Hamlet: Crazy. Cold. Calculated.

This is unrelated, but I figured out why that poll >>> wasn't working. You have to be a "follower" for it work. There's a button to for that somewhere on the right bar.

Anyway.

Out of some deliciously convenient coincidence, my theater professor, George Nelson, was using the extended use of Hamlet as an example in our lecture last night. And one thing he said finally pushed me off the fence, and answered (for me) the play's biggest question: Is Hamlet crazy, or just acting?

He's just freaking brilliant, that's all.
 
Here's his argument:

Claudius has just killed Hamlet's father for the crown.
Claudius marries Gertrude and will probably not hurt her becuase she's part of the "prize"
Hamlet is next in line to the throne.
Hamlet is, therefore, next in line to be murdered in the pursuit of the crown.
So, why doesn't Claudius just knock his head off to begin with?

David Tennant as Hamlet and Patrick Stuart as Claudius.

Because he thinks Hamlet's off his rocker, thats why. He doesn't appear to be a threat. And Hamlet is very careful in keeping it that way, so as to keep up this non-threatening facade, and therefore, to survive.

And it fits within the context of his character. Hamlet is not exactly a simpleton. He's been heir to the throne since he was born, and has probably the best education money can buy. And no doubt he's always understood the reality that others would try to take his life in pursuit of his title. Even before he knew Claudius' guilt, he was very subdued and tried not to draw attention to himself. But at the same time, his responses, though sometimes seeming a little whacky, are always so loaded with meaning. Where is Polius? At Supper. "Not where he eats, but where he is eaten." That just sounds like your talking to an English major, not someone fresh out of the looney bin.

His main argument for this was that someone who is completely crazy wouldn't have had the sense to put together the whole scheme of the play. I mean, come on. How would a mad man think to guilt the King into confession through re-enacting the murder? That's not crazy, he said, it's cold and calculated.

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet and Kate Winslet as Ophelia 

Another instance people sometimes say that proves Hamlet's insanity is the whole argument with Ophelia telling her to "get thee to a nunnery" . . . I know a lot of us didn't understand why out of the blue he was casting out the woman he supposedly loved. But Professor Nelson pointed out something interesting: wouldn't association with Hamlet put Ophelia in immediate danger? Especially if Claudius already thought he was mad, he might think whacking Ophelia would snap Hamlet's fragile little psyche, and then possibly save Claudius the trouble of killing Hamlet himself. (Plus, I seriously doubt Hamlet didn't realize they were being watched. He didn't want them knowing he was in love with her, and he didn't want her to get mixed up in all this bloody business).


I never thought about any of this that way. . . but now that I have it's just like. . . well, duh!