In the begging of the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, even though Hamlet says that he is just pretending to be mad, he really does become mad thought the play. From the beginning when Hamlet says he is not mad he knows that deep down inside the madness is going to come out, but he is just going to deny it. Hamlet is under a great deal of stress. His father has just died, and his separation from his lover both add to his insanity.
             In the beginning of the play Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. He is scared of what he sees. He knows that everyone else saw the ghost but he is not sure of what is truly going on. He thinks that it is some evil thing trying to hurt him. This is the first sign of him going mad. To make sure that his friends do not tell anyone of what happened he tells them that he is going to "put an antic disposition on-/ That you, at such times seeing me, never shall (Shakespeare, 28)". Hamlet tells everyone that he is going to pretend to act crazy, so they wont say anything when he does abnormal things, but in his mind he is just trying to protect himself because he knows that something is wrong.
             Hamlet's disguise of his craziness is not going well. Everyone is suspicious of Hamlet because they believe that he has gone mad. Polonius thinks Hamlet is mad because he has fallen in love with, Ophelia.
             "Your noble son is mad./... Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,/ what is't but to be nothing else but mad?/...Madam, I swear I use no art at all./ That he is mad, 'tis true, 'tis pity (36)."
             Polonius believes that because Ophelia and Hamlet cannot be together Hamlet has gone crazy. He writes her love letters and is just obsessing over her. Although Hamlet is really upset about his father's death, the fact that he cannot be with Ophelia adds to the stress of his life and pushes him in the direction of madness.
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