Hamlet act 3: The Play's the Thing --Sophia Colbert

   There is something about the human mind that gets captivated by stories. Somehow stories are more effective when it comes to memory retention or bringing out emotions. Shakespeare was well aware of this, therefore Hamlet was also. Hamlet is a genius. He knows that he has seen his father's ghost, but he is not entirely sure if he can trust it. Revenge is a big deal, and Hamlet does not take it lightly. He wants to be absolutely sure that his uncle is guilty before he goes off to avenge his father's ghost. It is a clever plan. Hamlet is sane enough to know that murdering his uncle just because his father's ghost told him to is not the best decision in the world. He creates a short play that is just close enough to the murder that his uncle can't sit still. Once Hamlet is sure his uncle is guilty, he goes all out. When Hamlet sees Claudius praying, he decides not to kill him because, according to religious tradition, Claudius would go to straight heaven. Hamlet wants to wait to catch him in sin so that when Claudius is dead he'll go to Hell. Hamlet knows exactly what he is doing. Now that his uncle's guilt is confirmed, he can be sure of his destiny for revenge.
   The thing I am hung up on is why Hamlet was so mean to Ophelia before he was completely sure of his uncle's guilt. If we're going off of the argument that Hamlet wants to plead insanity in a court case, then he shouldn't be acting insane until he is sure he will murder Claudius. His relationship with Ophelia remains a mystery to me. I don't understand why he treats her the way he does. At least he's not the kind of main character who tells everything to his love interest and ruins his whole plan because she told someone else.

P.S. I commented on Eliza and Osten's posts.