Shakespearean Insights; Hamlet

Hamlet, one of the most contentiously critiqued plays throughout English literature, provides its audience with an insight into Shakespearean revenge tragedies, deception, guilt and the impact of a change in character within a play. Throughout the entire play, we are aware of the revenge tragedy to take place, the characters deception, guilt and changing features, however, during act five, scene two, we are exposed to the true nature of these multifaceted issues. The majority of Hamlet is played out before its audience prior to this extract.
By this point in time, Hamlet has been visited by his father’s ghost who has commanded him to exact revenge on his uncle, who murdered Hamlet’s   father while sleeping, then took his mother’s hand in marriage. Hamlet has been deceitfully slighted by Ophelia, under Polonius’ command, who Hamlet has killed in a sudden rage. Claudius, through the play within the play, has recognised that Hamlet knows of his treacherous murder of his king and brother, and has sent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with Hamlet to deliver him to his untimely death at the hands of the English king.   Ophelia has also died, leaving her brother Laertes in a rage focussed at Hamlet. Upon hearing of Hamlet’s imminent return, Claudius has manipulated Laertes’ rage to find another means of killing Hamlet.
The second scene of act five opens “in media res”, meaning “in the middle of”. Hamlet and Horatio are engaged in dialogue that carries on from act four, scene six where Horatio is reading a letter from Hamlet, relaying to him bare details of Hamlet’s supposed journey to England, by which point in time Hamlet has actually already begun to make the voyage back to Denmark. “There’s a letter for you, sir- it comes from the ambassador that was bound for England...” The scene is made up of dialogue between Hamlet and Horatio, Hamlet enlightening Horatio as to his escape from his death and the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
In this scene, Hamlet is shown to...