Is Hamlet Mad
Is Hamlet Mad? "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from ahandsaw" (II. ... 134) with which Hamlet hopes will persuade people to believe that he is mad. ... Hamlet is sane. Under his strange choice of imagery involving points of the compass, the weather, and hunting birds, he is announcing that he is calculatedly choosing the times when to appear mad. Hamlet is saying that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted "handsaw" or heron, in other words, that, very far form being mad, he is perfectly capable of recognizing his enemies. ... After the Ghosts first appearance to Hamlet, Hamlet decides that when he finds it suitable or to his advantage, he will put on a mask of madness so to speak. ... This strategy gives Hamlet a chance to find proof of Claudiuss guilt and to contemplate his revenge tactic. ... To convince everyone of his madness, Hamlet spends many hours walking back and forth alone in the lobby, speaking those "wild and whirling words" (I. ... When asked if he recognizes Polonius, Hamlet promptly replies, "Excellent well; you are a fishmonger" (II. ... Although the response seems crazy since a fish-seller would look completely unlike the expensively dressed lord Polonius, Hamlet is actually criticizing Polonius for his handling of Ophelia, since "fishmonger" is Elizabethan slang for "pimp. ... With his ranting and ravings and his seemingly useless pacing of the lobby, Hamlet manages to appear quite mad. ... 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 his behavior. Claudius is constantly on his guard because of his guilty conscience and he therefore recognizes that Hamlet is faking. The king is suspicious of Hamlet from the very beginning. He denies Hamlet permission to return to university so that he can keep an eye on him close by. When Hamlet starts acting strangely, Claudius gets all the more suspicious and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him.