nce of Ophelias madness is sudden; Hamlet is unaware ofher condition, preoccupied with his own mental deterioration and his lust forrevenge. The repression of her love for Hamlet, his rejection of her, herfathers death, and Hamlets own mental incapacity all drive Ophelia acrossthe line between sanity and insanity; in this madness, she takes her own life. Hamlets behavior towards Ophelia is inconsistent throughout the play. Afterher death, as he was visiting her grave, he jumped in the grave to fight withLaertes. During the fight, Hamlet states Forty thousand brothers could not,with all their quantity of love, make up my sum (V.i.250-253). Thisstatement contradicts his words when she returned his gifts, stating that henever loved her. Hamlets madness does not reflect Ophelias true madness,his actions contrast them (Soon, 4). When Hamlet was sent to England, he carefully exchanged the letterthat accompanied Guildenstern and Rosencrantz; the result was these mengoing to their death, because of Hamlets clever exchange. Even though theywere not part of his plot of revenge, he had them killed, a demonstration ofhis madness once again.In the final scene when Hamlet is confronting Laertes, his thoughts andwords turn again to the topic of madness:Wast Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet.If Hamlet from himself be taen away,Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it.Who does it then? His madness (V.ii.223-226).By these words, Hamlet is speaking of his true madness, which causedhim to kill Polonius. He is apologizing to Laertes, and admits that his loss ofcontrol is due to his madness. In this final scene, Hamlet comes to terms withhis own madness, and apprehends that it was his suffering and procrastinationthat kept him from killing Claudius sooner. He loses control over hisrevenge, and it is at this time that he finally finds the right opportunity to killClaudius, and satisfy the wishes of the ghost of his father: Hamlet is of thefaction...
