All is not what it seems. The idea of appearance different from reality and deception are the major themes in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. After Hamlet learns about the details of the death of his father, Hamlet uses madness as a mask for deception to distract others from his true intentions, to become bold in expressing his emotions and to gather more information that are useful in formulating a plan of avenging the death of his father.
Hamlet acts mad because he know everyone is loyal to the King therefore he only acts normal to someone he could trust. In act 1 scene 5 when Hamlet saw the ghost for the first time, Hamlet says:
“Horatio…
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition…show more content… Hamlet’s madness will make Claudius fall into a belief that Hamlets is unable to think independently and cannot come up with a plot that can over throw Claudius. Pretending to be mad gives Hamlet a freedom to do anything that he wishes to do such as watching Claudius more closely and having to insult Claudius without getting a punishment for it. In act 3 scene 2, Claudius says “I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet; these words / are not mine.” (94,95) Claudius let Hamlet’s act of disrespect to slide because he believe that Hamlet is not in the right mind and there is no point of arguing with crazy step…show more content… When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern came to Elsinore, Hamlet immediately ask their purpose of visitation, thinking that Hamlet may not be in the right rationality, they confessed that they were sent by the King and Queen to spy on Hamlet.
Hamlet uses the mask of madness to express this feelings freely. As prince of Denmark, Hamlet already has some sort of privileges to speak about his feeling but being mad gives Hamlet a full entitlement to communicate his thoughts to others. In act 1 scene 2, when Hamlet was in the corner silently mourning over his father’s death while others are very festive about the wedding, Gertrude says
“…cast thy nighted colour off, and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
Though know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature of eternity”