Hamlet – ambiguityThe extent of ambiguity within William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet is worth considering. Literary critics disagree in their assessments of the prevalence of ambiguity in the work. Lawrence Danson in the essay “Tragic Alphabet” discusses equivocation and ambiguity in the play: Equivocation – the conflict between Hamlet's perceived reality and the language used to describe it. reality – has made all expression a mere matter of appearance, and Hamlet does not know appearance. His rejection of Claudian language extends to a rejection of all symbolic systems that can designate a man. Thus, even his own play on words (both verbal and silent) is inadequate: Hamlet chooses "nothing" since he cannot have "everything": "It is not only my ink coat, good mother, Neither the usual costumes of silent black, Nor the windy sucking of the forced breath, no, nor the fruitful river in the eyes, nor the dejected behavior in the face, as well as all the forms, moods, forms of sorrow, which can really point to me. It seems that these are actions that a man could play; but I have what is happening inside me; they are only the traps and costumes of misfortune. (I.ii.77) In an ambiguous world, where everything is only appearance, and therefore erroneous interpretation, no symbol is successful. (70)DG James says in "The New Doubt" that the Bard has the ambiguous habit of giving a word several meanings at once: "Conscience makes us cowards." » There has been, I know, much controversy as to the meaning of this word here. For my part, I do not have the slightest difficulty in believing that the word carries both its usual meaning and that of “reflection and…… middle of paper…… Impulsive but serious young aristocrat”. Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992. Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.htmlWest, Rebecca. “A Court and a world infected by the disease of corruption.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957. Wright, Louis B., and Virginia A. LaMar. “Hamlet: a man who thinks before he acts.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N.p. : Paperbacks, 1958.