For a man thought to be feigning madness, Prince Hamlet seems to have very little control of his emotions. In fact, Hamlet admits this to Horatio, his confidant, when he says, "Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting / That would not let me sleep" (5.2.4-5). This lack of restraint leads to Hamlet's unpredictable mood swings throughout the play. Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia easily generates such dramatic alterations in the prince's attitude. For example, when Hamlet first suspects Ophelia acts only as the pawn for Polonius' plans, he reacts injudiciously, acrimoniously denying that he ever loved her. "You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so / inoculate our old stock, but we shall relish of it. I loved / you not" (3.1.117-19). This massive rev

To further the idea of Hamlet's insanity, one can examine the prince's interaction with the ghost of his father. For example, after Hamlet's first interaction with this ghost, he puts out, as Horatio calls them, "wild and whirling words." "Why right, you are in the right, And so without more circumstance at all I hold it fit that we shake hands and part, You, as your business and desire shall point you, For every man hath business and desire Such as it is, and for my own poor part, Look you, I will go pray." (1.5.127-134) Another possibility exists when Hamlet confronts his mother, at which point Hamlet sees the ghost of his father again, while Gertrude cannot see the ghost of her past Husband. It is important to remember that in all other encounters with the ghost, Hamlet was not the only person to behold the spirit. In this scene however, Hamlet alone sees this vision. This scene reveals Hamlet's disposition at its climax.

Hamlet is depicted as mad through out this play because of his choice to feign madness; so, he can get revenge on his uncle. Through out the play one can conclude that there is in fact method to Hamlet's madness and is not that of what characters say it to be. It is not for the love of Ophelia nor is it for the grief over his father's death but as a masquerade, or a deception to those less cunning, to get to his final and just goal of the murder of Claudius. Madness is not always as modern society would think of it to be.

ersal in antic disposition is later contrasted by another reversal when

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1029
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)