"Hamlet's madness, whether genuine or not, adds to the fascination of his character for the audience." After studying William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it is evident why an audience would be fascinated by the character of Hamlet. Undoubtedly, his “antic disposition” is a key factor in this fascination. While at times Hamlet’s actions may appear to be a result of genuine madness, I would argue that his captivating behaviour is fuelled by arrogance and anger, not insanity. In our first encounter with Hamlet, he exclaims that he does not “set my life at a pin’s fee”. He values his life for nothing. This statement combined with the suicidal “self-slaughter” image in his first soliloquy would seem to indicate a melancholic and suicidal psyche. However, …show more content…
They ask him questions such as, “what is your cause of distemper?” and if his reason for discontent were his “dreams of ambition” for the crown. All these men are doing is attempting to find out what is wrong with Hamlet, exactly what the king and queen summoned them to do. A man of Hamlet's arrogance is going to react badly to this. He exclaims, “why look at you now, how unworthy of me you are! You would play upon me”. His anger is palpable. He is asking them if they can't play a pipe then why think they can play him? Two men of a lower status have dared question him directly. The tenacity of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to attempt to undermine Hamlet infuriates him. Hamlet is oblivious to the fact that they have done nothing wrong. They were not on the societal high ground to say no to the king and queen. While they may be sycophantic in nature and eager to grab the opportunity to be of assistance to royalty, it does not make them manipulative, there is no sin involved. So why is it that Hamlet forged the king’s orders to have its bearers (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) put to death with “no shriving time allowed”? The fact that he wasn’t even giving them time to make their peace with God is representative of the