If you were the character Hamlet in William Shakespeare's play, would you pretend to be mad for your revenge?

Nineteenth century American author and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson famously observed that "when you strike at a king, you must kill him." That quote can be applied to the situation in which William Shakespeare's character Hamlet finds himself. Hamlet, of course, is set upon the mission by the ghost of his deceased father, the one-time king of Denmark, to avenge the dead monarch's murder. Hamlet is already a troubled soul, having endured his father's mysterious...

Nineteenth century American author and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson famously observed that "when you strike at a king, you must kill him." That quote can be applied to the situation in which William Shakespeare's character Hamlet finds himself. Hamlet, of course, is set upon the mission by the ghost of his deceased father, the one-time king of Denmark, to avenge the dead monarch's murder. Hamlet is already a troubled soul, having endured his father's mysterious death and witnessed the remarriage of his mother to his uncle, the illegitimate successor to the throne, Claudius. Claudius is now the king, a position, needless to say, of considerable power. Hamlet understands that, if he is to avenge his father's death, he can not let his uncle, the king, know that the young prince intends for his demise. Hamlet must use subterfuge so that King Claudius remains oblivious to his nephew's plans. The meaning behind Emerson's quote is that to attempt to murder a powerful person and to fail is tantamount to suicide, as the wounded target will now be cognizant of your plans and intent on your destruction. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet knows that he must take the king by surprise. The most powerful person in Denmark must know that Hamlet wants him dead.

A conspiracy to assassinate a king must be carefully planned and executed, lest the monarch become aware of those plans and act first with the ruthlessness expected of an autocratic ruler. Hamlet constitutes an 'army of one,' as he can trust no one. His best chance at leading Claudius into the trap that Hamlet arranges -- the performance of a play that replicates the king's murder of Hamlet's father -- is to conceal his intentions, and the best way to conceal those intentions is to feign insanity. By pretending to be mentally ill, Hamlet's words and actions can be excused as those of an insane individual. He will give the appearance of lacking a firm grasp with reality so that his plans can proceed without the underlying motivation being detected. Consequently, Hamlet's decision to feign madness is eminently reasonable under the circumstances. His intended target is all-powerful, and his best chance at sneaking up on King Claudius is to veil his true intentions. Pretending to be mad is a logical course of action given the narrow room for maneuver afforded this depressive young man.