Hamlet Open- Ended Essay Topic B

Betrayal
Beginning with Claudius murder of his brother, the acts of
betrayal in Hamlet can be seen as dominos that fall in succession as
King Hamlet did. Claudius betrayal of his brother, a decision between
morality and personal gain, reflects every other decision to betray in
Hamlet as well, whether it be Gertrudes betrayal of her late husband
and son by agreeing to wed Claudius or Hamlets murder of Polonius.
Betrayal in Hamlet is a question between morals and desires, while the
desire can be of power, of revenger or of love, and each act of betrayal
carried out in the play is a part of the ripple effect of Claudius decision
to obtain his desired power and kill the king.
The acts of betrayal in the play each represent a choice between
morality, such as Christian morals or self-conscience, and desire,
whether wicked or good. The battle between morals and self-interest is
a recurring motif throughout the play and can be seen in Gertrudes
betrayal of Hamlet and his father by planning to wed Claudius.
Gertrudes choice between what is right and wrong and her desire to
be with Claudius is an act of betrayal that could only be possible if it
werent for King Hamlets death (at the hands of Claudius) and begins
the domino effect of betrayal in Hamlet. Gertrude choose societal
standards for incestuous marriages and in doing go, begins her sons
manic depressive breakdown that we see at the beginning of the play
in his conversation with Claudius and Gertrude and in his To be or not
to be soliloquy. Hamlets mental state further ensures the acts of
betrayal he commits, such as killing Polonius and his old friends
Rosencrantz and Guildenstein and betraying Ophelias love, and is
caused in part by Gertrudes betrayal and that of Claudius when he
caused Hamlets grief by killing his father.
Hamlets acts of betrayal in the play spiral into his tragic demise
and continue to represent dominos that continue to fall until (almost)
every person in the play has fallen as well. Hamlets betrayal of
Ophelias love continues his own self-destructive behavior but also
stimulates Ophelias. Tough the extent of Hamlets feelings for Ophelia
is not certain, he admits his lover for her too late- she had already
committed suicide after going mad upon Polonius death- and this
reveals his deep betrayal of Ophelia in her life. Essentially, it is at the
hands of Hamlet, her love, that Ophelia is killed as well, for the root
cause of her suicide is the death of Polonius at the hands of Hamlet
and her broken heart at his rejection. In a tragic chain of betrayal, the
characters in Hamlet begin to kill each off as they choose between
morals and desire and a tendency for self-interest becomes apparent.
Hamlets murder of Polonius represents the beginning of the
breakdown of morality in Hamlet, as prior to this he had procrastinated
taking revenge on Claudius on account of religious ideology, and is an

act of both Ophelia and Laertes but also of his Christian values on sin.
However, Hamlet justifies his at by arguing Polonius had betrayed him
by spying on his conversation with Gertrude, and therefore Hamlets
reaction is appropriate. This argument further signifies the chain of
actions that Claudius began, as Polonius would not have spied on
Hamlet and thereby gotten a sword through his stomach if it hadnt
been for Claudius suspicions of Hamlet having figured out his crime.
Throughout Hamlet, characters choose between reason and
want. In each choice, they continue down a path to tragedy. In killing
Polonius, Hamlet chooses his desire of revenge over reasonable
thinking and in spying on Hamlet, Polonius chooses his desire for power
and recognition from Claudius over his previous logical trust in Hamlet.
In ensuring the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstein, Hamlet again
chooses between revenge and his once-reluctance to unnecessarily kill
and reveals that he is now fated to take revenge on Claudius because
now Hamlet does not have to choose between revenge and his morals.
Hamlet loses his morality by the final scene of the play and it is
because of the Chain of Betrayal that he loses his conscience on
reason. Losing ones sense of right and wrong, losing ones previous
values, is a powerful motif in Hamlet and could be the final lesson of
the play, as the characters all lie dead at each others hands if it
werent for Laertes. Laertes dying act of revealing Claudius is one of
the few choices a character makes in Hamlet in which reason triumphs
revenge. Laertes death is on both Hamlet and Claudius hands, as
Polonius murder sparks the desire for revenge in Laertes and Claudius
scheming endures the deadliness of Laertes sword, and in this way
Laertes is betrayed by them more than once. However, Laertes last
cry that Claudius was the one to blame, leaves the play with a white
knight and proves the battle between morals and personal interest is
not lost. Though the sin of greed and the compelling desire of love and
revenge entice the characters in Hamlet and each one of us in turn,
there is hope that a good deed will be carried forth. The acts of
betrayal in Hamlet are but a succession of the initial act by Claudius
upon King Hamlet, but they end with Laertes cry and revelation of
Claudius as the one to blame, and truly it is Claudius to blame for the
whole succession of events that is the play. Essentially, his greed and
desire for power led to the tragic loss of lives and hope seen at the
finale. However, hope is not lost and the chain is broken, The Broken
Chain of Betrayal is symbolized by the transition of the throne to the
prince, someone entirely outside the events of the play and therefore
separates from the acts of betrayal that broke down morals in the
castle. But Laertes denouncing the King and forgiving Hamlet- his last
act and one of the last a character makes in the play initially illustrates
the Broken Chain. As hope was hidden deep inside and last to emerge
Pandoras Box, so it is the last to emerge in Hamlet. It is hope for the
battle between morals and desire that is betrayal, to not fall too quick

to human natures tendency toward personal gain- and hope for one to
carefully consider their choices, as who knows where one choice to
betray can lead.