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A Method in Hamlet Madness In Hamlet, Shakespeare brings together a theme of madness with two characters, one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. We can see this point through two characters namely Hamlet and Ophelia. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. Ophelia’s breakdown and Hamlet’s brand of insanity argue for Hamlet having a method to his seeming insanity. The play offers a character on each side …

…still thinks before he performs his actions. Further, Hamlet has a motive behind leading others to believe that he is insane. Although Hamlet is under severe pressure and emotional strain due to the high situation in the play, he shows a remarkable amount of intelligent, conscious, and rational decision-making in efforts to resolve his situation. Thus we can see that Hamlet is not insane, but actually does have a method and can make intelligent decisions.