In Act 3, scene IV, Hamlet meets with his mother, Gertrude, in her quarters while Polonius is secretly listening to their conversation behind the curtains. Polonius and the queen are trying to figure out Hamlet's intentions, and Gertrude begins by accusing Hamlet of disrespecting and offending Claudius. Soon, the queen feels threatened by Hamlet's aggressiveness towards her and screams for help. At this time, Hamlet hears a noise behind the curtain and immediately stabs and kills Polonius through the curtain. At first, Hamlet may have thought that he killed the king, but after he finds Polonius dead behind the curtain, Hamlet calls Polonius an "intruding fool" and claims he did him a favor. Gertrude is shocked by Hamlet's "rash and bloody deed," but Hamlet asserts that his sin is no worse than her sins. Hamlet says, "A bloody deed-almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry with his brother" (28-30). Hamlet continues to insult his mother and King Claudius, but his mother does not believe him: "O, speak to me no more. These words, like daggers, enter in my ears. No more" (96-98).
             It is possible that Hamlet just needs confirmation of his suspicions against Claudius, or he may just want to get the queen on his side so he can kill Claudius. However, he only shows himself to be truly insane when he sees and starts talking to a ghost that only he can see. After the ghost leaves, Hamlet tells Gertrude to stop sleeping with his uncle. He goes into details that are usually too graphic in a normal mother-son conversation. He seems too concerned with his mother's sexuality and it is possible that the "Oedipus Complex" theory can apply here. For the rest of the scene Hamlet urges Gertrude to stop letting the king tempt and kiss her in bed, but he also tells her that he is not really crazy. He asks her to keep this a secret between them.
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