Mad

Hamlet uses his “madness” to his own advantage. He becomes an island of a man by making everyone think he is mad so they will not come near him. He acts flamboyant, loud, and spastic; spewing out complicated ramblings. To others he becomes unpredictable and they are afraid of what he will say next. Because of this they tend to stay away from him. It is not real. He is trying it to separate himself from the court and anyone else who might bother him or get in his way. He desires his alone time. On the other hand, Ophelia’s madness is defiantly real and not planned at all. She has emotionally collapsed and her brain has gone with it. She is delusional and acts unexplainable and sings for no apparent reason at any given time. She speaks of true and false things through vague metaphors, songs, and crazy mumblings. She does not want people to think that she is crazy; she is crazy. She just could not handle her father’s death along with the other problems of her life.