Was’t Hamlet wrong’d Laertes? Never Hamlet. / If Hamlet from himself be ta’en away, / And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes, / Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. / Who does it, then? His madness.
Act V, Scene 2 · Hamlet
Context
In front of the assembled court, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for killing Polonius, claiming that his madness—not his true self—was responsible for the act.
Analysis
Hamlet's name appears six times in five lines, but each time he splits himself into fragments: 'Hamlet' versus 'himself,' the agent versus the madness. This rhetorical dissociation lets him deny agency—'Hamlet denies it'—by grammatically separating his identity from his actions. The legalistic question 'Who does it, then?' demands an answer, which he supplies ('His madness'), but the repetition makes the argument sound rehearsed and hollow, a performance of remorse rather than genuine acknowledgment.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Hamlet uses madness as a legal fiction—this apology linguistically fractures his identity to evade responsibility, showing how the 'antic disposition' he once controlled now becomes a convenient scapegoat for real violence.