s the truth about Claudius. Gertrude is guilty of adulterous lust, but she did not play any part in the plan to kill her late husband. In fact, she does not become fully aware of Claudius' guilt until her final breath utters the warning to Hamlet, "O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned," (V:2, ll 328-329). She knows Claudius is guilty because she realizes that the poisoned drink was meant for Hamlet. The second major result of deception is the madness that overcomes poor Ophelia. After her father's death, Ophelia loses track of her senses. She dances about the castle, singing carelessly, giving flowers to everyone that she sees. At one point in her merriment she signs of Polonius' death: "And will he not come again? No, no, he is dead; Go to thy deathbed; He will never come again," (IV:5, ll 205 - 208) Great pathos is felt for Ophelia because her madness - unlike the supposed madness of Hamlet - is true. She goes mad because the men in her life treat her very poorly. Polonius forbids her to make her to see Hamlet, and yet he uses her as bait to spy on Hamlet. She believes that Hamlet's madness is the result of his love for her, which makes her feel even more distraught, that she is to blame for the future king's imbalance. Once Polonius dies, she is left with no one (Laertes is away in Paris and Hamlet is showing no interest in her) and it is this sudden abandonment that leaves Ophelia in a state of madness. She is a tragic figure because she is the victim of the deceptive schemes of the men in her life. The third result of the deceptive theme in the play is Hamlet's revenge. Once Hamlet runs Claudius through, his vow to his father's ghost is fulfilled (V:2, ll 349-352). The truth is finally revealed. Hamlet's feigning madness has allowed him to get into a situation wherein he can exact his revenge and reveal Claudius for the fraud that he is. In this final scene, everyone who has anything to do with the plot is killed, ...
