Hamlet's Madness: Strategy or Reality?

Shakespeare's Hamlet is busting at the seams with drag queen worthy drama. The man child, better known as Hamlet, embraces his dramatic side when he concocted the ingenious plan to “pretend” to be mad. However, towards the end of the play it can be argued that Hamlet was genuinely delirious and losing his grasp on what was real and what was conjured in his thoughts. Regardless of how Hamlet wanted to appear, the man had lost touch with reality by the end of the play. His grand scheme had failed him. Why someone would choose to appear mad is beyond me, however, Hamlet seemed to believe that this was the best way to go about killing his uncle/stepfather. During the period this is set in, the knowledge that your mother married your uncle a month after the death of your father - which is soon proved to be murder - is enough to make many sane person’s grip on reality to falter. Their world is practically being turned upside down. However, rather than handling the matter maturely, sweet Hamlet “put an antic disposition on,” (I.v. 170,172), which

From that, he informs the king this his “noble son is mad,” (II.ii.92). Unfortunately, for both Polonius and the King, the king does not believe this accusation. If he would have believed it, then Hamlet could have been monitored or possibly committed, and then the massacre at the end could have been prevented. However, even though the king doesn’t fully believe the allegation he orders his men to “get from him why he puts on this confusion,” (II.i.2). In simpler terms, Claudius believes that Hamlet is acting strange, but doesn’t presume that he is indeed, mad. Not believing that Hamlet’s psychotic break is absolute, Claudius essentially signs the death certificates for himself, as well as those for many