Hamlet Vs Heart Of Darkness

Lying is to delude one, for the purpose of concealing reality from that person. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, characters like Polonius and Claudius are lead to their destruction by their selfish lies. In Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, Marlow’s great lie, unselfish in nature, ensures the well being of Kurtz’s intended. Upon the comparison of the nature of lies in both works, it is clear that selfish lies lead to destruction, and unselfish lies help to preserve life.

The most egocentric character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius is the first victim of destruction due to selfish lies. As long as Polonius is alive in the play, he continuously operates behind a false mask of loyalty and eloquence with the sole purpose of moving up on the chain of being. Although Shakespeare does not provide us with a certain statement proving Polonius’s selfish motives, they become apparent when he tries to convince Claudius and Gertrude that the reason behind Hamlet’s madness is his love for Ophelia, Polonius’s daughter.

” I went round to work…”Lord Hamlet is a prince among stars, this must not be” and then I prescripts gave her, that she should lock her self from his resort… which done, she took the fruits of my advice; and he repelled, …fell into a sadness…into a madness wherein now he raves.(2.2.139-150)” Polonius is trying to present himself as a person who has knowledge of the matters in court. By showing that he has the ability to draw intelligent conclusions about the problems in court, he increases his chances of obtaining the genuine respect of the king and queen. At the same time he is suggesting that he has the only solution to this difficulty Claudius and Gertrude are facing. He hopes that Claudius and Gertrude will be dependant on his decisions in order to maintain Hamlet’s insanity, since Ophelia is obedient only to Polonius. His main purpose is to move up on the chain of being and, he would go as far as manipulating royalty, as well as taking advantage of his own daughter. Polonius thinks that he is an eloquent person, therefore he always talks excessively while making a point.

When Polonius says that Hamlet is mad after about six lines of pointless speech, Lady Gertrude says; “More matter, with less art. (2.2.95)” This shows that Polonius is trying too hard to build a good image of him self. Even a simple minded character such as Gertrude her self has no problem noticing this. If Polonius were truly loyal to the king, he would not have an ulterior motive. Polonius needs to show loyalty to the king to gain what he wants, there for he is creating a false image of him self. This behaviour ultimately costs him his life. When Claudius realises that Hamlet has discovered the truth about Hamlet senior’s death, he worries about what Hamlet is going to tell Gertrude, since he had jus departed to her chamber.

At this instance, Polonius volunteers to spy on Hamlet, “Behind the arras I’ll convey my self, To hear the process. (3.3.28-29)” Later on Hamlet discovers that there is someone behind the arras, and he thrusts his sword in the arras killing Polonius. This unfortunate occurring is thoroughly Polonius’s own fault. Claudius is not to blame, because it was Polonius’s idea to spy on Hamlet. His so-called intelligence suggested that he should volunteer to spy and make the king happy. The king appreciates this gesture as he thanks Polonius, “Thanks my dear Lord (3.3.35).” but it does Polonius no good since he is dead now. Clearly, Polonius’s deceptive nature causes his death.

Another Character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet who uses lies to get what he wants is Claudius. Claudius claims to have taken over the throne, and married the queen for the best interest of the country. This is shown in his speech to the court early in the play, ” In equal scale and weighing delight and dole, taken to wife: nor have we herein barr’d your better wisdom… Now follows that u know; young Fortinbras, holding a weak supposal of our worth, or thinking by our late brother’s death, our state would be disjoint. (1.2.14-20) He is giving an explanation to his people of why he decided to suddenly marry Gertrude and take over the throne without waiting for young Hamlet to arrive. Claudius did not want to risk an attack on Denmark by Fortinbras. He wanted to take over the throne to maintain order in court, therefore eliminating vulnerability in the country.

To maintain pure lineage, he decides to marry Gertrude the queen. He also appears to love Gertrude as he refers to her as, ” My dear Gertrude” on several occasions and he always seems to be polite to Hamlet in front her because he knows how much Gertrude loves Hamlet. Even though his actions seem to be for the best interest of his people, it is clear that he has selfish motives as well. The indication of his selfishness is obvious when he refuses to give up his position during his confession, “I am still possess’d of those effects for which I did murder, my crown, mine own ambition and my queen. (3.3.52-55).” Nowhere in that statement does Claudius say that the reason for the murder was his love for Ophelia, or the country; he clearly says it was for personal wants, such as his crown, and his ambition. Further more the mention of the queen comes in at last of his list. This shows that the queen’s importance is after those two things. Later on in the play it is quite apparent that his behaviour towards Gertrude was a front to gain her trust, as he makes no valid effort to stop Gertrude from drinking the poisoned cup; “KING: Gertrude do not drink.

QUEEN: I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me.

KING (aside): It is the poisn’d cup; it is too late. (5.2.280-282)” If Claudius had even a minute amount of feeling in his heart for Gertrude, he would have done much more then simply instructing her not to drink the cup. By not warning her, he has proven that the only thing he cares about is his throne. He hides the truth about the cup, because if he revealed it, he would have been exposed and his throne would be snatched away from him. Similar to Polonius, Claudius meets his demise because of his cleverly deceptive nature. A dying Leartes reveals the Kings treachery to Hamlet. “Thy mother’s poisoned: I can no more: the king, the king’s to blame (5.2.309-310).” The king’s treachery was revealed, all the lies, the false claims of responsibility and love, which he used to aid his selfish desire to be king had gone in vain as Hamlet slays him.

In Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness the main character, Marlow is different from the characters that lied in Hamlet. The main difference is that Marlow is morally, a better person then Claudius and Polonius. When lying, selfishly is the nature of Claudius and Polonius, Marlow does not even like to lie, selfish or unselfish in nature. The following quote proves this, “You know I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. (Conrad: heart of darkness)” Even though Marlow detests lies, he finds out that he has no choice left as he must keep a person from experiencing what he did. Marlow got the instructions from an immensely evil ivory trader in Africa named Mr. Kurtz.