Hamlet Blog 3

Prompt: Discuss the importance of appearance and reality in Hamlet

Within the play of Hamlet, one of the most obvious issues of appearance and reality revolves around the ghost of Hamlet's father. Obviously, the ghost is not a real figure, but rather a supernatural one. The lacking of reality of the ghost makes it hard for Hamlet to act upon the revenge of his father's death that the ghost wants him to pursue. Throughout Act II, Hamlet also uses the characters of the Players as an instrument or a play device to make the scene and situation of the King's death and the ghost more realistic for himself and those who are confused about the situation. This makes King Hamlet's ghostly appearance more of a reality rather than just a common appearance to a few characters in the book. So far in the book, the major importance of appearance and reality in Hamlet revolves around the ghost, however, I am sure there is more to come about the ghost, Hamlet's revenge, and more appearances from the Players to illustrate Hamlet's thoughts and meetings with the ghost, or potentially something else.