ACT III - A Secret Revealed
In this scene, the play starts off with Hamlet coaching the actors of the play on how to pull off his plot to reveal Claudius's secret. This way, he can trick Claudius into showing his guilt from the horror of seeming his own murder out on stage. This is Hamlets only chance to show the townspeople that Claudius has been deceiving them since the death of the previous king. Right before the play begins, Hamlet confronts Ophelia again, telling her that he never loved her, and other very hurtful statements. Ophelia even tries to poke holes in his argument by reminding him that he sent her flowers just a couple weeks ago, which he immediately shoots down. Then, after the show, Hamlet goes to his mothers room to talk about the play, but in the middle of their conversation, Hamlet sees someone spying on them and kills them. He later finds out that it was Polonius and is forced to hide the body in fear of prosecution.
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 http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/04/29/hiding.jpg | ********** How Deception and False Appearances are used in this Act: In this act, Ophelia tries to give Hamlet back the love letters he sent her a few weeks before after Hamlet lies to her and tells her he never loved her. She tries desperately to help him remember when he did love her, and even becomes confused at this new news. She says, " My lord, I have remembrances of yours that I have longed to redeliver. I pray now that you receive them" Also, right before the play Hamlet talks to Horatio about watching Claudius during the play. He tells him, "Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt itself unkennel in one speech it is a damned ghost we have seen and my imaginations are as foul as vulcans sithy." He tells Horatio that if Claudius begins to look nervous during the play, than it is from his discomfort from seeing himself murder on stage |
