The Brutal Truth Revealed in Hamlet Shakespeare's Disillusionment. Depression. Despair. These are the burning emotions that stir in young Hamlet's soul as he tries to come to terms with the death of his father and his mother's incestuous and illicit marriage. As Hamlet tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered idealism, he knowingly embarks on a quest to find the truth hidden in Elsinore; this, in stark contrast to Claudio's fervent attempts to obscure the truth about the murder. Deception versus truth; Illusion versus reality. In the play, Prince Hamlet must constantly distinguish between deception and truth. However, there is always an exception to the rule, and in this case, the exception is found in Act 2, Scene 2, where an "honest" conversation, without the trappings of deception, takes place between Hamlet and Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern. Through the use of prose and figurative language, Shakespeare uses the passage to illustrate Hamlet's view of the cosmos and humanity. Throughout the show, the themes of illusion and lies were carefully developed. The entire Danish royal court is caught in a web of espionage, betrayal and lies. No man expresses his opinion, nor clearly addresses his purpose. As Polonius puts it perfectly: "And so we of wisdom and scope / By roundabout ways find directions out" Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 71-3 The many falsehoods and deceptions uttered in Hamlet are expressed through eloquent, formal, poetic words . language (iambic pentameter), equivalent to an art form. If deception is a painted and ornate subject, then its truth aspect is simple and unvarnished. Consequently, when claims of illusion are discarded in Act 2, Scene 2, the language is written in direct prose. Addressing Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet pleads with them to give an honest speech about the intent of their arrival: "[to offer] All but the purpose." Act 2, scene 2, line 300 In a gesture of extreme significance, in a complementary quotation to that already quoted from Polonius, Hamlet asks: "Be honest and direct with me, whether you have been sent for or not." Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 310-11 Being the bumbling fools that they are, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern reveal their intentions and purposes to Hamlet, revealing the instructions of the king and queen. Thus the truth prevails in this passage. For this reason the entire passage is devoid of the "artistic" poetic devices used in the best part of the work. The recurring motif of corruption also appears in the song. Due to the evil proceedings within the state of Denmark (e.g. murder, incest), Shakespeare implies that the entire state is "filthy", which in turn has a direct negative consequence in the grand universal scheme of things. The images of deformed and unsightly plants, in place of the traditional beautiful "aesthetically correct" flowers in a garden, serve to further reinforce the theme of degeneration: "It is a weedless garden that grows to the seed. The grudging and gross things in nature they just own it." Act 1, Scene 2 Essentially, all of life and everything that was good and beautiful in life (e.g. the garden) is tainted. Hamlet, the disillusioned idealist, continues with the motif when he dejectedly declares: "the earth, seems to me a barren promontory" -Act 2, scene 2, lines 321-2 [the aria] "well, it seems to me nothing but a filthy and pestilent congregation of vapours." -Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 325-6 The lines above represent Hamlet's cosmic vision of the planet. He finds the world empty and lifeless, dirty and diseased, and his particular place in it is desolate and lonely. In fact, he feels so isolated and trapped in the.