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Essay / Hamlet: The theme of surveillance in Hamlet - 1158
Only a few acts later, he murders Polonius in cold blood, and has no reaction, saying "I took you for your best" (L .34), suggesting how he mistook Polonius for king. In contrast, Hamlet spends most of his time thinking and not acting; it could be considered strange behavior that he would suddenly react in this way. It can be argued that these are not the actions of a sane person, and the question is how much of Hamlet's madness is feigned. The OED defines “insane” as when one’s actions are “uncontrolled by reason or judgment; foolish, reckless", which can be taken to encompass Hamlet's behavior, and one might think that from the murder of Polonius,