A man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides. By hiding his true self, he avoids distractions, which helps him to deceive others. In William Shakespeare's revenge tragedy, Hamlet, the main characters, prince Hamlet and his stepfather, king Claudius both hide their true selves to deceive each other. However, Hamlet is more successful at hiding himself to deceive Claudius because he is able to figure out the king's secrets. They both try to hide their thoughts and feelings from each other to deflect suspicion of knowing information the other doesn't. Hamlet's madness is an act to help hide his true emotions from Claudius which helps to plot against him. Claudius tries to hide his guilt of killing the former king, Hamlet's father by pretending to not be suspicious of Hamlet's behavior. Both of them have a varying amount of people to trust, which impacts their ability to hide their true selves. Claudius tries to kill Hamlet many times by ordering different people to do the horrible deed. However, Hamlet figures out the king's plans to kill him almost every time which helps Hamlet in his plan to avenge his father's death. They are both able to hide their identities from each other, but Hamlet is far more exceptional at finding out what the king is hiding from him.
Both Hamlet and Claudius portray themselves as different characters in the story to help them in their plan of deceiving one another. The play Hamlet puts on is a method he uses to deceive the king's mind. By making the king go insane, he is able to learn about Claudius' true feelings towards murdering his father. Hamlet explains the process of his plan by telling Horatio; "The harlot's cheek beautied with plast'ring art,/ Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it/ Than is my deed to my most painted word" (3.1.51-53). Hamlet's plan to make the king feel guilty, gives him a better understanding of his intentions to kill Hamlet.