In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the theme of betrayal is a major focus of the play. All the characters turn their backs on one another at some point in the play; this leads to misjudgements, lying, characters being un loyal to one another and untruthful as well as acting out of pure rage rather than using logical thought to think things through. The act of lying to one another, being un loyal and plotting each other's own deaths, lead all the characters to their eventual downfall and death.
             Betrayal usually associates itself with the aspect of death in Shakespeare's plays and in Hamlet's case, this is no exception. There are many examples to this. First Gertrude, Hamlet's mother married Hamlet's uncle Claudius after only three months of his father's death. This not only showed disloyalty towards Hamlet Jr. and his father, but it could also be seen as being disloyal and betrayal towards the people of Denmark by not showing any respect. Never would one imagine that she would betray someone like that. In Hamlet, there are several references to an unweeded garden, one that grows to seed things that are rank and gross in nature. This ties into betrayal because gardens are seen to be nice places with beautiful flowers, not weeds that grow and run wild. This links to how this is only a result because of something evil that has happened (which often happens throughout Hamlet). Thoughts which are unresolved or unattended often cause a backlash among the characters. Betrayal can also be seen between Hamlet's childhood friends; Rosencrantz and Guildnstern and himself. Friends are usually the ones who look up to and stick up for one another but when they are asked by the king to spy on Hamlet and to see why he has been acting in his current weird ways, they betrayed their once friend by obeying the king's wishes instead of being the true friends to Hamlet.
             For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither, That h...