Hamlet Fishmonger Research Paper

Kolina Metcalf

Ms. Light

English IV

15 February 2017

Fishmonger?

“As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put on an antic disposition”(1.5.58). This is when Hamlet had talked to the ghost and he decided to feign being mad. He thought it would make him seem harmless to Claudius and that he would be able to get closer to him. In the beginning of the play Hamlet was able to talk to the spirit that may have been his father. He decided to feign madness and to try and kill the king.

William Shakespeare left many of his plays open for interpretation and people take it in different directions. Horatio says, “ What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles o’er his base into the sea, and there

assume some other horrible form, which might deprive your sovereignty of reason and draw you into madness”(1.5)? Horatio was trying to tell Hamlet that that if he listens to the ghost that he might actually become mad. In the beginning of the play the castle guards and Horatio were able to see the spirit, but later on it was only Hamlet who could see and talk to the ghost. Hamlet knew that he would be able to be blunt and be forgiven because everyone thought he was mad. He would be able to get information from the court that King Claudius was his father’s killer. He was smart. He was able to turn people against each other and get answers out of them without them knowing. Hamlet was able to say whatever he was thinking and get away with it without any consequences. Polonius said, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t( ). He was a pretty clueless man and he suspected something. Hamlet was able to kill Polonius without really getting into trouble.
Hamlet had mostly everything planned out on what he wanted to do. He wanted to avenge his father’s murder in a way that wouldn’t disgrace him and his mother. Hamlet also wanted to expose Claudius for what he did. Gertrude said, “Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend which is the mightier: in his lawless fit, Behind the arras hearing something stir, Whips out his rapier, cries, ‘A rat, a rat!’ And, in this brainish apprehension, kills The unseen good old man” (4.1.2). The queen believed that her son was not truly mad and that he was faking it. She took his side instead of Claudius’ side.
Hamlet had a chance to kill the king, but he decided to wait. He thought Claudius was praying and he did not want his soul to heaven. Hamlet thought that the king killed his father before he was able to have his sins forgiven and he did not want Claudius to go to heaven while his father did not. He decided to wait and kill the king while he was in the act of sinning. Hamlet was sane enough to realize that, that was not the right time to kill him. He was able to wait for his revenge and not just strike at every opening. Hamlet was having an internal battle of who he was and who he was meant to be. He had a big role. He was the Prince of Denmark and he was suppose to take the crown. Hamlet had to defend his family honor and avenge his father’s death.
Hamlet said, “I am but north-north-west: when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw” (2.2.402). He wanted Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to know that he knew that they were spying on him. Hamlet was teaching them a little lesson and that he was smart enough to know that they were not there his well-being, but for money. He acted more depressed than anything. Instead of how he was acting earlier in the play. He told them about how he was sad and he does not know why.

Hamlet knew that his uncle would probably had him killed in the beginning because he would know that Hamlet was acting strange.

He knew that he had to pretend being mad to get his uncle to not think he was suspicious. The king is a very manipulating man and he calculates everything. Hamlet became very obsessed with getting revenge and planning. He was full of contradictions and would most of the time be hesitant. He is like a teenager other times because he is impulsive and lashes out. He does not think before he does sometimes and he has to try and backtrack.

Hamlet had to keep everyone at a distance. He only trusted Horatio and he pushed everyone else away. Hamlet told Ophelia that he did not love her anymore and that women are wicked. Every person in the play thought Hamlet was mad for a different reason. Polonius said that Hamlet went mad because of his love for Ophelia. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz think that his ambition was the cause for his madness. Hamlet was messing around with Ophelia’s head and it caused to her to become insane. Hamlet thought that he was protecting his life by feigning being

mad.
People kind of give a crazy person a pass. They let them get away with so much more than a normal person. They don’t know if they know what they are saying and try to not take it personal. Hamlet took that to his advantage and was rude to many people. He kept telling Polonius if he was a fishmonger because he was trying make him angry. He knew that he was Ophelia’s father and pretended not to know.
Hamlet went to school at the University of Wittenberg and only came back to Denmark because of his father’s death. He used a lot of words that had a double meaning and were quite rude to the people. They would just put it as his illness and did think much about what he was really saying. Hamlet was able to manipulate people very easily. He set a plan out and he was able to follow through with it. He knew that the people around him would not want to be near him and would give him a wide berth. They did not want Hamlet to be rude to them.
Hamlet was picking and assaulting people. He would set traps for certain people. He did it to Polonius and even to Ophelia too. He knew that would get to Polonius if he was able to play mind games on her. Hamlet used deception to get the answers that he was looking for. He would talk in riddles and figurative language to mess with the other person.
Hamlet set up a play to see if the ghost was telling the truth. The name of the play was “ The Murder of Gonzago.” He asked Horatio to watch Claudius’ reactions to the play because he wanted to know how he would act during the scene where the king was killed. He was killed the same way as his father was. Hamlet told Claudius that he would be on the throne. William Shakespeare was using foreshadowing Claudius’ death. Hamlet went on telling people that he was happy and that is has been only two days since his father’s death. Ophelia was the one to tell him that it has been four months since his father was dead.
Hamlet was became obsessed with get revenge that it consumed him. He only thought of getting back at King Claudius by killing him and then he will be happy. He was mad and upset at his mother because she married his uncle while he was still mourning his father’s death. Hamlet felt betrayed. He only told certain people that he was faking it. He was sane throughout the whole play because he kept reminding the people to not tell anyone.
Douglas Starr said, “If the suspect has hidden the weapon, washed off his fingerprints, or taken other steps to elude the police, it’s a sign of clear thinking-not mental illness.” Hamlet made sure that only certain people knew that he was faking.

When Hamlet killed Polonius, he took the body and hid him away. He pretended that he did not kill him. He tried to blame his mother at first. Hamlet sometimes overreacted and seemed to go overboard with his words and actions. He went overboard when he was insulting Polonius. He was upset with him because he knew that he told Ophelia to not be with Hamlet. Mr. Starr said, “ Malingerers often exaggerate their symptoms and ignore common, subtle signs such as the blunting of a mentally ill patient’s emotions.” Hamlet was trying his hardest to pretend to be crazy, but at times he would get overwhelmed. During Ophelia’s funeral, Hamlet jumped into her grave and declared his love. At the end of the play when Hamlet realized that he was dying, he did not think twice before stabbing Claudius. Hamlet figured it out that Claudius tried to kill him and succeeded in killing his mother and he wanted his revenge. After Hamlet killed him, he seemed at peace and wanted Horatio to tell the story. Horatio tried to kill himself because he wanted to be with Hamlet. He did not want to live without his best friend. Hamlet was able to stop him from killing himself.

Hamlet was able to play the part very well. He was sarcastic and had witty comments. The

way he was talking to the king when he hid Polonius’ body is a good example because he was able to make a fool out of the king and the people. He did not seem to be stressing out about killing someone, but he seemed self-righteous.
William Shakespeare makes people use their imagination because it means that the people will have to pay closer attention to the details. There are many ways to interpret this play and this is just one of those ways. Hamlet was feigning his madness because he was a intelligent man and he knew that he would be able to kill the king easier if people thought he was mad. A madman can get away with far more things than a sane man can. In the very beginning Hamlet told his friends that he would be acting weird because he wanted to be able to hide his thoughts.