To be sane or not to be in Hamlet' "To be or not to be" -- "that's the..." soliloquy. “Is it nobler in the spirit of…” okay, the question no one knows. To think, to know, to know, perhaps to understand, the truth behind it all..." Was it true, or was it not, that Hamlet was feigning his madness, actually suffering, or perhaps even both . First, this is what madness is; madness acts in a particular way, but without knowing that they are. In addition, he is under a lot of stress at the same time, which prevents you from thinking straight. Hamlet did not completely suffer from madness. It wouldn't make any sense. First of all, I'm not saying that Hamlet faked everything. I mean, obviously, seeing your dad die is bad enough, but to have your mom in a month, marry your uncle. Plus, it’s seeing the ghost of your dead father! Obviously this will drive you a little crazy, but not to the extent that everyone thought Hamlet lived. If it weren't for Hamlet's madness, the king (Claudius) would obviously have known something was wrong with his nephew, and surely had him killed. If Hamlet had not acted in such a way as to make his uncle believe that he was crazy, then the king would have seen in Hamlet's eyes that he knew the truth. Think about it... in today's society, if someone thinks you're crazy, you can say anything and get away with it. For example, someone may experience the slightest sexual harassment and still get into a lot of trouble. Whereas someone who seems obviously crazy can say a hundred things that suggest sexual harassment and get away with it. Watch all the essays today! Murderers constantly plead in court to suffer temporary insanity and get away with it! If people think you're crazy, you can do anything. That's what Hamlet thought. It was truly an ingenious plan. “...[I'm just] crazy from north to northwest. » Anyone who would hear this and instantly say he's a weirdo. However, there is logic to this quote. North being straight ahead, or up, which means normal. Saying it's "north by northwest" means it's only slightly out of the way. Hamlet seemed to be somewhere along the southwest line, which really means crazy (south being the opposite direction to north, so the opposite direction to normal).).