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Hamlet (william Shakespeare). - College Essay

Hamlet (william Shakespeare).


"I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (II.ii.376-7). This is a classic example of the "wild and whirling words" (I.v.134) with which Hamlet hopes to persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his "antic disposition," Hamlet is very sane indeed. Beneath 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 ...

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to him, he will put 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 chance to find proof of Claudius's guilt and to contemplate his revenge tactic. Although he has sworn to avenge his father's murder, he is not sure of the Ghost's origins: "The spirit that I have seen / May be the devil" (II.ii.596-7). He uses his apparent madness as a delaying tactic to buy time in which to discover whether the Ghost's tale of murder is true and to decide how to handle the situation. At the same time, he wants to appear unthreatening and harmless so that people will divulge information to him, much in the same way that an adult will talk about an important secret in the presence of a young child. To convince everyone of his madness, Hamlet spends many hours walking back and forth alone in the lobby, speaking those "wild and whirling words" which make little sense on the ...

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age but are far inferior in intellect and therefore don't 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 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 ...

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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 3/12/2008 09:52:23 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1742
Pages: 7

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