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Hamlet Falsified Madness Quotes Analysis

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Hamlets Falsified Madness In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a large theme and running question revolves around whether or not Hamlet’s madness is falsified or truly genuine. Through Hamlet’s own confessions, the observations of others, and his eloquence and logical thinking, it is clear that Hamlet is putting on an antic disposition to feign madness; he is not truly insane. Through Hamlet’s monologues, soliloquies and conversations with his closest allies we can learn a great deal about his character and true nature. He often reveals his thoughts aloud in the presence of his own self and the ghost of his father. During one of these sessions he most famously says “Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe'er I bear mysef …show more content…

When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (2.2.375) While Hamlet is crafty with his words, he means that there is some method to his madness. He feigns madness when it is required of him, yet at other times he can maintain a calm level head and knows his friends from his foes. The message was hidden in his artful rhetoric to be deciphered by his close friends Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Thus we can gather that Hamlet is trying to let his friends know that he is only pretending to be mad, but they do not realize. Although Hamlet’s ruse of madness fools them, others are wary of his supposed insanity, including the …show more content…

However, the cause of his madness sparks debate ranging from the death of his father to a heavy heart in love. With doubt circulating as to the reason of his sudden madness, doubt begins to circulate around whether or not the madness is truly genuine. Hamlet is indeed sane, and too smart to play the role of a diseased mind. This is evident when the King says to his guards "Get from him why he puts on this confusion" (2.1.2) He doesn’t acknowledge Hamlets strange behaviour as madness, rather he sees it as confusion. A true mad man would lack Hamlet’s eloquence and prose, something the King had observes and attests to. “What he spake, though it lack'd form a little as not like madness." (3.1.163) He is stating that the way Hamlet speaks is not akin to the way a mad man would speak. He doubts Hamlet’s madness; he obviously is not being fooled by Hamlet’s behaviour. Therefore, it is clear that others are wary of Hamlet’s supposed madness as they should be, and perhaps are not completely believing his elaborate

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