tes in Act II Scene ii. Inaction, then, is Hamlet's method of acting. By observing, he allows a natural flow of events to occur. Ingenuously, Hamlet's timely remarks often influence the course of events in his favour, yet he cannot be considered a guilty party of the events that occur: responsible, but not guilty. Hamlet's 'wait and see' attitude allows his peers to realize his madness (however false), considered traitors like Ophelia, Rozencrantz and Guildenstern to be unmasked, and Gertrude's realization of her own guilty part of the rotten game in Denmark. Is Hamlet intelligent? Beyond the shadow of a doubt, bordering on the lines of absolute brilliance. Who else could manipulate the closest people in his life as if they were chess pieces on a board? It is not a dull person who could recognize his friends and family as the greatest betrayers of his life and to recognize carefully hidden lies. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, long time friends of Hamlet, are almost instantly pegged as Claudius' spies. The Prince of Denmark feels them out, talking of Denmark and waits for their response, which is too innocent for Hamlet's liking. Hamlet's shrewdness allows him to see his friends (and his enemies) for what they are, and to catch them in their lies;You were sent for; and there is a kind of confession in your [queen have]looks, which your modesties have not craft enough to colour: I know the good king andsent for you. (II ii 282-286)Hamlet has the mental capacity and the acting capability to set his enemies on completely the wrong trail, to divert them from the real truth. Hamlet comments that he is "too much in the sun" (I ii 67), is being observed in the wrong fashion. If he knows that he is being watched, then he must make his observers believe the wrong thing about them. Doing thus, he draws out his enemies and the truth. His mind has the capacity to think quickly, to mince words, exchange cutting wits with his enemies, fool them...
