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This 4 page paper examines the role of illusion in “Hamlet” and “Don Quixote” and what it tells us about the characters. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVhamqux.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
use it, and what that contributes to our understanding of them. Discussion Perhaps the simplest explanation of the differences between the two is that Hamlet uses illusion to further his
own ends, while Don Quixote actually lives inside his illusion. That isnt to say that Hamlet might not also, at times, find his illusions overtaking him, but he seems more
in control, in general, than Don Quixote is. Another important difference is that Hamlet questions his illusion; in particular, he is not sure that the Ghost is truly the spirit
of his father; he is afraid it might be a spirit sent to tempt him. Horatio warns him as well, saying it might be trying to do him harm: "What
if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, / Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff" (I.iv.69-70). But Hamlet resolves to follow the Ghost, and it reveals that
it is the spirit of his father, and tells him to seek revenge; specifically, it tells him that it was murdered by his brother, Hamlets uncle Claudius, who is now
the king. In effect, the entire plot of the play is set in motion by Hamlets confrontation with the Ghost, which may be an illusion. Playing it that way would
needlessly complicate things and make Hamlet truly mad, so its probably best to assume that he is seeing a "real" ghost (if thats not a contradiction in terms). The idea
of illusion is also important when Hamlet tells his friends that he is going to pretend to be mad: "As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an
antic disposition on" (I.v.171-172) so that he can try and find out the truth of the Ghosts accusations. There is an ongoing debate as to whether Hamlet is really
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