Madness; Real or Fake - 747 Words

â€Å"There is no great genius without a mixture of madness,† a quote said by the famous philosopher Aristotle. There have been times in history where madness has been faked, and many times the mad person was caught, but, it is also not impossible to fake madness. This is shown in the tragic history of Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, where the title character’s madness is definitely faked. Hamlet is a genius who uses madness to develop his idea of revenge. Hamlet has admitted to faking it, not once, but twice. He also has control over his madness, being able to switch from sane to insane in different situations. Lastly, acting impulsively could be a symptom of madness; yet, Hamlet thinks before every move. Considering how Hamlet visibly has control over his madness as well as his reasoning for wanting to act mad, it is beyond a doubt that it is faked. Hamlet is very good at playing with his words, and turning them around to define something completely different. Throughout the play, using his words, Hamlet tries to indirectly make his family aware that he is only acting mad, but nobody is ever able to break apart the puzzle of what he is telling them. Even when Hamlet does fully admit it, his family and friends still seem to see a real side to his madness. Hamlet told his mother, â€Å"Make you to ravel all this matter out. That I essentially am not in madness. But mad in craft† (3.4.191-192). In this quote, Hamlet fully says how he is not mad, and that it is all a craft toShow MoreRelatedThe Madness Of Hamlet And Ophelia1131 Words   |  5 PagesThe Madness of Hamlet and Ophelia Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. In it, a young, Danish prince struggles with the death of his father and the betrayal of his mother. This struggle is so profound; it shakes its main character Hamlet to the core and brings him to the brink of sanity. 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