ee that Hamlet has not completely lost touch with the world. Although he frequently misses the meanings of Hamlet`s remarks and insults, he does recognize that they make some sense. After a confusing conversation with Hamlet he says: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in`t” (Guth, Hamlet, p. 819, 2.2.208). When his theory of rejected love proves wrong, he becomes very suspicious of Hamlet`s behavior and hides behind the “arras” in Gertrude’s bedroom in order to listen Hamlet`s private conversation with his mother. Eventually, Polonius` curiosity leads to his death when Hamlet stabs the “arras” in the mistaken believe that he is killing Claudius.Hamlet`s soliloquies and his confidences to Horatio, are another, the most convincing proof of his sanity.Throughout the play, Hamlet`s soliloquies reveal his inner thoughts, which are completely rational. In one of the speeches, Hamlet criticizes himself for not taking yetan action to avenge his father’s murder: “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I That I, the son of the dear murder`d, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words.” (Guth, Hamlet, p. , 2.2.495-530). Hamlet calls himself a “dull and muddy-mettled rascal” (Guth, Hamlet, p , 2.2.510), a villain and a coward, but when he realizes that his anger “does not achieve anything else but the unpacking of his heart” (Electric Library), he stops. These are not the thoughts of a madman; his emotions are very real and his thoughts are those of rational man. Even when he contemplates suicide in the “To be or not to be” soliloquy, “he Sidorowicz-9reasons himself out of it” (Cliffs, Hamlet, p.18) because of his very sane consideration of the dangers of an...
