ience. Hamlet himself is aware of this expectation as the end approaches, and this still further whets our anticipation for what is to become.A commonly recurring theme throughout the play is that of honesty. It is introduced in the beginning of the play and as the play continues, its use becomes more and more common, as well as more and more ironic. This theme within the play itself is ironic, for as Marcellus said "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" and this corruption we see so exhibited in the play is far from honest.When Hamlet applies the word honest to the main characters of the play, his use of becomes undeniably ironic, and much of the dark humor of the play derives from Hamlet's wordplay. Polonius marks that though Hamlet's insults seem to make no sense, "yet there is method in 't." In Act II, it is Polonius that is the first target of Hamlet's irony of the use of honest. Hamlet calls him first a "fishmonger" which itself has many meanings, including the implication that Ophelia is a whore and Polonius is her pimp. And of course, Polonius has employed his daughter in his plot to discover the depth of Hamlet's "madness." When Polonius says he is not a fishmonger, Hamlet replies "Then I would you were so honest a man." In other words, he wishes Polonius was as honest as a simple fish seller, or even more insulting, as honest as the pimp Hamlet insinuated he was. In this scene, Hamlet also uses this ironic meaning of honesty against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he tells them "...I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended." He seems to mean that he cannot speak to them with honesty, because they themselves are dishonest in their intents.Honesty resonates as a theme in Hamlet because nothing is, as it seems in Denmark. The King deceives the world and pretends a legitimacy he does not have; Hamlet deceives the court by feigning madness; Polo...
