In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there are two characters who display qualities of madness. Specifically, Hamlet and Ophelia, although they both seem crazy at times, their downfall (or supposed downfall) is entirely different. Ophelia's madness seems total while Hamlet's is questionable throughout the play. Hamlet's madness comes and goes; This is not the case for Ophélie. Ophélie does not tell anyone that she is “crazy”; on the other, Hamlet shows everyone his madness. Hamlet turns his madness on and off depending on the company he keeps. Ophelia, on the other hand, cannot bear the loss of Hamlet's love, the absence of her brother, and the death of her father. It's too much for her and she breaks down. Hamlet and Ophelia's position in society, as well as the actions of all adults, caused Hamlet and Ophelia's death and madness. Hamlet's madness, whether real or feigned, is manifested through his actions towards other main characters who threaten revenge on Claudius. To prove his diminished state, Hamlet says, “Oh, let this too solid flesh melt / that and dissolve into dew!” / Or that the Lord had not fixed / his canon against self-mutilation! O God! O God! / How boring, bland, flat and unprofitable it is, / seem to me all the uses of this world! (1.2.129-158). From the beginning, Hamlet is already reacting to the death of his father and the marriage of his parents. Hamlet registers clear suicidal and/or mental (emotional) depression. Hamlet's madness begins quietly, with the apparent taint of his parents' marriage and the death of his father, it continues throughout the story to the point of grief. The character of Hamlet is described through the medical terms of the time as having too much "black bile". » in the middle of paper ......69. History of theater. Internet. November 29, 2011. .Lamb, Susan. “Applauding Shakespeare's Ophelia in the 18th Century: Sexual Desire, Politics, and the Good Wife.” » Women as sites of culture: women's roles in cultural formation from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Ed. Susan Shifrin. Aldershot, Eng. : Ashgate, 2002. 105-23. Lidz, Theodore. “Hamlet’s precarious emotional balance.” Hamlet's Enemy: Madness and Myth in Hamlet (1975): 60-67. Rep. in Shakespearean criticism. Ed. Dana Ramel Barnes. Flight. 35. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Information Resource Center. Internet. November 29, 2011.Shaaber, MA. “Polonius as a fishmonger.” JSTOR. NP, 1971. Web. December 16, 2011. .Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Jeff Dolven 1604. Reprint. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2007. N. p. Print.