Hamlet’s so called insanity comes from the shock of seeing his father’s ghost and learning that Cladius is the one who murdered him. For the purpose of getting revenge, Hamlet is acting like a lunatic, which the physical conflict with Hamlet and Ophelia can be representative of. Therefore he nunnery scene leaves two options: Hamlet knows that he is being watched during the middle of the scene, or he never knows that he is being watched.
There is only one specific reason that leads me to suspect Hamlet knows he is being watched. It is that his tone suddenly changes from a courteous gentleman to a lunatic once again. Assuming that Ophelia was telling the truth when she told Polonius what Hamlet did to her, he acts in a similar way, although with no physical contact, and says strange and seemingly thoughtless ideas. From telling her that he once loved her, Hamlet immediately tells her, “Get thee to a nunnery” (Scene 3.1 122). This sudden change in tone can be attributed to Hamlet discovering that he is being watched. If he really is planning to act like a lunatic in order to exact revenge, he would need to keep a straight story with as little deviation from the act as possible.
The other side of me leans to Hamlet never realizing that Claudius and Polonius are watching him. For the same reasons, linking back to Hamlet’s crazed physical encounter with Ophelia, it appears that Hamlet has no idea of being watched. With the encounter he had with Ophelia, he expected his acts to spread through her own words, and the nunnery scene could be the same. Switching from someone who seems like a sane, kind person to a raving lunatic is a shock to anyone talking to the person. It could be that Hamlet uses this plan to spread the word that he is crazy, which in his mind, brings him one step closer to his revenge. Ophelia’s reaction to Hamlet, “O heavenly powers, restore him,” makes it obvious that if this were true, Ophelia acted just the way Hamlet wanted her to (Scene 3.1 142).
I’m not leaning towards either option as of this moment. Both seem like viable options to support but at the same time I can’t find more evidence for one than the other. Both options, however, include Hamlet acting crazy for the purpose of setting up the stage for his revenge. Thinking about it now, from the logic and evidence I've used so far, there is nothing to go against Hamlet knowing from the start that he is being watched. If he is pulling the kindness act to make a bigger shock, maybe he knew from the start that he was being watched.
Hamlet’s so called insanity comes from the shock of seeing his father’s ghost and learning that Cladius is the one who murdered him. For the purpose of getting revenge, Hamlet is acting like a lunatic, which the physical conflict with Hamlet and Ophelia can be representative of. Therefore he nunnery scene leaves two options: Hamlet knows that he is being watched during the middle of the scene, or he never knows that he is being watched.
There is only one specific reason that leads me to suspect Hamlet knows he is being watched. It is that his tone suddenly changes from a courteous gentleman to a lunatic once again. Assuming that Ophelia was telling the truth when she told Polonius what Hamlet did to her, he acts in a similar way, although with no physical contact, and says strange and seemingly thoughtless ideas. From telling her that he once loved her, Hamlet immediately tells her, “Get thee to a nunnery” (Scene 3.1 122). This sudden change in tone can be attributed to Hamlet discovering that he is being watched. If he really is planning to act like a lunatic in order to exact revenge, he would need to keep a straight story with as little deviation from the act as possible.
The other side of me leans to Hamlet never realizing that Claudius and Polonius are watching him. For the same reasons, linking back to Hamlet’s crazed physical encounter with Ophelia, it appears that Hamlet has no idea of being watched. With the encounter he had with Ophelia, he expected his acts to spread through her own words, and the nunnery scene could be the same. Switching from someone who seems like a sane, kind person to a raving lunatic is a shock to anyone talking to the person. It could be that Hamlet uses this plan to spread the word that he is crazy, which in his mind, brings him one step closer to his revenge. Ophelia’s reaction to Hamlet, “O heavenly powers, restore him,” makes it obvious that if this were true, Ophelia acted just the way Hamlet wanted her to (Scene 3.1 142).
I’m not leaning towards either option as of this moment. Both seem like viable options to support but at the same time I can’t find more evidence for one than the other. Both options, however, include Hamlet acting crazy for the purpose of setting up the stage for his revenge. Thinking about it now, from the logic and evidence I've used so far, there is nothing to go against Hamlet knowing from the start that he is being watched. If he is pulling the kindness act to make a bigger shock, maybe he knew from the start that he was being watched.