Abuse Of Power In Hamlet

Is one ever truly pleased with their power? In the play, Hamlet, by Shakespeare, power, cynicism, and manipulation are all major themes. Power is one’s ability to manipulate others. Manipulation is using one’s power to control others. Cynicism is one’s belief that people are solely driven by self-interest. Power causes the characters Hamlet, Claudius, and Polonius to form cynical opinions of others, leading to manipulation through deceit, lies, and intimidation in order to sustain and advance their power.
Hamlet’s powerful knowledge causes his cynicism towards Claudius, leading to Hamlet’s deceitful manipulation of Claudius and Polonius in order to gain more powerful knowledge to revenge his father’s death. After meeting the ghost, Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus, “perchance hereafter shall think meet/to put an antic disposition on” (1.5.190-193). The ghost claims that Claudius killed Hamlet’s father, giving Hamlet the power of knowledge and furthering Hamlet’s cynicism towards Claudius. Thus, Hamlet pretends to be mad, his strategy for deceitfully manipulating Claudius. Hamlet believes his mad disguise allows him to be viewed innocently as he searches for powerful knowledge to prove Claudius killed his father. Hamlet confuses Polonius by claiming “the sun breed maggots in a dead/dog, being a good
197-198). He uses this figurative language of imagery to make bizarre statements, intensifying his madness and improving his deceitful manipulation. Hamlet tells Polonius, if Ophelia stays with Hamlet, his “daughter