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature”. The Literature Network. 2007. Web.

Shakespeare, William. William Shakespeare the Complete Works Deluxe Edition Gramercy; Unabridged Edition. New York: Broadway Play Publishing, 1990.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Re Issue Edition. USA: Oxford University Press, 1993.