The court of Denmark is full of hungry ears, listening to the news of the king's death, of how he died, scandalous gossip from the newlyweds Claudius and Gertrude. , listening to conversations, picking up on whispered secrets and sometimes lies. Such open ears at court provide easy access for words, truthful or not, to slip into the mind and wreak havoc on unsuspecting listeners. In fact, the words spoken in Hamlet tend to find their way into unguarded ears and have great effects on the characters in the play. Shakespeare uses prominent images of ears to illustrate the powerful influence of words on a person's actions and emotions. From the beginning of the piece, ears acquire a special meaning as a gateway to the human psyche and a means of influencing it. War imagery is frequently used in relation to the ears in the first act of the play, as if the ears are something to be attacked. As Bernardo tries to convince the skeptical Horatio of the ghost's existence, he says: "And let us attack once more your ears/Which are so fortified against our story/What we have seen two nights" (Act 1 Sn. 1 ). The metaphor here of Horatio's "fortified" ears speaks to his tendency to be a skeptic, one who does not let words pass easily into his ear and therefore convince him of something. This metaphor also illustrates that words themselves hold a power similar to that of weapons, since the ear would be "assailed" by the words Bernardo would have for Horatio. This idea is reinforced when Horatio explains that he left Wittenberg because of his "disposition to play truant" (Act 2 Sn. 1) and Hamlet responds by saying: "I would not hear your enemy say so/ Neither shall you make this violence heard” (Act 2 Sn.1). Horatio's words are described as "violent" with the ability to... middle of paper ......s that the entire premise of his kingship is essentially built on lies (words) because so many ears are ready to tell. hear the poison he distributes. Much of the plot of Hamlet can be attributed to the effect of the words spoken and Shakespeare uses the imagery of the ears at such definitive moments to reveal the effect of the words on the characters. Perhaps it is intended to comment on the humanities' willingness to believe whatever comes their way, or perhaps it is simply a characteristic of the characters in the play. Regardless, the words carry significant (and sometimes toxic) consequences for the listener in Hamlet, and those with overly trusting ears often find themselves deceived. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Literature “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”: an introduction to reading and writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print