Hamlet’s Madness

I am tho mad north-northwest when the envelop is southerly I know a hawk from a carpenters saw (Foakes 213). This is a classic example of the wild and whirl words (I.v.134) with which crossroads hopes to persuade people to suppose that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his japery disposition, village is real sane indeed. Beneath his strange choice of im developry involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculatedly choosing the times when to appear mad. sm each town is formulation that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted handsaw or heron, in otherwise words, that, rattling far form beingness mad, he is perfectly capable of recognizing his enemies. small towns fierceness was feigned for a purpose. He warned his friends he intended to fake madness, entirely Gertrude as well as Claudius saw by dint of it, and even the slightly dull-witted Polonius was shadowy. His public face is wholeness of insan eness but, in his private moments of soliloquy, finished his confidences to Horatio, and in his c atomic number 18ful plans of action, we operate that his madness is assumed. by and by the Ghosts first appearance to juncture, Hamlet decides that when he finds it commensurate or advantageous to him, he rillament impersonate on a mask of madness. He confides to Horatio that when he finds the occasion appropriate, he will put an antic disposition on (I.v.173). This strategy gives Hamlet a fortuity to find proof of Claudiuss guilt and to contemplate his revenge tactic (Burton 2). Although he has sworn to penalise his fathers murder, he is not sure of the Ghosts origins The spirit that I cod seen May be the devil (II.ii.596-7).He uses his apparent madness as a delaying tactic to buy time in which to list whether the Ghosts tale of murder is true and to decide how to handle the situation. At the resembling time, he wants to appear unthreatening and harmless so that people will divulge information to him, much in the same way that an heavy(a) will talk about an important secret in the nominal head of a young child (Boyce 232). To convince all nonpareil of his madness, Hamlet spends many hours manner of walking back and forth alone in the lobby, speaking those wild and whirling words which make footling sense on the surface but in fact carry a meaningful subtext. Although he appears to have deep in perspective(p) touch with reality, he spares reminding us that he is not at all far gone, far gone (II.ii.187) as Polonius claims, but is in fact rattling much in command of himself and the situation.With his ranting and party and his seemingly useless pacing of the lobby, Hamlet manages to appear rather mad. The straightforward and trusting Ophelia believes in and is devastated by what she sees as his downfallO, what a statuesque mind is here oerthrown. . . The expectancy and rose of the fair state. . . quite, quite down (III.i.152,4,6).Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are also fully convinced. They are Hamlets equals in age but are far inferior in intellect and thence dont understand that he is faking. However, although Hamlet manages to convince these simple friends and Ophelia of his insanity, other characters in the play such as Claudius, Gertrude and even Polonius eventually see through and through his behavior.Claudius is constantly on his guard because of his guilty conscience and he wherefore recognizes that Hamlet is faking. The king is suspicious of Hamlet from the precise beginning. He denies Hamlet permission to return to university so that he can keep an marrow on him close by. When Hamlet starts acting strangely, Claudius gets all the more suspicious and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him. Their instructions are to discover why Hamlet is pretending to be madAnd can you, by no bowel movement of circumstance,Get from him why he puts on this confusionGrating so harshly all his days of quietWith turbu lent and dangerous indulgence (III. i.1-4).The reason Claudius is so reluctant to believe that Ophelias rejection has caused Hamlets lunacy is that he doesnt believe in his madness at all (Kirsch 2 507). When Claudius realizes through the play-within-the-play that Hamlet knows the truth about his fathers death, he immediately sends him away to England. The prevailing opus of evidence demonstrating Claudiuss knowledge of Hamlets sanity is the fact that he feels threatened luxuriant by Hamlet to order him killed by the king of EnglandFor like the febrile in my blood he ragesAnd thou must cure me trough I know tis doneHoweer my haps, my joys were neer begun (IV.iii.67-9).In the scene in his mothers bedroom, Hamlet tells Gertrude that his insanity is assumedI have utterd bring me to the testAnd I the matter will reword, which madnessEven without this confirmation, the Queen has seen through his act (Burton 2). While Hamlet is reprimanding her, she is so upset that she describes his words as daggers (III.iv.98) and claims, Thou hast cleft my heart in twain (III.iv.158). The words of a madman could not have penetrated her soul to such an extent. The queen takes e very word Hamlet says seriously, proving she respects him and believes his mind to be sound. Furthermore, she believes Hamlets confession of sanity immediately. She does not question him at all but instead promises to keep it her secret. I have no life to breathe What though hast express to me (III.iv.200-1).Even Polonius can see that Hamlet has not completely lost touch with the world. Although he frequently misses the meanings of Hamlets remarks and insults, he does recognize that they make slightly sense. When asked if he recognizes Polonius, Hamlet promptly replies, Excellent well you are a fishwife (II.ii.172). Although the response seems kooky since a fish-seller would look completely opposed the expensively dressed lord Polonius, Hamlet is actually criticizing Polonius for his management of Ophelia, since fishmonger is Elizabethan slang for pimp (Boyce 237).He plays mind-games with Polonius, getting him in crazy talk to agree first that a cloud looks like a camel, then a weasel and finally a whale, and in a very sane aside, he then comments that they fool me to the top of my bent (III.ii.375). After the confusing conversation with Hamlet he remarks, Though this be madness, unless there is method int (II.ii.205). When his theory of rejected dearest proves incorrectly, he becomes very suspicious of Hamlets behavior and offers to test it by hiding behind the tapis in Gertrudes bedroom so that he can listen in on Hamlets private conversation with his mother. Polonius suspicions about the legitimacy of Hamlets madness assume to his death when Hamlet stabs the arras in the mistaken belief that the eavesdropper is Claudius.Hamlets soliloquies, his confidences to Horatio, and his elaborated plans are by far the most convincing proof of his sanity. end-to-end the play, Hamlets soliloquies reveal his inner thoughts, which are completely rational (Kirsch 511). In one such speech, Hamlet criticizes himself for not having yet taken action to avenge his fathers murderO what a rogue and peasant slave am IPrompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,Must, like a whore, move out my heart with words (II. ii. 545, 581-3).Hamlet calls himself a dull and muddy-mettled rascal (II.ii.563), a villain and a coward, but when he realizes that his anger doesnt achieve any social function interoperable other than the unpacking of his heart, he stops. These are not the thoughts of a madman his emotions are real and his thoughts are those of a rational man. Even when he contemplates suicide in the to be or not to be soliloquy, his reasons himself out of it through a very sane consideration of the dangers of an unknown afterlife And frankincense the native hue of resolution Is sicklied oer with the pale cast of thought (III. i. 85-6).A further important proof of his sa nity is how patiently he devises plans to prepare for his revenge. As he explains to Horatio, his antic disposition is a doojigger to test his enemies. His mounting of the play-within-the-play is another well-laid plan to trap Claudius into admitting guilt The plays the thing Wherein Ill catch the conscience of the king (II.ii.602-3) and even when the play brings him concrete proof, he is careful not to rush to take his revenge at the wrong moment.He could easily kill Claudius while he is praying but restrains himself so that there is no chance of Claudiuss entering heaven. Although Hamlets patience can be seen as an example of his procrastination, the Foakes think that it is rather a sign of rationality. Hamlet shows himself perfectly capable of action, as well as of rational thought, in escaping the kings armed guard, dispatching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths in England, dealing with the pirates and making it back to Denmark. In addition, the earn Horatio from him through the ambassador bound for England is clear and precise and shows no signs of a befuddled mind (Burton 1).Finally, we are convinced of Hamlets sanity by his very normal reactions to the people around him. He is perfectly sane, friendly and decent with the players, giving them good acting tips, which they appreciate and respect. When Polonius and Claudius test the rejected love theory by loosing Ophelia to him, Hamlet acts completely rationally. He greets Ophelia sweetly, gets a little cold when he remembers that he has not seen her for this many a day, is very hurt when she returns his remembrances, and becomes completely furious, insulting womankind in general, when she lies to him about her fathers whereabouts and he realizes he is being spied on. He reacts the way any hurt young rejected lover would. This shows that he is very sane and rational indeed passim the play, Hamlets calculating mind lets him get away with all of his actions. He is the most sane person in the pla y and he uses his antic disposition to manipulate people, confuse everyone, and investigate anything he wants. He is fully aware of all of his actions and the consequences that they will have on the other characters in the play. Shakespeares genius shows through in the character of Hamlet. He was able to show Hamlet outwardly as a madman, but still keep the audience believing that he was still very sane underneath. Hamlet puts on his antic disposition very well. He is, in fact, sane throughout the entire play (Boyce 239).