, lead them, and ultimately destroy them. When Hamlet discovers Ophelia's infidelity (or rather, loyalty to her father and brother as opposed to him), he uses her as an ultimate means to convincing the others of his madness. If she, the woman he loves (and for the sake of this argument, he does love her), is to be used and abused so poorly, then Hamlet must truly be mad. Ophelia is the first step to convincing Polonius Hamlet is mad;I will be brief:-- your noble son is mad: (II ii 91)Ophelia, additionally, is a threat to Hamlet. She, if anyone, must be convinced of his madness to convince others of it. Prince Hamlet can then be accused of cruelty and cold calculation/manipulation, but not of madness. Ultimately, Hamlet's brilliant manipulation of people (to be discussed further) destroys them without laying complete guilt upon himself. How are we to believe that Shakespeare intended the audience to feel pity for a mind to which we were meant to bow?Words, Words, Words (II ii 193)This is most brave,That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words... (II ii 593-596)Of any Shakespearean character, Hamlet speaks the most. What he says versus what he does are two entirely different actions. Critics have often believed Hamlet's tendancy to verbosity to be a sign of his procrastination, of his constant deliberation and inordinate thinking. As discussed, Hamlet does not procrastinate. His wordiness is a method of tantalizing those who listen, even when he seemingly speaks alone. It cannot be assumed that Hamlet is ever alone (there is always an audience). His soliloquies are moments to remind himself of the plan, to rework the plan, or to evaluate his performance. Or, they are to plant information and accentuate or affirm his mania. Hamlet is aware that he is constantly being watched, or he would not have made that brilliant move with his "To be or not to be" spee...
