Hamlet: Truly mad or acting mad. An essay about role playing in Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

Hamlet: Truly mad or acting mad " Hamlet at once invites and resists interrogation. He is, more than any theatrical character before and perhaps since, a figure constructed around an unseen or secret core. " In this introduction to the play Stephan Greenblatt directly emphasises not only the depth but also the mystery about the main character of Hamlet. He points at the different impressions Hamlet makes on his co-characters and the spectator can only refer to …

…Throughout the entire play Hamlet seems to be caught between differing sides and a drift into lunacy might be very plausible regarding the enormous responsibility weighing on his shoulders. Within this aspect lies the fantastic influence this play has had on audiences all over the world. The diversity of the main character left so much space for interpretation, space for a great variety of productions and furthermore a great variety of interpretations of these productions.