Betrayal In Hamlet Essay

The tragedy Hamlet may best be recognized to reveal betrayal through all of the themes that occur in the play. The act of revenge could be interpreted as an action of betrayal, or madness causing a character to betray them. William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet revolves around the actions of betrayal by the friends and family of Hamlet. As in many of Shakespeare's plays, betrayal is a common aspect that is focused on in many play, as noted by Dr. Iti Roychowdhury. In Hamlet, audiences witness betrayal regularly. An example of this is from Gertrude toward King Hamlet and Hamlet himself. “Hamlet is a tale of Gertrude’s betrayal of her husband King Hamlet as also Hamlet her son when she betrays his idea of a chaste wife and mother and of course it is the tale of Hamlet’s inability to fulfill his filial expectations”(Roychowdhury, 4). From the very beginning of the play, Gertrude has betrayed her husband, who is now dead, with his brother Claudius. Gertrude also betrays Hamlet by marrying his uncle. Hamlet now thinks that all women are like her. “If a woman like his mother could betray the memory of his father then can other women be different?” (Roychowdhury, 2). This is similar to the thoughts in Hamlet’s head and is why he is so harsh on Ophelia. By Gertrude betraying her son, she causes all different kinds of scenarios

Polonius betrays his own son, Laertes, by sending a servant to go spy on him. At this point, Polonius betrays Laertes’ belief in his trust when he is in France. Hamlet also betrays Laertes by killing Polonius, and after he does this Laertes also betrays Hamlet by remaining loyal to Claudius. Through all of this betrayal, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are ones to betray their best friend Hamlet. Gertrude and Claudius put them in charge of spying on Hamlet, but Rosencrantz and Guildenstern decide betray Hamlet. Acting as friends, the two use their information against