Throughout the play 'Hamlet' we see that the protagonist seems troubled and quite isolated. The Shakespearean play is believed to have been first performed between 1600 and 1601 but was not published until 1603. Hamlet is the young prince of Denmark, his mother Gertrude married his brother-in-law shortly after the death of her husband (Hamlet's father). In the Elizabethan era, many people believed in supernatural forces and this is reflected in the play when Hamlet's father returns in the form of a ghost. Many people would say that Hamlet is possessed and that his madness and strange behavior is partly due to the death of his father and his reappearance as a ghost. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet appears to be emotionally unstable and incapable of managing his emotions well. . The audience sees this through Hamlet's sadness over the death of his father. For example: “I recently… lost all my joy” (2,2,280). Hamlet says here that he has lost all his happiness; this shows us, as the audience, that he feels empty and has nothing to feel happy or joyful about. Additionally, we see that Hamlet is unable to communicate well with others, which supports the fact that he feels isolated and alone. Shakespeare uses short, sharp sentences to show that the character does not want to converse: “Words, words, words” (2,2,189). This is the answer Hamlet gives when Polonius asks him what book he is reading. The response shows that he doesn't want to talk and is quite dismissive when asked questions. Hamlet's behavior is sometimes obsessive in different ways. He is very focused as he is focused on completing his late father's task, which is to kill his Claudius (Hamlet's uncle) for betraying him. For example, 'A bad man kills my father, and for this I, his son, do it... middle of paper ......some quote which could show that he is pretending to be', “I am but crazy north-northwest: when the wind is from the south, I recognize the hawk with the handsaw” (2.2.361-362). Here Hamlet is essentially saying that he knows what is what, in which case he knows when he is considered mad. Finally, the way Hamlet is perceived by the audience is different for everyone and is interpreted in different ways. The other characters all believe that Hamlet is truly sick or crazy, but most critics believe that this was a cover-up so that Hamlet could stage his plan to assassinate Claudius and that the other characters would have find it hard to believe that Hamlet could murder someone if he were. really crazy. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Literature “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”: an introduction to reading and writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print