Please proof read and let me know if my essay is cohesive and answers the following questions well! Why is the idea of playing a role or acting a part so important to Hamlet over the course of the play? How does role-playing affect several major events in the plot and the relationships between various characters?



Acting within acting is an interesting component to Hamlet. Various sections within the play show Hamlet putting on antics when interacting with other characters. Throughout the play, we notice the way characters are affected by Hamlet’s acting. There are reasons for the strange and frightening behaviors Hamlet portrays. Oftentimes Hamlet is trying to get a specific reaction out of another character due to his antics, and sometimes Hamlet is attempting to mask his feelings and hide his actual incentives for his performances. The acting put on by Hamlet provides a way to protect his motives while adding an aspect of unknown to the play, where the audience is never sure what is acting and what is not.
Right from the start, the appearance of Hamlet in Act 1, Scene 2, signifies the importance and presence of acting within the play. In that scene, Hamlet displays his emotions by being gravely aggrieved by the death of his father. Within this scene, we see Claudius and Gertrude making accusations as they perceive Hamlet to be over-reacting or pretending to be in grief. Essentially, they are accusing Hamlet of simply acting as if he is grieving. To this accusation, Hamlet responds, “These indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and suits of woe” (1.2.86-89). Hamlet essentially responds that his grief is far greater than he is displaying. In this case, Hamlet is not acting, but I believe this interaction may have sparked the idea of acting into his mind.
After the conversation with Claudius and Gertrude, and after Hamlet sees his father’s ghost and finds out Claudius has been acting himself, Hamlet decides to act as well… but with an attitude of insanity. “I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.191-192). Hamlet’s choice to “put an antic disposition on” causes the question of Hamlet’s mental stability and whether he was truly acting out in grief or not. The relationship between Hamlet and his mother and uncle is put under pressure. Hamlet’s decision raises a question about Hamlet’s honesty throughout the rest of the play, to both Hamlet’s acquaintances and the audience. Everyone is unsure when Hamlet is honestly expressing his true emotions, or simply acting. His antics are found to be an attempt to mislead and protect himself, ultimately causing a feeling of uncertainty and unreliability in his relationships.
One scene where I find Hamlet’s antics to truly work and cause further uncertainty in characters is in Scene 2. One of the first witnesses to Hamlet’s “antic disposition” is Ophelia, who communicates the frightening and strange behavior displayed by Hamlet to her father Polonius (2.1) Hamlet’s performance is successful since both Polonius and Ophelia perceive Hamlet to be mad. Although, Polonius links this strange behavior to Hamlet’s love for Ophelia. To Polonius, the recent behavior displayed by Ophelia towards Hamlet is the reason for such strange behavior or “the very ecstasy of love” (2.1.114). Hamlet used people important and close to him to further extend the believability of his acting.
Hamlet’s acting is crucial in the play as different types of emotions are displayed at different times. His “antic disposition” act is important because it was devised to protect himself along with creating an alias that would go along with his grief-stricken shaky mental stability. The role-playing Hamlet put on greatly affected relationships in the play and created an atmosphere of distrust between all of the characters. Furthermore, witnessing the antics and false behavior thickens the plot and confuses the audience into being unsure whether the behavior is actual grief, a pretense of taking revenge from Claudius, or an action to protect himself from being murdered by Claudius.