28 shakspeabe's writings. 



before us, nor is it till after he has told us he will 

 put on the seeming of madness that he does so. The 

 question is, how far the assumption of madness was 

 rational as a matter of necessity ? and even allowing 

 its necessity, why should he behave with such wan- 

 ton rudeness to Ophelia ? The circumstance is, I 

 think, not unaccountable. Natures, noble in many 

 respects, are yet apt to exhibit occasional littleness. 

 However towering a man's diviner qualities may 

 appear generally, there may be times when a combi- 

 nation of irritating circumstances may so work upon 

 his susceptibility as to bring down the rational man 

 to a state of " tetchy infancy : " and, it is among the 

 " fantastic tricks " of an ingenuous but very feeling 

 mind, when disgusted by the world's villainy, to 

 expend, even upon what it best loves, a portion of 

 its spleen. 



Look at the situation of Hamlet. Too noble to 

 enact the part of a court puppet — royal by decree of 

 heaven — not only by legitimate inheritance — he looks 

 around, and finds himself" most dreadfully attended" 

 — the King a villain — the Queen, a wanton~the 

 chamberlain, " a shallow, rash, intruding fool" — the 

 courtiers, hypocrites — his appointed companions, 

 spies. 



Is it a wonder he should be irritated into strange- 

 ness ? " Shall we to the court,'' says he, ^^for, by my 

 fay, I cannot reason ? " — In short, though Hamlet 

 be not ever mad in the generally understood sense 

 of the word, yet great grief and mental agitation have 

 at times a positive effect upon his sanity ; and I am 

 inclined to believe, that his harsh conduct to Ophelia 

 is in some measure prompted by a temporary wildness 

 of feeling. I suspect, indeed, that, if I were to call 

 upon every individual in this room to pronounce 

 whether he had or had not at some time or other 

 wantonly worried the feelings of his lady-love — I 

 suspect — nay I know — that an answer in the affir- 

 mative might be obtained. The circumstances under 

 which Hamlet speaks and acts are so peculiar, and 



