There is no doubt that William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen are two of the greatest, if not the greatest, authors to ever walk the earth. Considered among the works most influential and powerful in the world of literature, 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare and 'A Doll's House' written by Henrik Ibsen both incorporate the use of various literary devices to nature the theme that truth is rarely pure and never simple, moreover , both are dramatic works, the reader can easily identify the fundamental theme of the impossibility of certainty depends on the perfection and genuineness of the conditions from which knowledge was derived contrasting the two plays works with the aim of illustrating the presence and relevance of the theme that "truth is rarely pure and never simple" in both plays. Furthermore, the essay will be inclined towards the theme of the impossibility of certainty . Literary techniques such as motif and characterization will be used in the development of this article. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare plays the main character; Hamlet as one who is constantly searching for more certain and genuine knowledge of what he is doing. The continuous search for the truth causes Hamlet to postpone his intentions to take revenge on his uncle for killing his father. In this play, some questions arise that present the impossibility of certainty. For example, is there certain, concrete knowledge about ghosts? Are ghosts really what they appear to be or are they just misleading demons? Do ghosts have genuine and valid knowledge of their deaths or are they themselves deluded? All these questions arise from the fact that Hamlet's actions are the result of his interaction with the ghost of his father who claims that it was his brother Claudius who killed him. The conditions under which Hamlet learned of his father's death are somewhat uncertain as they come from a ghost, a creature whose very existence has baffled many. From the play the audience can easily see that Prince Hamlet is uncertain about the reliability of the ghost's information. Furthermore, it is difficult to know with certainty the facts about a crime that has no witnesses as in the case of the king's death. Another instance where Hamlet acquires unreliable information is in his assessment of his uncle Claudius' soul and behavior as he tries to determine the facts of his father's death. Is it really possible to know someone's mood by reading their behavior? Hamlet presents the audience with the many uncertainties of life and the many unknown variables that are ignored when people judge the actions and behaviors of others. "The truth is rarely pure and simple", is a quote coined by Oscar Wilde and his relevance can be highlighted in both “Hamlet” and “A Doll's House”. In Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House", Nora, the protagonist, lives in constant agony and fear due to a secret she had hidden from her husband. In the play, Nora reveals to her friend Mrs Linde that she has actually borrowed money from a man with a corrupt reputation to finance a trip to Italy, essential to saving the life of her ailing husband Torvald. Nora, however, lied to her husband that she had acquired the money from her father, choosing to hide the true source of the money because she knew her husband would not approve of it. It is later revealed in the story that Nora had actually borrowed money from a certain Mr. Nils Krogstad who was an employee of bad reputationin the same bank where her husband worked. As the play unfolds, Mr.Krogstad is threatened with losing his job by being fired by Torvald and when he realizes this, Mr.Krogstad approaches Nora and asks her to stop her husband from firing him, otherwise he will reveal his secret to long held. Krogstad also explains to Nora that he proved that she had forged her father's signature on an IOU. Nora is deeply disturbed by the situation and tries to convince her husband not to fire Krogstad, but Torvald remains adamant. Nora lives in constant fear that her secret will be revealed and even contemplates suicide as the worst-case scenario. When Krogstad delivers a letter to Torvald, Nora declares that she has only thirty-one hours to live (Ibsen, 2.5.35). Nora's continued escape from the truth leads her to lead a miserable life because she has chosen not to face the reality of her situations. Instead, her hiding from the truth became her source of unhappiness and she enjoyed little of her life. This instance is a clear representation of the quote; "the truth is rarely pure and never simple." In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", the use of characterization was employed to develop the truth in its complexity. Claudius in the story deceives everyone about the murder of his brother and his intentions to wrest the throne from the rightful heir, Prince Hamlet. Claudius tries to disguise his deception by attempting to "balance the pain" of his brother's death by marrying his dead brother's wife. An act that was not appreciated by many. Additionally, there is an instance where we see Claudius express guilt for his actions in an aside; "The harlot's cheek, beautified with the art of plastering, is no more ugly for that which helps her than my action is for my most painted word: O heavy burden!" (Shakespeare, 3.1.50). In this statement, it is evident that Claudius regrets his actions and is burdened by the thought of what he has done. Claudio's escape from the truth leads him to live a burdened life and traps him in a web of lies that ultimately leads to his death. Furthermore, Claudius' deception causes the deaths of many people around him and often in an ironic way. His initial plan to kill Hamlet with poison proves futile and instead his newlywed bride Gertrude drinks the poison. His other plan to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword also fails and instead it is Laertes who is pierced by the poisoned blade. In (Shakespeare, 3.2.44-47), King Claudius illustrates his slight remorse for killing his brother, Claudius further acknowledges his own malice and wickedness when he turns pale and runs out during the play and later confesses his actions by saying: "what if?" was this cursed hand more soaked in brother's blood? Is there not enough rain in the sweet sky to make it white as snow?” (Shakespeare, 3.2.43). Claudio's attempts to escape the truth lead him to lead a life burdened by the shame of having killed his brother. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Another example of how the theme that the truth is rarely pure and simple and is portrayed in “a dollhouse”, is at the end of the story where Nora Helmer chooses to separate from her husband and the society in which she feels she has been deceived and underestimated. Nora Helmer's deceptive activities come to light at the end of the show. Her husband is consumed by the fear that Nora's secret will be revealed to the world and ruin his reputation. He doesn't consider for a moment that Nora's act of deception was in his best interest and that he would have died if Nora hadn't done what she did. Torvalds' reaction to learning the secret.