In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, many of the characters throughout it are 'acting'. Rosencratz and Guildenstern pretend that their friendship with Hamlet goes beyond what they are being told to do by the king, Claudius acts like he is sad over his brother's death, Ophelia has to act like she does not want to see or talk to Hamlet anymore, and Polonius pretends to be Hamlet's friend. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet claims that he will begin to act insane as well. While it is believed that while he is pretending to go crazy that he is going insane, he actually holds on to his sanity throughout the play. While Hamlet displays a great deal of instability throughout majority of the play, his 'madness' has too much purpose behind it.
             When Hamlet finally has his conversation with Ophelia, after she decided they could not see each other again, he is acting like he is sane, but then begins to act crazy. But there is reason behind is lunacy, he knows what he is saying. He tells Ophelia, "Get thee (to) a nunnery", not only meaning a convent, but also a whorehouse. He knows what he tells her offends her, but Ophelia just thinks, "a noble mind is here o'erthrown" and that Hamlet has actually lost his mind. This is one of the most intense moments throughout the entire play, and although he appears to be standing on the edge between sanity and insanity, Hamlet actually has quite a good grasp on what is going on around him. While Hamlet was having this scene with Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius were listening in on what was going on. They both believe that Hamlet is crazy and Claudius states that, "madness in great ones must not (unwatched) go". Hamlet does want everyone to believe that he is mad, the scene with Ophelia just simply makes it more believable.
             Another one of the most powerful moments in the play is during the performance of the play with...