The Hamlet Project

If there’s an argument for Hamlet actually being a bit mad, I might support it here. There’s something slightly manic about the repetition of “indeed” and the insistence of multiple swearings. This scene is one of the only ones that feel like madness or, at least, mania. All the other madnesses seem to fit right into a feigned madness. He never gets out of control. He has said, “I will pretend to be crazy.” He confesses to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as much as “I’m on to you. I’m not as crazy as I let on.” He really does know a hawk from a handsaw. But in this moment. I think if a hawk flew by, he’d barely notice it – even if it were riding a handsaw.