hamlet
...y. One of the most important times is when he announces to Horatio “here, as before, never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on.” (I, v) He is telling Horatio that he is going to act crazy as part of his scheme to get revenge on Claudius. This statement from Hamlet proves that he is in reality sane and only pretending not to be. Hamlet knows that if he acts stupid people will underestimate him and misjudge his endless abilities. On a different occasion when he is talking to Guildenstern he says “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (II, ii) He is telling Guildenstern that he only acts crazy part of the time and at other times is as smart as a tack. Hamlet puts on an act when he wants to appear a particular way in front of certain people and acts sane and normal the rest of the time when it is safe to do so. Hamlet’s ability to change characters and alter the way he acts is that of a very intelligent and gifted human being. When Hamlet is talking to the King he makes a comment about eating out of a chameleon’s dish. He says “Excellent, i’ faith; of the chameleon’s dish: I eat the air, promise-crammed; you cannot feed capons so.” (III, ii) He is making reference to the fact that he is just like the chameleon, a sneaky creature who adapts well to its surroundings and changes colour and shape to trick its predators into thinking it is something else. Hamlet outwits and fools characters that are a threat to him just as the chameleon outwits its predators. Hamlet makes it very clear numerous times throughout the duration of the play that he is not insane. Hamlet is hit fairly hard by a lot of difficult issues pretty much all at once in this play. First there is the sudden death of his father, a man who Hamlet respected and loved very much. To make matters worse Hamlet has to cope with his mother who got over the death of her husband very quickly and was married to his brother a mere two months later. Hamlet has a very difficult time understanding why his mother did not grieve or mourn the death of his father. Shortly after the death of Hamlet Senior, Hamlet is dumped by his girlfriend Ophelia. When he needed her most she turned her back on him leaving him confused and heartbroken. When Hamlet sees the ghost of his father he is very baffled and bewildered. At this point Hamlet says “Angels and ministers of grace defend us!” (I, iv) This statement reveals that Hamlet is afraid of the ghost because he thinks it will bring bad things. He is not quite sure if what he was seeing is real and when he learns that his father had been murdered he is even more confused for he is now the stepson of a murderer. Any sane person would have many mixed up feelings if they were faced with the kind of issues Hamlet was faced with. Things like this are hard to handle and coping with them can be very difficult. People often act out of character when they are dealing with a painful issue. Hamlet acted in a way that best helped him deal with all the commotion and turmoil that was happening in his life. Hamlet devises a plan to catch Claudius and make him confess what he has done to Hamlet Senior. Hamlet wants to confirm that it was Claudius who killed his father. When Hamlet finds out that an acting company is coming to Denmark he comes up with the perfect way to catch Claudius. This is revealed when he says “the play’s the thing wherein...