12/3 Hamlet #13B

Hamlet's Madness 1
To say Hamlet had gone completely mad would be false, but to say that he was not mad at all would also be false. In some of the circumstances Hamlet's craziness seems to be purposeful for his endeavours to uncover the king's secret murder and his mother's unfaithfulness. For example, when he and Horatio are getting ready for the play that he has planned and the king and his entourage are about to enter, Hamlet says to his friend something along the lines of "Oh, they're coming. I need to act insane now." This alone shows he has a definite purpose in many of his odd words and behaviors. However, Hamlet's madness does seem to be out of his control at several points as well. One sign of his madness is his shift from utter conviction to spare his mother to wanting to humiliate her at others. His erratic behavior towards Ophelia is also a sign of madness. The most obvious moment of his insanity, however, when he is confronting his mother, he can see the Ghost, but she cannot.

Ophelia and Gertrude
From reading Hamlet, it is clear that Hamlet does not have a positive view about women. He treats them as one disillusioned, which is exactly what he is. His mother was once the loyal and loving wife to the king, but now she is the incestuous, forgetting wife of her husband's murderer. It is not surprising that Hamlet would feel hurt and betrayed by her. However, instead of dealing with it in a healthy way, Hamlet lets this view of an unfaithfulness permeate his outlook on all women, including his loved Ophelia. His dislike for women is obvious in the way that he talks to Gertrude and Ophelia. His bitterness leaks out in his sexual comments and unwarranted attitude towards them. When dealing with Ophelia alone, the reader can see that the prince thinks women are bad influences on men. He states, "Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monster you make of them." Hamlet also thinks of women as uncommitted. In addition to his several comments about Gertrude, this view can be seen when Ophelia comments that the prologue to the play is short and he responds, "As woman's love."

Play within a Play
The events in the play that Hamlet writes are clearly a retelling of how Hamlet suspects his father's murder took place. The speeches put a spotlight on how Hamlet views his parents and uncle's thoughts during this time. The player Queen's speech in particular seems to be a jab at Gertrude. The King's response to the murder of the Player King was the exact clue that Hamlet was looking for. The purpose of the whole play was to set a trap for his uncle so that Hamlet might discover the truth through the king's reaction and then work accordingly. Hamlet is overjoyed at the king's give away of his guilt. His suspicions and the Ghost were right after all. Besides that, the "play-within-a-play" had no underlying significance.