You are on page 1of 1

In William Shakespeares Hamlet, Hamlets actions and speeches display his knowledge and intelligence.

In my opinion, the way Hamlet treats Ophelia, as well as his craziness and general, are a faade put on for a purpose. Hamlet is probably distant and cruel to Ophelia to make her hate him, since they cannot marry. When Hamlet debates suicide in Act 3, Scene 1, he refers to suicide as a solution to heartbreak: To die: to sleep:/ No more; and by a sleep to say we end/ The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to (III. 1.61-4). Hamlet knows that if he were to commit suicide while Ophelia was still in love with him, he would hurt her tremendously. To prepare her for this, he treats her negatively to make her hate him, so that his future actions will not upset her as much if she is not involved with him. Hamlets solution for preparing Ophelia for the death of her boyfriend is intelligent. Throughout the play, Hamlet seems to become increasingly insane and irrational. He does this in response to a combination of things: his fathers death, his mother and uncles hasty marriage and the fact that his uncle Claudius will not let him return to England. Hamlet believes that his father was murdered by Claudius and will do anything to prove this. Hamlets play, The Mouse-trap, is another example of his intelligence. He uses actors to recreate a play about his fathers murder, keeping a close eye on Claudius. If he reacted, which he did, then Claudius most likely killed Hamlets father. I believe that Hamlet also acts crazy as an excuse for his thoughts and actions, which are not noble for a prince. Hamlets mother, Gertrude, excuses his accidental murder of Polonius because hes crazy, even though he truly planned on killing her husband. Queen Gertrude tells her husband, Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend/ Which is mightier: in his lawless fit,/ Behind the arras hearing something stir,/ He whips his rapier out, and cries, A rat! A rat!/ And in this brainish apprehension kills/ The unseen good old man (IV. 1. 8-12). Hamlet uses his wit and knowledge to his advantage, and gets his way. Throughout the play, Hamlets actions may be deceiving, but they are always successful and beneficial. Hamlet acts differently to manipulate others, he knows how people interact with each other, which proves his intelligence.

You might also like