Hamlet actually admits to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
that he is not as mad as they think he is. This line occurs in Act 2, scene 2, after
Hamlet has determined that his two friends "were sent for" and the conversation turns to
the players. Hamlet welcomes the players, and seems to boast that he has deceived his
"uncle-father and aunt-mother."
Hamlet's words are
intentionally obtuse. The fact that neither Rosencrantz nor Guildenstern reacts to this
admission shows either their lack of surprise or their disbelief. Either they think
Hamlet was only pretending to be mad all along or they really do not believe he is
sane. I think it is the latter, and Hamlet feels safe in that the two underestimate
him. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to be intent on getting to the bottom of
Hamlet's melancholy and are oblivious to the fact that Hamlet is toying with them.
Hamlet continues to toy with them after the play-within-a-play when they try to "pluck
out the heart of [his] mystery." Hamlet knows that the two are incapable of figuring
him out and do not recognize the truth when they hear it. Hamlet toys with Polonius in
much the same way, insulting Polonius to his face, and calling him a "fishmonger" or
Jephthah, an Old Testament character who sacrificed his daughter. He tells the truth,
much like a king's fool, but is not taken seriously.
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