To be sane or not to be in Hamlet' "To be or not to be" -- "this is the..." soliloquy. “Whether he is nobler in soul...” they agree, the question no one knows. Thinking, knowing, knowing perhaps understanding, the truth behind it all...' Was it, or was it not true, that Hamlet was feigning his madness, was he really suffering, or perhaps both. First, this is madness; madness is behaving strangely, but not knowing that they are. Furthermore, it is going through a lot of stress at the same time, causing you not to think clearly. Hamlet did not suffer completely from madness. It wouldn't make sense. First of all, I'm not saying that Hamlet was faking everything. I mean, obviously, seeing your father die is bad enough, but having your mother within a month, marrying your uncle. Plus, seeing the ghost of your dead father! Obviously, this will make you a little crazy, but not to the extent that everyone thought Hamlet was experiencing. If it were not for Hamlet's madness, the king (Claudio), would obviously have known that there was something wrong with his nephew, and they will surely have him killed. If Hamlet had not acted in a way that made his uncle think he was mad, 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 can notice the slightest sexual harassment and get in trouble. While someone who seems obviously crazy can say hundreds of things that suggest sexual harassment and get away with it. Check out all of today's rehearsals! Murderers constantly plead in court to experience temporary insanity and get away with it! If they think you're crazy, you can get away with anything. This is what Hamlet had in mind. It was truly an ingenious plan. “…[I'm just] crazy about the North-Northwest.” Anyone who hears this would immediately say he is crazy. However, there is logic to this quote. North is straight or up, which means normal. Saying it's "north-northwest" means it's crazy just slightly to the side. Hamlet seemed to be somewhere along the line of southwest, which really means crazy, (south is the opposite direction of north, so the opposite direction of normal).